1. I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Candidate Countries North Macedonia*, Montenegro^*, Albania^*, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina^*, as well as Andorra, Monaco and San Marino align themselves with this statement.

President,

2. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty is one of the key pillars of the international disarmament and non-proliferation architecture contributing to global peace and security. The Treaty’s strong legitimacy and vital importance for our collective security is pointed out in UN Security Council Resolution 2310 and the annual UN General Assembly resolutions relating to the CTBT. The EU will continue to rally support for the CTBT and the CTBTO in all relevant multilateral fora.

3. The CTBT’s entry into force has always been and remains a top priority for the European Union. This High-level meeting provides another opportunity to urgently call for the Treaty’s prompt entry into force and universalisation. All EU Member States have ratified the Treaty and consistently call upon all the remaining eight Annex 2 States: China, Egypt, Iran, Israel, and the USA who still need to ratify the Treaty and the DPRK, India and Pakistan who still need to sign and ratify it, to do so without any preconditions or further delay in order to bring it into force. Pending the entry into force of the Treaty, the EU calls on all States to abide by the moratorium on nuclear weapon test explosions or any other nuclear explosions, and to refrain from any action contrary to the object and purpose of the Treaty.

4. The EU warmly welcomes the recent, eight additional ratifications of the Treaty by Tuvalu, The Gambia, Dominica, Timor-Leste, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, the Solomon Islands, and Sri Lanka, which constitute yet another step towards the CTBT’s universalisation. We commend the Executive Secretary, Dr Robert Floyd and his team for this impressive record and fully support their efforts for achieving additional ratifications of the Treaty. We also encourage further engagement with civil society to promote the CTBT, and in this context, we commend the work of the CTBTO Youth Group.

President,

5. The current security environment is marked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, increased tensions and continuing proliferation crises. Russia must immediately cease its war of aggression, unconditionally withdraw all its forces and military equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine and fully respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence within its internationally recognised borders. We also express our concern over Russia’s announcement of its readiness to conduct a nuclear test, which is inconsistent with its signing and ratification of the CTBT and risks undermining confidence in the Treaty in these turbulent times.

6. The EU urges the DPRK to cease its unlawful and destabilising actions that undermine regional and international peace and security and instead engage in dialogue with relevant parties. The DPRK must comply with its obligations under UN Security Council resolutions to refrain from nuclear testing and launches using ballistic missile technology. Any nuclear test must be met with a swift, united, and robust international response.

7. The DPRK cannot and will never have the status of a nuclear weapon State in accordance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The DPRK must abandon all its nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programmes as well as any other weapons of mass destruction and its ballistic missile programmes in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner, as required by UN Security Council resolutions. We urge the DPRK to sign and ratify the CTBT without any preconditions or further delay. We also call on the DPRK to return to full compliance with the NPT as a non-nuclear weapon state and its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA, and to sign and ratify an Additional Protocol thereto.

8. It is critical that all UN Member States, especially Members of the UN Security Council, ensure the full implementation of UN sanctions and urge the DPRK to resume meaningful dialogue with all parties. The EU stands ready to support a meaningful diplomatic process. We are committed to work with all relevant partners to build a basis for sustainable peace and security in which the DPRK takes steps aimed at pursuing the complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

9. Following the DPRK's previous six nuclear tests, the CTBTO demonstrated its invaluable role in quickly providing reliable and independent data, enabling the international community to respond appropriately and swiftly. The CTBTO has provided the world with a truly global, hi-tech monitoring system for nuclear explosions – something that no single country could do.

10. The EU reiterates its confidence in the CTBT's verification regime and looks forward to the completion of the International Monitoring System (IMS). We recognise its deterrence effect against non-compliance with the Treaty and the ability to respond to threats to international peace and security that it provides. Ensuring the sustainability and effectiveness of the verification regime, through adequate funding, remains crucial.

11. In addition to the CTBT’s obvious contribution to international peace and security, the CTBTO's Integrated Capacity Building assists States in using IMS data for civil and scientific applications and research associated with Treaty-related verification technologies, including tsunami and volcanic ash cloud warning. To make best use of our collective investment, the EU advocates fully exploiting the potential benefits of civil and scientific applications of IMS data and financially supports capacity building for developing countries in this regard. Since 2006, the EU has provided the CTBTO with voluntary contributions of more than 29.5 million Euro to fund a variety of technical projects to strengthen the verification regime and build capacity in developing countries, and will continue to do so.

12. Finally, we recall that the EU is a supporter of 10 actions on the UN Secretary General’s Agenda for Disarmament, including on promoting the entry into force of the CTBT. We will continue to use every opportunity to call for the CTBT’s prompt entry into force and universalization in all relevant international fora and to actively and persistently advocate for the signing and ratification of the CTBT in meetings with the countries that have not yet signed or ratified the Treaty, notably the remaining Annex 2 States. In this regard, we praise the efforts of the outgoing Article XIV co-ordinators Italy and South Africa, and urge all States Signatories to work constructively with the designated incoming co-ordinators Norway and Panama towards early consensus on the draft Declaration to be adopted at the up-coming Article XIV Conference on 22 September. We also welcome the continuous efforts of the Group of Friends of the CTBT towards entry-into-force and universality.

I thank you, President.

* North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.