The 2010 NPT Review Conference: Results and Consequences

Until the end of May, the member countries of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) are discussing strategies and steps to strengthen the multilateral nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime. The previous NPT review conference in 2005 ended in failure raising concerns the NPT might disintegrate if this year's conference does not produce a success. U.S. President Obama paved the way to put nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation back on the international agenda with his highly commended Prague speech in April 2009, the conclusion of the New Start Treaty with Russian President Medvedev, the release of a new Nuclear Posture Review and the Nuclear Security Summit, which was held in Washington DC just a few weeks prior to the NPT review conference. High on the agenda of the review conference loom Iran's nuclear programme and the risks of new nuclear arms races in the Middle East as well as in Southeast Asia. While new sanctions against Iran will be negotiated in the UN Security Council, the NPT review conference is addressing loopholes in the treaty and means to strengthen the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency as a watchdog. What are the results and consequences of the NPT conference? What role did the European Union and its individual member states play? What will the future role of the European Union be in progressing on the path toward a nuclear-free world?