CO-OPERATION WITH RUSSIA ON ARMS CONTROL
AND DISARMAMENT
(20777)
13909/99
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Draft Council Joint Action establishing a European Union co-operation Programme for Non-proliferation and Disarmament in the Russian Federation.
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| Legal base:
| Article 14 TEU, in conjunction with Article 23, paragraph 2; qualified majority voting
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| Deposited in Parliament:
| 19 January 2000 |
| Department: |
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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| Basis of consideration:
| Minister's letter of 16 and EM of 17 December 1999
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| Previous Committee Report:
| None |
| To be discussed in Council:
| Adopted at the Fisheries Council on 17 December 1999
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| Committee's assessment:
| Politically important |
| Committee's decision:
| Cleared |
Background
12.1 The Common Strategy on Russia adopted
on 4 June 1999[35]
included a commitment to promote disarmament, curb the proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction, support arms control, implement
existing agreements and strengthen export controls.
12.2 In early December, the Finnish Presidency
produced a draft of this Council Joint Action for a co-operation
programme, with a view to discussion at the CFSP Counsellors group
of 13 December. In his letter of 16 December, the Minister of
State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr Vaz) said that
the action would be agreed by the Fisheries Council on 17 December.
He apologised that the EM was submitted for scrutiny retrospectively,
explaining that the objections of some Member States to elements
of the proposal were resolved only on 14 December.
The draft Joint Action
12.3 The Joint Action provides for EU assistance
to:
- co-operate with the Russian Federation in its
pursuit of safe, secure and environmentally sound dismantlement
and/or reconversion of infrastructure and equipment linked to
its Weapons of Mass Destruction;
- provide a legal and operational framework for
an enhanced EU rôle in co-operative projects aimed at risk
reduction in the Russian Federation; and
- promote co-ordination of programmes and projects
in this field at Community, Member State and international level.
12.4 In the first phase, the EU programme
will contribute to a chemical weapons' destruction plant in Gorny
and provides support to a number of projects designed to assist
Russian efforts to dispose of excess weapons-grade plutonium.
Other projects to be funded under later phases of the programme,
on biological, chemical and nuclear plants, are not covered by
this Joint Action and will be determined at some future date by
the Council on the basis of a recommendation of the Member States
and/or the Commission.
The Government's view
12.5 The Minister says that the Government
fully shares the objective, under the Common Strategy, of co-operating
with Russia to reduce the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction.
It welcomes the Joint Action which, he says, will complement work
being carried out bilaterally by States.
Financial implications
12.6 According to the Minister, the Presidency
proposed a maximum budget of 6 million euro for the Gorny
chemical weapons' destruction plant and 2.3 million euro
for the plutonium disposition projects. The UK share would be
1.3 million euro.
Conclusion
12.7 We accept that, given the lack of
consensus among Member States on this proposal until late in the
Presidency, it was difficult to provide us with an Explanatory
Memorandum before it was adopted. However, we prefer to see an
early text for scrutiny, even if it is likely to be amended, rather
than no text at all until after adoption.
12.8 We have no difficulty with the proposal
itself and now clear this document.
35 (20084) 7073/3/99; see HC 34-xxi (1998-99), paragraph
17 (26 May 1999). Back
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