Britain and the European Union

This page covers developments concerning nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in Britain and the European Union.

British Policy

With the scheduled date of September 2009 for the UK's 'Initial Gate' decision to proceed with Trident rapidly approaching, pressure is mounting on the Government to delay this decision pending further progress on disarmament and the run up to the 2010 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference.

Acronym Analysis and reporting

Trident: Still the Wrong Weapon at the Wrong Time for the Wrong Reasons, by Nick Ritchie, Disarmament Diplomacy, No.90, Spring 2009
Renewing Trident: Can the UK's Atomic Weapons Establishment Cope? Henrietta Wilson, Disarmament Diplomacy, No.88, Summer 2008
Britain's new nuclear abolitionists, by Rebecca Johnson, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 15 July 2008

Proliferation in Parliament

A selection of questions and debates on nuclear and missile defence issues from the UK Parliament.

Summer 2009

Previous editions of Proliferation in Parliament are available at www.acronym.org.uk/parliament.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation News

A digest of UK and international news stories relevant to UK and NATO nuclear weapons issues.

Edition 10, Summer 2009

Highlights

US-Russia Strategic Arms Talks

British News

International News

Previous editions of Nuclear Non-Proliferation News are available at: www.acronym.org.uk/news.

Key Documents

Trident Oped by David Davis MP, 23 July 2009
Prime Minister Gordon Brown announces Road to 2010 plan, 16 July 2009
Prime Minister Gordon Brown comments on nuclear weapons, 10 July 2009
Prime Minister Gordon Brown pre-G8 summit briefing, 8 July 2009
British Government announces Defence Review, 7 July 2009
'Shared Responsibilities: A National Security Strategy for the United Kingdom, IPPR, 30 June 2009
UK Secretary of State for Defence John Hutton address to IPPR, 27 April 2009
UK Defence Secretary John Hutton on Nuclear Submarines, 24 March 2009
UK Public Accounts Committee report on Trident, 19 March 2009
Prime Minister Brown speech on Nuclear Energy and Proliferation, 17 March 2009
Lifting the Nuclear Shadow, Launch of UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office Policy Information Paper, 4 February 2009
Secretary of State for Defence John Hutton speech on The Defence Industry in the North-West: Investing in the Future, Barrow-in-Furness, 31 January 2009
General calls for Trident rethink, former NATO Commander General Jack Sheehan interview with the BBC, 29 January 2009
Letter to the Times by Field Marshal Lord Bramall, General Lord Ramsbotham and General Sir Hugh Beach, 16 January 2009
A world without nuclear weapons, UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband, www.guardian.co.uk, 8 December 2008.
Preventing a New Age of Nuclear Insecurity, The Rt Hon William Hague MP, 23 July 2008.
Start worrying and learn to ditch the bomb, Letter to The Times by Douglas Hurd, Malcolm Rifkind, David Owen and George Robertson, 30 June 2008
Federation of American Scientists reports removal of US nuclear weapons from the UK, 26 June 2008

Conference on Trident and International Law: Scotland's Obligations

This conference on Trident and International Law was organised in Edinburgh by the Acronym Institute, Trident Ploughshares and the Peace and Justice Centre.

The Trident and International Law: Scotland's Obligations, Conference Speeches, 3 February 2009

Background

On March 14, 2007, the UK Parliament had its first debate and vote on renewal of Britain's nuclear weapon system, Trident. Whilst Tony Blair's government won the vote, it was forced to rely on the support of the Conservatives. Despite this 88 Labour MPs voted against the motion and the government was forced to make important concessions on future parliamentary scrutiny and decision-making on Trident.

In response to a proposed amendment from former Labour Minister John Denham MP, Blair was forced to confirm that "... it is always open to us to come back and look at these issues. He [Denham] is right to suggest that when we get to the gateway stage-between 2012 and 2014-when we let the main contracts for design and construction, it will always be open to Parliament to take a decision."

Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett also specified, "Further decisions will in any case be needed on the precise design of the submarines, on whether we need four or three, on whether to renew or replace the warhead, and on whether to participate in any American programme to develop a successor to the D5 missile... As I have said, this Government will ensure that there are regular reports to Parliament as the programme proceeds, and we will give the Select Committee our full co-operation as it maintains its regular scrutiny of these issues."

UK Defence Secretary Speech to the Conference on Disarmament, February 2008

Secretary of State for Defence Des Browne has renewed the UK Government's commitment to "have a world free of nuclear weapons" and proposed to "host a conference for technical experts from all five recognised nuclear states, to develop technologies for nuclear disarmament". Browne's speech to the Conference on Disarmament draws on then Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs Margaret Beckett's speech in June 2007 calling for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons.

Acronym Institute Analysis and Reporting on the Trident Vote

Blair wins Trident vote after telling UK Parliament that the NPT gives Britain the Right to have nuclear weapons, Disarmament Diplomacy, No.84, Spring 2007
Britain divided as the Conservative Party wins the Trident vote for Tony Blair: but the decision is not irreversible, Initial reaction from Westminster, by Rebecca Johnson, with input from Nicola Butler and Martin Butcher, March 14, 2007.
UK Parliament Debate on Trident: Excerpts, March 24, 2007

For more information on the UK's Vote and the Government White Paper on Trident see the Acronym Insitute's webpage on Trident .

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European Union

For coverage of negotiations between the EU3 and Iran, see our Iran page at: http://www.acronym.org.uk/wmd/index.htm#iran.

Europe's Space Policies and their relevance to the EU's Security and Defence Policy (ESDP), 2006

The following study, written by Rebecca Johnson on behalf of the Acronym Institute and ISIS-Europe, with research assistance from Stephen Pullinger and Aline Dewaele, was commissioned in 2006 by the European Parliament Directorate-General for External Policies of the Union.

"The study analyses Europe's space programmes and argues for an effective European Space Policy to manage the civil-military interface and national-regional interests to enable Europe to benefit from a more effective coordination of technologies and assets for the purpose of enhancing European and international security, while preventing destabilising developments, such as the testing, deployment or use of anti-satellite weapons or weapons in and from space.

Europe's Space Policies and their relevance to ESDP, by Rebecca Johnson, published by the EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, Directorate-General for External Policies of the Union, June 19, 2006.

Articles and Publications

Safeguarding Space Security: missile defence and the challenge for Europe, by Dr Rebecca Johnson, for the e-Parliament Conference on Space Security, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC, September 14, 2005.

EU Strategy against Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction

The Challenge of Biological Weapons: Proposals for Greater EU Effectiveness, by Ulla Jasper, Disarmament Diplomacy, Issue No.78, July/August 2004.
The EU and the NPT: Testing the New European Nonproliferation Strategy, by Clara Portela, Disarmament Diplomacy, Issue No.78, July/August 2004.
The European Union: Seeking Common Ground for Tackling Weapons of Mass Destruction by Stephen Pullinger and Gerrard Quille, Disarmament Diplomacy, Issue No. 74, December 2003.
'An International Order based on Effective Multilateralism,' European Council, December 12, 2003.

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