On 27 February 2006 the European Union adopted a Joint Action in support of the Biological and Toxin weapons Convention (BTWC). The programme runs for eighteen months until September 2007 and forms part of a broader EU strategy to enhance the norm against the weaponisation of disease enshrined in the BTWC.
A joint action is a time-limited project that requires coordinated action by EU Member States whereby human and financial resources, know-how, equipment, and so on are mobilised to attain the specific objectives set by the EU Council. Joint actions also commit the Member States in the positions they adopt and in the conduct of their activity.
The Joint Action in support of the BTWC has two goals.
Universalisation of the BTWC
First, it seeks to promote the universality of the convention. Presently the BTWC has 155 States Parties; 40 States still need to join the convention. The Joint Action envisages five regional seminars in different parts of the world. The meetings aim to raise awareness about the importance of a universal BTWC and encourage States that have signed the BTWC before its entry into force in 1975 to ratify the convention and non-signatory States to accede to it. At the 6th Review Conference of the BTWC in 2006, the States Party identified universalisation as a key priority for the 7th Review Conference to be held in 2011.
National implementation assistance
The second goal of the Joint Action is to assist States Parties with the development of national implementation legislation of the BTWC. The focus is on drafting or ameliorating national legislation or regulations as required under Article IV of the BTWC. Up to twelve assistance visits undertaken by teams consisting of the BWPP Legal Coordinator and two legal experts from EU Member States are envisaged. An international conference organised at the EU Institute for Security Studies in Paris on 25 September 2006 aimed to promote the national implementation project of the Joint Action and invite interested states parties to request such assistance.