Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The following countries align themselves with this statement: North Macedonia^*, Montenegro^*, Albania^*, Ukraine^*, the Republic of Moldova^*, Bosnia and Herzegovina^*, Georgia Iceland⁺, Norway⁺ and San Marino

The European Union wishes to thank the Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) for the excellent and timely preparation of this meeting, in close coordination with the Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson and the Working Group B (WGB) Task Leaders. We welcome the resumption of substantive discussions within WGB, and reiterate that Task Leader discussions and Expert Group meetings should be able to continue their important work, making use of all available technical solutions. Expert group informal discussions are an essential part of WGB’s work and we are grateful to the PTS and to you Mr. Chairman for ensuring that Expert Group meetings can take place within this Session’s hybrid format.

Chair,

The European Union condemns in the strongest possible terms the unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine by the armed forces of the Russian Federation, which constitutes a blatant violation of the UN Charter. The EU remains deeply concerned over Russian military attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, also putting at risk the safety and security of nuclear facilities and posing a serious threat of a nuclear accident or incident. This is completely unacceptable and extremely worrying.

The EU calls on Russia to refrain from any action that would endanger the integrity of the international Monitoring System - including the stations in the region - and data availability through the verification regime. We note with concern that several stations operating in Russia have shown disruption in the transmission of data during the last weeks.

Chair,

The CTBT’s entry into force and universalisation remain a priority for the EU. We urge all States, which have not yet done so, to sign and ratify the CTBT. We reiterate our call upon the remaining eight Annex II States: China, Egypt, Iran, Israel, and the USA who still need to ratify the Treaty and the DPRK, India, and Pakistan who still need to sign and ratify it in order to bring it into force, to do so without any preconditions or further delay. In the meantime, it is crucial that all States fully observe the moratorium on nuclear test explosions or any other nuclear explosion, and to refrain from any action contrary to the object and purpose of the Treaty. It is of utmost importance to us that such objectives and recommendations are also taken into account by the ongoing 10th Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The EU is pleased to have submitted a Working Paper on the CTBT and organize a side event in the margins of the NPT Review Conference to promote the CTBT together with the Executive Secretary.

The EU warmly welcomes the recent ratifications of the Treaty by Tuvalu, The Gambia, Dominica and Timor-Leste, which constitute yet another step towards the CTBT’s universalisation. We commend the Executive Secretary and his team for this impressive record and fully support their efforts for achieving additional ratifications of the Treaty.

We thank the Executive Secretary for his opening statement and report on verification related activities for the period January – June 2022 and look forward to the reports by the PTS Directors of the International Monitoring System (IMS), the International Data Centre (IDC) and On-Site Inspection (OSI) Divisions, on the implementation of the verification related programme.  We commend the PTS for its activities towards ensuring business continuity during the current pandemic and for the regular “state of health” updates that have been shared with States Signatories. 

The EU also wishes to commend the PTS and the CTBTO States Signatories for hosting IMS facilities and for keeping the IMS and IDC operational in accordance with the Treaty standards, in spite of the COVID-19 restrictions. The EU considers the completion of the IMS a priority and encourages the PTS and States Signatories to cooperate to this end. With the IMS construction ongoing for more than twenty years, it is high time to establish, certify and operate all facilities. We encourage the PTS to continue its important operations, including building, certifying, operating and repairing IMS stations. We welcome the commitment made by the Executive Secretary to commence with a comprehensive review of the IMS stations’ lifecycle including financial implications, and look forward to engaging in such discussions soon.

As part of the CTBTO's Integrated Capacity Building, we encourage the organisation of further technical workshops that assist States and experts to further develop NDC and OSI capabilities and techniques. Such developments also apply for the use of IMS data and International Data Centre (IDC) products to support civil and scientific applications and research associated with Treaty-related verification technologies, including tsunami and volcanic ash cloud warning. In this regard, the EU encourages the PTS to organize, as soon as the situation with the pandemic will allow, workshops open to all users of SHI- and RN- NDC-in a box software and whose conclusions would be shared and discussed at an upcoming session of the Working Group B.

Data availability, including through accurate and timely IDC reports and station reliability is equally essential. It remains vital that States Signatories provide full and timely data to the CTBTO from all stations that they host in line with their commitments. Furthermore, we urge all States to ensure the long-term sustainability of stations, to develop operation and maintenance plans in accordance with the standard template and to keep an active dialogue with the PTS to guarantee that stations operate according to Treaty standards.

The EU warmly welcomes the new initiative of the ES entitled “National Data Centres (NDCs) for All", which aims to ensure that the benefits of verification data are more equitably distributed among States Signatories.  While waiting for further written information regarding this initiative, we stand ready to engage with the PTS on possible EU support for this important initiative.

The EU, in accordance with our continued political and financial commitment to the Organisation, continues to provide significant voluntary contributions to support the verification regime as well as capacity building and outreach, particularly in developing countries. As mentioned in the current report of the Executive Secretary on verification related activities, through the EU Council Decision VIII several capacity building and training activities in various regions were funded, including the procurement of six sets of capacity building systems (CBS) equipment.

Chair,

Mobile monitoring systems are also essential for the functioning of the IDC in helping to further understand the global background for all four IMS technologies. Such background studies using mobile monitoring systems not part of the IMS have been going on for years to improve the performance of the verification regime and ensure the correct detection of events. This activity is part of, and helps carry out the mandate of the PTS. We fully support the continuation of discussions on this topic and look forward to the swift appointment of a new team of co-facilitators.

Finally,

Furthering On-Site Inspection (OSI) capabilities is essential for the establishment of a balanced and robust verification regime at the time of the CTBT´s entry into force. We thank the PTS for having prepared the 2022-25 OSI exercise programme as well as the biennial programme of work, and stress the need for ensuring adequate financial resources and sound budget planning in a timely manner. We welcome the organisation of a Tabletop Exercise on “the Role of Senior Management During an OSI” on 14 June, which provided an opportunity for PTS senior management to enhance their skills of OSI-related policies and capabilities.

Thank you Chair.

* Candidate Countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, as well as potential Candidate Country Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

+ Iceland and Norway are members of the EFTA and of the European Economic Area.