Mr. Coordinator,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union.

The Candidate Countries the Republic of North Macedonia*, Montenegro^* and Albania^*, the country of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia align themselves with this statement.

We would like to congratulate you on your assumption of your role as coordinator of this subsidiary body and we wish you success. We also wish to express our gratitude to UNIDIR for very thoughtful presentation today.

Mr. Coordinator,

We enter the 20^th day of the horrendous Russian military aggression in Ukraine. The EU and its Member States express full solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. The EU condemns in the strongest possible terms President Putin’s unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine, which grossly violates international law and the UN Charter, and undermines international peace and security. The EU demands that Russia immediately cease its military actions, withdraw all its troops from the entire territory of Ukraine and fully respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence within its internationally recognised borders and abide by UN General Assembly resolution titled “Aggression against Ukraine” supported by 141 states at the 11th emergency special session. The EU resolutely supports Ukraine’s inherent right of self-defence and the Ukrainian armed forces’ efforts to defend Ukraine’s territorial integrity and population in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter. At all times Russia must respect its responsibilities under international humanitarian law. Russia also must stop its disinformation campaign and cyber-attacks.

The EU strongly condemns threats by president Putin of using nuclear force in this war. These threats are unacceptable, provocative, dangerous and escalatory. President Putin is manufacturing threats that do not exist in order to justify his further aggression. At the beginning of this year, the Russian Federation committed to the prevention of nuclear war and avoiding arms races and reaffirmed that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. In the interest of all humanity, Russian Federation must heed its commitments and immediately cease this nuclear brinkmanship and blackmail.

Furthermore, we strongly condemn attacks on nuclear facilities of Ukraine, including Chornobyl and Zaporizhzhya. We share deep concerns expressed by the IAEA Director General that “the military operations at these facilities have caused unprecedented danger of a nuclear accident, risking the lives of people living in Ukraine and in neighbouring countries, including Russia”. This is unacceptable and extremely worrying. It must be stopped immediately.

The international community will hold Russia accountable for its aggression, including the nuclear safety and security threats it is causing. The EU remains strongly committed to the fight against impunity for atrocities.

The EU also condemns in the strongest possible terms the involvement of Belarus in the ongoing aggression against Ukraine. In this regard, the deletion of the reference in Article 18 of the Belarussian constitution to a nuclear-free zone is another worrying development, which adds to unacceptable attempts to re-define the European security architecture.

Mr. Coordinator,

In these circumstances, the EU reaffirms its unequivocal support for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime, the essential foundation for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament in accordance with Article VI of the NPT and an important element in the development of nuclear energy applications for peaceful purposes in accordance with Article IV of the NPT. The EU reiterates its unwavering support for the safeguarding and strengthening of the nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control architecture. We are firmly convinced that a multilateral and treaty-based approach provides the best way to maintain and reinforce international peace and security.

Ukraine acceded to the NPT as a non-nuclear weapon State in 1994, having returned Soviet-era nuclear weapons and having received security guarantees. There is no doubt that Ukraine is in full compliance with its obligations under the NPT. Let me recall that, in accordance with the Budapest Memorandum, Russia explicitly committed to “respecting the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine” and to “refrain from the threat or use of force” against the country. With its military invasion of Ukraine, Russia continues to blatantly violate the Budapest Memorandum to the detriment of the NPT regime. The Russian Federation must guarantee unequivocal security assurances as part of binding and agreed security arrangements. The loss of credibility of a nuclear weapon state on security assurances seriously undermines the NPT regime and the entire disarmament and non-proliferation architecture.

The EU strongly supports all three pillars of the NPT and will continue to promote comprehensive, balanced and substantive full implementation of the 2010 Review Conference Action Plan. We stress the need to implement all obligations under the NPT, and commitments during previous Review Conferences, including the need for concrete progress towards the full implementation of Article VI, with the ultimate goal of total elimination of nuclear weapons. We are resolved to seek a safer and more secure world for all in accordance with the goals of the Treaty in a way that promotes international stability, peace and security. The EU welcomes the engagement by EU Member States to mobilize political will and promote implementation of the goals of the NPT through various initiatives during the current NPT review cycle, such as the Stockholm Initiative.

The EU is committed to advance nuclear disarmament, in accordance with Article VI of the NPT, especially through the overall reduction in the global stockpile of nuclear weapons, and taking into account the special responsibility of the States that possess the largest nuclear arsenals. In view of the current developments and Russian irresponsible behaviour, this must be pursued with the highest urgency.

The EU notes the very severe consequences associated with nuclear weapons use and emphasises that all States share the responsibility to prevent such an occurrence from happening.

At the same time, the EU reiterates its call for intensified dialogue, including on strategic stability, increased transparency and confidence building measures by the nuclear weapon States to promote further progress in disarmament. The EU calls on Russia to abstain from any steps that would risk further escalating tensions and undermine the significant reductions achieved after the end of the Cold War.

The EU stresses the need for concrete work on strategic and nuclear risk reduction, and therefore the urgent need for all States concerned to discuss, agree and implement practical measures to that end.

Furthermore, we reaffirm the value of multilateral cooperation in advancing nuclear disarmament verification. In this regard, the EU welcomes the convening of the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) to consider the role of nuclear verification in advancing nuclear disarmament. We also welcome the contribution of practical cooperation such as the Quad Nuclear Verification Partnership and practical exercises, such as the Belgian exercise regarding the plutonium measurement methods, the Franco-German Nuclear Disarmament Verification (NuDiVe) exercise as well as the research and demonstration on high explosive detection methods carried out by the Netherlands, within the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification (IPNDV) format. While verification is not an end in itself, further development of the international cooperation on nuclear disarmament verification instruments would assist in the achievement and maintenance of a world without nuclear weapons.

Likewise, the EU considers the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) to be of crucial importance to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, and its entry into force is a top priority and remains a political imperative for the Union. We call on all States that have not yet done so, in particular those listed in Annex II, to sign and ratify the CTBT without preconditions or further delay. The EU also calls on all States to abide by the moratorium on nuclear weapon test explosions or any other nuclear explosion, and to refrain from any action contrary to the object and purpose of the Treaty.

The EU and its Member States have been in the forefront of international efforts to achieve a non-discriminatory and effectively verifiable treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. We continue to call for immediate commencement and early conclusion of such negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament and we support starting such negotiations in accordance with document CD/1299 and the mandate contained therein. The FMCT is a crucial step to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons.

In the current security environment marked by highest tensions and serious proliferation crises and challenges, renewed efforts must be pursued in the area of disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control. The EU calls on all States concerned to abstain from any steps that would risk further escalating tensions and undermine the significant reductions achieved after the end of the Cold War. A new nuclear arms race must be avoided.

I thank you, Mr. Coordinator.

* The Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.