Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-05-21-Speech-3-363"
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"en.20080521.25.3-363"2
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"Madam President, thank you very much. In the name of the Council, I would also like to thank the MEP for posing the question concerning the global ban, or the global treaty to ban uranium weapons.
In any civilian missions of the European Union, this responsibility lies with the head of the mission under the civilian operation commander's leadership.
As to the last question, regarding dialogue between the European Council and the USA, non-governmental organisations and individuals, I can only say that until now in the dialogue with the United States this issue has not been raised – nor has it yet been raised with the other parties mentioned in the question. In any event, I shall follow the further debate on this matter with interest.
Thank you.
Of course, Members are probably aware of the fact that such an agreement does not yet exist. There is no agreement that would regulate depleted uranium weapons on a multilateral level. It is also known that there is no unanimity within the Council.
A debate on the effects of the weaponry containing depleted uranium has recently been held in the United Nations, where, at the end of last year, the UN First Committee adopted a resolution entitled 'Effects of the use of armaments and ammunitions containing depleted uranium'. As has already been mentioned, the EU Member States all voted differently on this resolution. I would say very differently: five voted in favour, four voted against it, and all others abstained. I would say that this is a rather good illustration of the current situation in the world.
With your permission, I would now briefly like to try and answer the particular questions that have been asked.
As regards the first question in connection with the European Parliament's resolution concerning biological weapons and some types of conventional weapons, I would like to point out that the European Union has been, still is, and will continue to be very active in its international endeavours to implement the convention on biological and toxic weaponry. Amongst other things, the EU played an important role at the Second Survey Conference in 2006 and it will also be active for the duration of the expert programme until the next Survey Conference, scheduled for the year 2011.
As regards the Convention on Conventional Weapons, the European Union and its member states both actively participate in the current negotiations, which include a debate on the humanitarian consequences of cluster bombs. The Member States have committed themselves to achieve by the end of this year, through negotiations, a legally binding instrument which will take into consideration all the aspects of cluster bombs.
Regarding the second question, I would like to explain that so far weapons containing depleted uranium have not been included in the European Unions' strategy for weapons of mass destruction. A debate is currently still under way on whether it is possible at all to include such ammunition in weapons of mass destruction. There are, in fact, some who think that depleted uranium is already covered by the Convention on Conventional Weapons; others believe that Protocol No 3, which is part of this Convention, should be expanded to include the issue of projectiles and warheads containing depleted uranium. In short, the debates are still ongoing.
As regards the third question, I should make it clear that the choice of military equipment, including the ammunition used in the operations conducted by the European Union, is within the remit of the Member States, and given that we do not have a multilateral agreement regarding this issue, I cannot offer any additional information on the use of depleted uranium.
The fourth question, regarding safety provisions for the soldiers and civilians involved in operations of the European Union: I should point out that it is the operation commander, within the operative plan approved by the European Council, who bears the responsibility for safety provisions, and who must take any measures he deems necessary. Of course, at the same time he must take into consideration operational limitations."@en1
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