International Organisations in Vienna

The IAEA promotes the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear science and technology, essentially by developing standards on nuclear safety and guidelines on nuclear security. It is the verification authority according to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and it verifies compliance with nuclear safeguards to assure that all nuclear material is used for peaceful purposes only (normative/inspection). To promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, the IAEA is a clearing house for research on uses of nuclear and isotopic techniques and it provides technical assistance. In addition, it is the depositary/secretariat for several Nuclear Safety, Security and Nuclear Emergency Preparedness Conventions. 

All EU Member States are members of the IAEA. Based on the 1976 agreement with the IAEA, EURATOM is observer and participates in all formal and informal meetings within its responsibility.  The European Commission has extensive scientific and technological co-operation with the IAEA and is also represented in the main technical bodies developing Nuclear Safety Standards and Nuclear Security Guidance. The outcome of this work is directly reflected in EURATOM secondary legislation, making these standards legally binding for EU Member States. The EU and EU Member States provide significant technical expertise to the IAEA and are one of the biggest donors to the Technical Cooperation activities and to the Nuclear Security Fund of the IAEA.  

UNODC is a global leader in the fight against illicit drugs, transnational organized crime, terrorism and corruption, and is the guardian of most of the related conventions, particularly the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and the international drug control and counter-terrorism conventions, as well as the recently adopted United Nations Convention against Cybercrime (not yet entered into force).

UNODC was established in 1997 because of the merging of the United Nations Centre for International Crime Prevention and the United Nations International Drug Control Programme. Over 3,000 people work at UNODC in its headquarters in Vienna and across 100+ countries in field offices. UNODC serves as a secretariat for the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) and for the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ). 

The EU is a long-standing supporter of UNODC projects and programmes and is one of its most important operational partners globally. The EU’s multi-year project funding with UNODC in 2026 exceeds €300 million. Between 2016 and 2024, the EU and its Member States provided USD 968 million in voluntary contributions to UNODC.The projects focus on the fight against drug trafficking, alternative development, border management, the implementation of UNTOC, tackling firearms trafficking, as well as, migrant smuggling and human trafficking, enforcement of maritime security, protection of the environment, countering terrorism, corruption and economic crime and promoting a fair and effective criminal justice system. The EU attends meetings convened under the umbrella of UNODC as an Observer, and the UNCAC and UNTOC Conferences of the Parties as a Party.  

UNIDO is a specialized United Nations agency with a unique mandate to promote inclusive and sustainable industrial development. It supports developing countries and emerging economies in building and transforming their industries. The European Union and UNIDO maintain a long-standing partnership, that has expanded significantly in recent years to accelerate these objectives and support the realisation of the 2030 Agenda and of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Cooperation is expanding under the EU’s Global Gateway and a Team Europe approach, focusing on green transition, industrial modernisation, and resilient value chains. 

The EU is a key partner of UNIDO, providing voluntary financial contributions to implement projects and programmes worldwide. This partnership targets priority areas such as clean energy, circular economy, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), agri-food systems, and digital transformation, while promoting regional corridors and market access. Initiatives focus on scaling climate and innovation-driven solutions, including energy efficiency, clean technologies, and decarbonisation, helping to advance environmentally sound industrialisation, job creation, gender equality, food security and poverty reduction worldwide. 

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   List of EU projects UNIDO implemented with relative budget: https://compass.unido.org/donors/EU?year.

The EU Delegation follows developments concerning the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), headquartered in Vienna, Austria. 

The UN General Assembly adopted the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) on 10 September 1996, establishing a de facto international norm against nuclear testing when it opened for signature on 24 September 1996. To date, 187 states have signed the CTBT, and 178 have ratified it (including all EU Member States and two nuclear-weapon states: France and the United Kingdom). For the Treaty to enter into force, ratification by all 44 Annex II states (9 remain) – those that possessed nuclear power or research reactors during the Treaty’s negotiations – is needed.  

The Preparatory Commission for the CTBTO serves as an interim body tasked with establishing the CTBT’s verification regime and promoting its universality in preparation for the Treaty’s entry into force. The Commission comprises two central bodies: the Plenary (the Preparatory Commission) and the Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS). Three groups support the Plenary: Working Group A (focused on administrative and financial issues), Working Group B (focused on verification-related matters), and an Advisory Group. For its turn, The PTS operates through three technical divisions that form the CTBT’s verification regime:  

• The International Monitoring System (IMS), which oversees a global network of monitoring stations to detect nuclear explosions. When complete, the IMS will consist of 337 facilities working with seismological, radionuclide, hydro acoustic and infrasound technologies. Currently, around 90% of these facilities are functional; 
• The International Data Centre (IDC), which screens, analyses and processes the data collected by the IMS to determine whether the detected events are natural or man-made and if they are of nuclear origin; 
• The On-Site Inspection (OSI), which, once the Treaty enters into force, will prepare for and conduct inspections to verify its compliance, looking for evidence on the ground. 

In addition to its primary mission of detecting nuclear explosions, the CTBTO contributes to other global challenges, including detecting volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and other seismic events that may trigger tsunamis. 

As part of the EU Strategy against the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, the EU has always supported the Treaty and has so far contributed more than € 29.5 million in extra-budgetary contributions to the Organization.

 See also:  

• CTBTO - https://www.ctbto.org/
• The European Union’s Special Effort in Support of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty: https://www.ctbto.org/sites/default/files/2024-02/CTBT%20Brochure%20EU2023%20final%20-%2020Feb2024.pdf
• CTBTO frequently asked questions: https://www.ctbto.org/resources/information-materials/frequently-asked-questions . 
• CTBTO Schedule of Sessions: https://www.ctbto.org/news-and-events/schedule-of-sessions

The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) and its Secretariat, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) was set up by the General Assembly in 1959 to review the scope of international cooperation in peaceful uses of outer space, to devise programmes in this field to be undertaken under United Nations auspices, to encourage continued research and the dissemination of information on outer space matters, and to study legal problems arising from the exploration of outer space. The Committee has two standing Subcommittees: The Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and the Legal Subcommittee. 

