The Preparatory Commission of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) is engaged in identifying how its verification system could best be strengthened, including through the development of noble gas monitoring capacity and efforts aimed at fully involving States Signatories in the implementation of the verification regime. The Preparatory Commissio should therefore be entrusted with the technical implementation of this Joint Action.

On 12 December 2003, the European Council adopted the EU Strategy against Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Chapter III of which contains a list of measures that need to be taken both within the European Union and in third countries to combat such proliferation. And, in the same year, the Council adopted a Common Position on the universalisation and reinforcement of multilateral agreements in the field of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and means of delivery. That Common Position calls, inter alia, for the promotion of the signature and ratificatio of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).

The States Signatories to the CTBT have decided to establish a Preparatory Commission, endowed with legal capacity, for the purpose of carrying out the effective implementation of the CTBT, pending the establishment of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO).

For the purposes of ensuring the continuous and practical implementation of certain elements of the EU Strategy against Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, the EU will support the activities of the Preparatory Commission of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban-Treaty (CTBTO) in order to further the following objectives:

• Strengthening the capabilities of the CTBTO monitoring and verification system, including in the field of radio-nuclide detection.
• Strengthening the capacity of the States Signatories of the CTBT to fulfil their verification responsibilities under the CTBT and to enable them to benefit fully from participation in the CTBT regime.

In this scope, the projects to be supported by the EU will have the following specific objectives:

• Continuing support for the development by the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO of capacity in the area of noble gas monitoring and verification for the detection and identification of possible nuclear explosions.
• Providing technical assistance to African countries aimed at fully integrating States Signatories into the CTBTO monitoring and verification system.

This Joint Action entered into force July 15th , and it will expire 18 months after the date of the conclusion of the financing agreement between the Commission and the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO or after six months if no financing agreement has been concluded before that date.

In the scope of the EU Strategy against Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, the Commission provided early this year 475,000 euros for workshops in order to enhance the capacity and skills of officials in targeted States, and help them to identify gaps and needs.