Wednesday, 10 March 2010

Debate:

Pino Arlacchi (ALDE) – Mr President, the joint motion for a resolution on the Non-proliferation Treaty is a very important one, and the ALDE Group and I are very proud to have contributed to its elaboration. The resolution is holistic because it encompasses all the disarmament matters, from the NPT review conference to the issue of nuclear weapon-free zones.

This resolution calls for a Middle East free of nuclear weapons and for the withdrawal of all tactical warheads from European soil, in the context of a brotherly dialogue with Russia. This resolution also frequently refers to a nuclear weapon-free world, a target to be achieved through a special convention and within an ‘ambitious’ timeframe – this means a short one.

Our resolution is the European answer to President Obama’s proposal of the abolition of nuclear weapons. This document should be considered, therefore, as a step on the road to the total ban of atomic weapons. It means to end the paradox of the possession of nuclear devices by some countries, which is legal on the one side, and the complete prohibition of chemical and biological arsenals for all countries, on the other side. Atomic bombs must be made illegal and their possession should one day be considered a criminal act. I am confident this Parliament will continue in this direction with even more drive and more vision.

[source: www.europarl.europa.eu]