The effectiveness of European Union strategies against the proliferation of nuclear weapons

Abstract

The European Union has particular interest to tackle nuclear weapon proliferation due to it being geographically surrounded by Nuclear Weapon States, as well as having some of its own states possessing nuclear weapons. The Union has devised a multilateral approach in its foreign policy and thus on non-proliferation policies. It has stressed over the point of cooperation with other international organisations, such as the United Nations, as well as using their instruments to tackle nuclear proliferation. But are the European Union strategies effectives against the proliferation of nuclear weapons? The research question is analysed both qualitatively - by looking at strategies such as the European Security Strategy, the European Union Strategy against the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, the European Union Global Strategy, the set-up of European Union Non-Proliferation Consortium, the Union’s role in the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Union’s Dual-Use Export Control Policy - and through the case Study of the Iran Nuclear Deal and the Union's role in its negotiations. To measure the effectiveness of these strategies, three criteria are taken into consideration - being engaged in a dialogue to promote its objectives in tackling proliferation of nuclear weapons; having self-sufficient structures to act on non-proliferation; and having verification mechanisms to ensure compliance with its non-proliferation regime. After the necessary analysis is done, the EU was ranked to have been moderately successful in its fight against the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Three hypotheses are also confirmed: 1) The European Union does have the necessary structures for dialogue, but little intention for independent action. 2) The European Union works well on pre-agreed agendas, usually set out by the international non-proliferation regime. 3) The European Union remains rather vague when it comes to tackling noncompliance of its policies and is usually dependent on other international organisations (such as the United Nations). Nevertheless, keeping in mind the multilateral approach of the EU in its foreign policy, the EU has done fairly well in contributing on non-proliferation. Another factor that should be considered is the fact that the original design of the European Community was based on economic relationships rather than security. The EU has since then expanded its jurisdiction and became a more important actor on the world stage. However, if the EU wishes for a more prominent role on the issue of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, it may wish to opt for a more self-sufficient approach – as adopted in the Iran negotiations.