European Parliament Foreign Committee briefed on CTBT

On 7 July 2016, Lassina Zerbo, Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), briefed the European Union Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee on the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Zerbo was joined by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Group of Eminent Persons (GEM) member Federica Mogherini.

Mogherini expressed the EU’s strong support for the CTBT and its effective verification system, in particular highlighting the organization’s technical cooperation and capacity building efforts as well as outreach. She stressed the CTBT's potential for fostering peace and stability in particular in some of the world’s more volatile regions.

In the briefing, Zerbo stressed the fact that EU Member States contribute around 40% of the CTBTO’s budget. He encouraged European leaders to use opportunities such as in the context of the Iran nuclear agreement to advance ratification by the eight remaining States that have yet to sign or ratify the Treaty for its entry into force.

In the discussion, parliamentarians discussed possibilities for the EU to exert more “constructive pressure” to achieve the remaining signatures and ratifications, for example in the context of trade agreements.
In addition to EU Member States' regular budgetary contributions to the CTBTO, the EU supports the organization’s work through voluntary contributions. The latest such contribution was adopted in October 2015. Watch the recording here (courtesy of European Parliament EPTV):