On 12 December 2003, the European Council adopted the EU Strategy against Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (hereinafter referred to as the ‘EU WMD Strategy’), Chapter III of which contains a list of measures that need to be taken both within the Union and in third countries to combat such proliferation.

The Union is actively implementing the EU WMD Strategy and giving effect to the measures listed in Chapter III thereof, such as developing the necessary structures within the Union.

On 8 December 2008, the Council adopted its conclusions and a document ‘New lines for action by the European Union in combating the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems’ (hereinafter referred to as the ‘New Lines for Action’) which states that proliferation of WMD continues to constitute one of the greatest security challenges and that non-proliferation policy constitutes an essential part of the Common Foreign and Security Policy.

In the New Lines for Action, the Council calls on competent Council formations and bodies, the Commission, other institutions, and Member States, to give a concrete follow-up to that document with a view to achieving its objectives by the end of 2010.

In the New Lines for Action, the Council underlines that action of the Union to prevent proliferation could benefit from the support provided by a non-governmental non-proliferation network, bringing together foreign policy institutions and research centres specialising in the Union’s strategic areas while building on useful networks which already exist. Such a network could be extended to institutions in third countries with which the Union is conducting specific dialogues in connection with non-proliferation.

On 15-16 December 2005, the European Council adopted the EU Strategy to combat the illicit accumulation and trafficking of small arms and light weapons (SALW) and their ammunition (hereinafter referred to as the ‘EU SALW Strategy’) which sets the guidelines for the action of the Union in the field of SALW. The EU SALW Strategy considers that the illicit accumulation and trafficking of SALW and their ammunition pose a serious threat to international peace and security.

The EU SALW Strategy identifies among its objectives the need to foster effective multilateralism so as to forge mechanisms, whether international, regional or within the Union and its Member States, for countering the supply and destabilising spread of SALW and their ammunition,