Council discussions for the EU to become an observer regional organisation at the first meeting of States Parties to the Treaty Prohibiting Nuclear Weapons

Question for written answer  E-006816/2020
to the Council
Rule 138
Mounir Satouri (Verts/ALE), Hannah Neumann (Verts/ALE)

The Treaty Prohibiting Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) will enter into force on 22 January 2021.

Three EU Member States, the republics of Austria, Ireland and Malta, have signed and ratified the Treaty and will attend the meetings and review conferences of its States Parties. Austria will host the first meeting of States Parties, in Vienna.

The EU can attend these meetings as an observer regional organisation, as set out in Article 8 of the Treaty.

• 1.Will European Council discussions take place for the Council to adopt a decision for the EU to attend the first meeting of States Parties to the TPNW as an observer regional organisation?
• 2.Have any Member States or institutions proposed this, and if so, which ones?
• 3.Have any Member States or institutions opposed this, and if so, which ones?