| Author (Corporate) | European Commission, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy |
|---|---|
| Series Title | JOIN |
| Series Details | (2015) 29 final (7.8.15) |
| Publication Date | 07/08/2015 |
| Content Type | Policy-making |
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The overall objective of the non-proliferation policy is to prevent, detect and respond to WMD proliferating activities. There are multilateral conventions and verification mechanisms, bilateral and national legislative frameworks, safeguards, sanctions, export controls, cooperative threat reduction and emergency and response plans in place in order to deal with the proliferation challenges. Another element of this policy is a set of measures dealing with WMD know-how and high-risk materials and technologies that have the potential for inappropriate and unauthorized use that could result in great harm. In this context the International Science and Technology Center (ISTC) was set up in 1994 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It was funded together with other Parties (USA, Canada, Japan) through an international multilateral agreement for the purpose of non-proliferation of scientific and technical expertise related to Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). Over time, other Parties joined the Agreement, i.e. Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, Republic of Korea, Norway, Russian Federation and Tajikistan. Following the 2010 announced withdrawal of the Russian Federation, that became effective on 15 July 2015, the Parties agreed that a new Agreement needs to be put in place in order for the Center to effectively fulfil its mandate under changed circumstances. On 21 October 2013 the Council authorised the Commission to start negotiations, on behalf of the European Union and Euratom (acting as one Party) for the negotiation of an Agreement continuing the International Science and Technology Center between the European Union and EURATOM acting as one Party, Georgia, Japan, the Kingdom of Norway, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of Tajikistan, and the United States of America. This current proposal is the next step in the process of the signature of the Agreement continuing the International Science and Technology Center. Two parallel procedures are proposed, one for the signature of the Agreement under the TEU/TFEU legal base and a parallel procedure for the conclusion of the Agreement under the EURATOM treaty. |
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| Source Link | http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=JOIN:2015:029:FIN |
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| Subject Categories | Culture, Education and Research |
| Countries / Regions | Europe |
