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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

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."

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 .

See also: previous Acronym Institute Coverage of UK Nuclear Policy.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation News

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

June 12, 2007

• Trident cuts - submarines are "just about seaworthy"
• Prime Minister in waiting Gordon Brown on Trident
• Demonstrations at Faslane: actor Roger Lloyd Pack arrested
• Seven Astute class submarines "needed" for Britain's industrial base

May 10, 2007

• Controversy over Faslane base in the Scottish elections
• Demonstrations continue against the UK's decision to renew Trident
• Latest news from the arms companies
• NATO, Russia clash over missile defence and the CFE treaty

Proliferation in Parliament

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

May 2007

• MPs continue to raise questions about Trident replacement
• MPs and Lords ask questions on the NPT, fissban, and nuclear disarmament
• Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett on Iran
• Missile Defence featured in Defence Oral Questions
• Calls to extend the Inquiry into the Nuclear Industry Postmortems scandal

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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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© 2007 The Acronym Institute.