For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 26, 2004

Fact Sheet: U.S.-EU Summit: Declaration on the Nonproliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction

“On September 11, 2001, America and the world witnessed a new kind of war. We saw the great harm that a stateless network could inflict upon our country. . . . Those attacks also raised the prospect of even worse dangers -- of other weapons in the hands of other men. The greatest threat before humanity today is the possibility of secret and sudden attack with chemical or biological or radiological or nuclear weapons.”

President George W. Bush
February 11, 2004

The United States and the European Union today agreed to expand their cooperation to prevent, contain, and reverse the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their delivery systems. Their commitments today build on their agreement at the 2003 U.S.-EU Summit, and further President Bush's February 11 proposals to heighten international action against WMD proliferation, and the G-8 Action Plan on Nonproliferation adopted at the Sea Island Summit.

The United States and the European Union:

• Welcomed the G-8 Action Plan on Nonproliferation, agreeing to:
  • Refrain for one year from initiating new transfers of enrichment and reprocessing equipment and technology to additional states, while seeking permanent controls to keep this capability from terrorists or states seeking it for nuclear weapons;
  • Subscribe fully to the Proliferation Security Initiative Statement of Interdiction Principles, support efforts to interdict WMD shipments, and enhance cooperation against proliferation networks, including in intelligence and law enforcement.
  • Seek stronger enforcement of nuclear nonproliferation obligations, including by: making the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Additional Protocol an essential new standard in the field of nuclear supply; creating a new special committee of the IAEA Board of Governors to focus on safeguards and verification; and declaring that states under investigation should not participate in IAEA compliance decisions;
  • Continue to support the work of the G-8 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction; and
  • Take concrete action to expand and improve capability to prevent and respond to bioterrorism.

The United States and the European Union also:

• Committed to implement fully United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540, to criminalize proliferation, establish effective export controls and protect dangerous materials, and to assist others to do the same;
• Resolved to enhance cooperation to promote the security of radioactive sources and prevent their misuse;
• Agreed to continue to promote effective export controls, backed up by criminal sanctions, and to work to identify, control, and interdict WMD- and missile-related proliferation shipments;
• Called for the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear program, including uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing; and,
• Welcomed Libya's decision to abandon, under international verification, its WMD and longer-range missile programs.

On Iran, the United States and the European Union expressed united determination to see the proliferation implications of Iran's nuclear program resolved. In this connection, the U.S. and EU were disturbed by Iran's recent announcement of its intention to resume manufacturing and assembly of centrifuges and called on Iran to rethink its decision.

# # #

Printer-Friendly Version

Email this page to a friend