EU Statement on Iran - Vienna

Madam Chairperson,

1. I am speaking on behalf of the European Union. The Acceding Countries Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, the Associated Countries Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey as well as Norway declare that they associate themselves with this statement.

2. We have carefully and with interest studied the valuable and clear report of the Director General contained in GOV/2003/40 of 06 June 2003 on Iran, prepared at the request of a number of Board members and the EU at the March Board of Governors meeting. The EU regrets that the scope and extent of Iran's nuclear programme was not made known earlier to the IAEA and to the international community and considers with growing concern its proliferation implications.

3. The EU reaffirms the inalienable right of all parties to the NPT to develop the research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, without discrimination, in compliance with Article IV of the Treaty. However, is absolutely clear that any misuse of civilian nuclear programmes is excluded and would constitute a violation of the obligations under the Treaty.

4. The Director General has informed the BoG that Iran failed to meet reporting obligations under its comprehensive Safeguards Agreement in force. We deeply regret the fact that receipt of nuclear material by Iran, regardless of its quantity, was not duly declared at the time of its receipt. The Director General, further informed the Board that Iran failed to meet its obligations under Articles 8, 34(c), 42 and 49 of its 1974 Safeguards Agreement with the Agency concerning inventory changes. In addition Iran failed to declare facilities where the material was stored and processed. The EU considers that this failure of Iran to apply the provisions of various Articles of its Safeguards Agreement and of its obligations is of grave concern. The EU expects that the Director General should regularly inform the Board of Governors on this important matter.

5. The EU notes that Iran has finally adhered to the new requirements for early design information adopted by the BoG in 1992 and provided in advance design information related to the construction of new nuclear facilities. The EU, recalls Iran's statement that it will permit all necessary inspections; we also urge Iran to allow the necessary inspections and to permit the collection of environmental samples regarding its enrichment activities. The EU believes that this would correspond to Iran's declared willingness to show full transparency.

6. The EU attributes capital importance to compliance with international non-proliferation and disarmament regimes. Indeed the question of WMD constitutes one of the issues of concern in the political dialogue between Iran and EU, the progress of which will have implications on the development of economic relations between the two parties. The EU wishes to convey a clear message to Iran that it is in its interest to follow the internationally applied norms on peace and security both at the international and regional levels.

7. The EU fully supports the Director General in his efforts to rapidly resolve outstanding issues with Iran. The EU urges Iran to address in full cooperation with IAEA, in a detailed and substantiated manner the questions, which have been raised on its nuclear programme and to take all the necessary steps to ensure full transparency of this nuclear programme and restore the confidence of the international community. The EU calls on Iran to conclude and implement urgently and unconditionally an Additional Protocol. This would be a significant step in demonstrating Iran's stated peaceful intentions with regard to its nuclear programme.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson.

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