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12 June 2001
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FREIBURG, Germany (AFP) Jun 12, 2001 - France and Germany called
jointly Tuesday for a common
European Union
initiative in favour of
non-proliferation of
ballistic weapons systems.
Alluding to the US plan for a national missile defense (NMD) system which is widely regarded as undermining a US-Soviet anti-ballistic missiletreaty, the two governments said they "consider the risks of ballistic proliferation necessitate a strengthening of the multilateral instruments of non-proliferation". "They consider that the European Union should take an initiative in this direction, based upon the universalisation of the code of conduct for the control of missile technology," the joint declaration said. The statement was issued by a Franco-German "Defense and Security Council" which met under the co-chairmanship of French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder during a Franco-German summit in Freiburg. It said that adoption of a common EU position against the proliferation of ballistic missiles could lead to the holding of an international conference. The statement was issued just three days before an EU summit meeting in Gothenburg, Sweden, which US President George W. Bush is to attend.
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