The European Union and UNOOSA are cooperating to contribute to the fulfilment of the SDGs through the use of space technologies. The EU Space Programme flagship programmes Galileo and Copernicus contribute significantly to these objectives. The European Union is also an active participant in COPUOS and its two sub-committees – where it engages as a permanent observer to promote a rules-based international order, global space governance, space sustainability, and safety.  

UNCITRAL is the core legal body of the United Nations system in the field of international trade law. A legal body with universal membership specializing in commercial law reform worldwide for over 60 years, UNCITRAL's official mandate is to promote the progressive harmonization and unification of international trade law through conventions, model laws, and other instruments that address key areas of commerce, from dispute resolution to the procurement and sale of goods. The Commission carries out its work at annual sessions, which are held in alternate years at United Nations Headquarters in New York and at the Vienna International Centre at Vienna. Each working group (Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises; Arbitration and Conciliation; Online Dispute Resolution; Electronic Commerce; Insolvency Law; Security Interests) of the Commission typically holds one or two sessions a year. The European Union and UNCITRAL have a strong, constructive relationship aimed at harmonizing international trade law and reforming investor-state dispute settlement. As a testament to our successful cooperation, the EU has also become a party to two important UNCITRAL conventions in recent years, the Mauritius Convention on Transparency and the UN Convention on the international effects of Judicial Sale of Ships (“the Beijing Convention”).

The Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies is an intergovernmental forum that fosters information exchange and establishes standards for export controls. Its primary aim is to enhance transparency, promote responsible practices, and contribute to global stability by preventing unauthorised transfers and re-transfers of such goods and technologies. Thus, all items included in the List of Dual-Use Goods and Technologies and the List of Munitions are subject to export controls by participating states. The states are required to ensure that transfers of such items do not contribute to the development or enhancement of military capabilities that undermine the objectives of the WA, nor are they diverted to support such capabilities.   

The WA Plenary serves as the decision-making body of the Arrangement, supported by two subsidiary bodies:  

• The General Working Group (GWG), which deals with policy-related matters;   
• The Experts Group (EG), which focuses on issues related to the lists of controlled items.  

Currently, 26 EU Member States are participating in the Wassenaar Arrangement. The EU is interested in following developments within the Wassenaar Arrangement, as EC Regulation 428/2009 sets up a Community regime for controlling exports of dual-use goods and technologies, and EU export controls reflect commitments agreed upon in the WA. These measures contribute to the EU's Global Strategy and its Strategy against the Proliferation of WMDs.  

Vienna hosts the WA Secretariat and serves as the venue for its regular meetings. 

See also: 

• Wassenaar Arrangement - https://www.wassenaar.org/
• EU on exporting dual-use items: https://policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/help-exporters-and-importers/exporting-dual-use-items_en

The NSG is a group of nuclear supplier countries who voluntarily seek to contribute to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons through the implementation of Guidelines for nuclear exports and nuclear-related exports. The NSG has two sets of Guidelines listing the specific nuclear materials, equipment, and technologies subject to export controls. These are consistent with and complement the various international, legally binding instruments in the field of nuclear non-proliferation, including the Non-proliferation Treaty and the Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Treaties, thus requiring that importing states provide assurances to NSG members that proposed deals will not contribute to the creation of nuclear weapons.  

Each participating Government (PG) implements the NSG Guidelines following its national laws and practices. Decisions on export applications are taken at the national level following national export licensing requirements. There are 48 PGs in the NSG, and the European Commission participates as an observer. 

The Permanent Mission of Japan to the International Organisations in Vienna acts as the NSG Point of Contact.

See also: 

Nuclear Suppliers Group - https://www.nuclearsuppliersgroup.org/index.php/en/about/participants  

The HCoC is aimed at bolstering efforts to curb ballistic missile proliferation worldwide and to further delegitimize such proliferation. It consists of general principles, modest commitments, and limited confidence-building measures. It is intended to supplement, not supplant, the Missile Technology Control Regime and is administered collectively by all subscribing states.  The HCoC is the only normative instrument to verify the spread of ballistic missiles, and its members voluntarily commit to sending out pre-launch notifications (PLNs) for test flights and the launch of ballistic missiles and space-launch vehicles (SLVs). Additionally, subscribing states pledge to submit an annual declaration (AD) outlining their national policy regarding space-launch vehicles and ballistic missiles. The Code was formally enacted on November 25^th, 2002, at a launch conference in The Hague. As of January 2025, 145 countries have subscribed to the HCoC. 

A decision of the Council of the EU in the framework of the implementation of the EU Strategy against Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction provides for several types of activities in support of the HCoC and of ballistic missile non-proliferation, carried out by the "Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique" as the implementing agency of the EU.  

Austria is the administrative Central Contact of the Code. 

See also: 

• HCoC - https://www.hcoc.at/  
• Supporting the HCoC – An FRS Projected funded by the EU: https://www.nonproliferation.eu/hcoc/what-is-the-hague-code-of-conduct/  

OPEC aims to co-ordinate and unify petroleum policies among its member countries, in order to secure fair and stable prices for petroleum producers; an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consuming nations; and a fair return on capital to those investing in the industry. 

IIASA is an international scientific institute that conducts research into the critical issues of global environmental, economic, technological, and social change. IIASA and the EU coordinate their work in fields of common interest, such as energy, transport, water, environment, climate action, disaster risk reduction, agriculture, food, bio-economy and citizen science.