EU Statement on the occasion of the Sixty-Seventh Session of Working Group A Preparatory Commission Comprehensive NuclearTest-Ban Treaty Organisation Vienna, 22-23 May 2025

I have the honor to speak on behalf of the European Union. The following countries align themselves with this statement: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, San Marino and Ukraine. The EU thanks the Executive Secretary, Dr. Robert Floyd, for his opening statement and reports and expresses its appreciation to you Chair as well as to the Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) for all the preparations for this Session. We also warmly welcome Ambassador Peter Potman, of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as the new Vice- Chair of Working Group A. The entry into force and universalization of the CTBT remains a priority for the EU. We urge all States that have not yet done so, to sign and ratify the CTBT. We also consistently call upon the remaining Annex 2 States, who still need to sign and ratify the Treaty in order to bring it into force, to do so without any preconditions or further delay. In the meantime, it is crucial for international peace and security that all States fully observe the moratorium on nuclear test explosions or any other nuclear explosion, and refrain from any action contrary to the object and purpose of the Treaty. In this regard, we call on all concerned States to continue to honor their engagements. During the last NPT Prep Com Session in New York, the EU was pleased to submit a Working Paper on the CTBT with recommendations for the 2026 NPT...