Dear Member of the European Parliament,

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) will have its five-yearly Review Conference this year, from 3-28 May. This 1968 Treaty is a fundamental security agreement, vital to the interests of Europe and the rest of the world. It deals with preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and contains commitments on nuclear disarmament and nuclear energy. As European governments develop their policies and papers, there is a vital role for Parliamentarians to play in ensuring that these reflect the interests and aspirations of citizens in Europe and around the world.

We, as the European Parliament, should play a constructive role in promoting nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. 

President Obama called for a nuclear-free world in Prague in April 2009, and the UN Secretary-General has put forward a clear five point plan of action that would enable this objective to be achieved in a rational, safe and timely manner.  We have a historic opportunity to have input into the practical disarmament and non-proliferation measures discussed and agreed at the NPT Review Conference and believe that the European Parliament and EU should support President Obama’s initiatives, including support for negotiations on a Nuclear Weapons Convention to bring together the key objectives of preventing the use and spread of nuclear weapons, increasing the security of proliferation-sensitive materials and technologies, and the reduction and elimination of existing arsenals.

Therefore please sign the attached letter addressed to President Obama


Contact: laurijn.vansteenbergen@europarl.europa.eu

Many thanks for your support,

Frieda Brepoels, MEP

Chair of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (PNND) in the European Parliament

“Security can now only be achieved in common. No longer against each other but only with each other shall we be secure.” - Egon Bahr

Mr President,

We, the undersigned Members of the European Parliament, share your vision of a nuclear free world andwholeheartedly support your initiative to give nuclear disarmament new momentum. It is imperative that this momentum is shared and sustained in order to make the upcoming NPT Review Conference a success and to build on the commitments made in 2000.

We believe that the elimination of all tactical nuclear weapons in Europe is an urgent issue that needs to be addressed by the US and Russia, following the successful completion of the treaty on strategic nuclear weapons. It is the sincere wish of the majority of people in Europe that tactical nuclear weapons are withdrawn from Europe and eliminated.

As a first step we call on you to withdraw the remaining US nuclear weapons from our territories.

This step would be an important confidence-building measure. It would also strengthen the NPT by addressing the disarmament obligation contained in Article VI that applies to all states. It would greatly underpin arguments for compliance to the non-proliferation articles in the treaty, by demonstrating that European countries do not see nuclear weapons as a addition to their security.

Sincerely,

Click here for a list of signatories.