The Revised Nuclear Suppliers Group Guidelines: A European Union Perspective

This paper discusses the negotiations leading up to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) agreement on enrichment and reprocessing (ENR) in June 2011 and the consequences of the decision on nuclear non-proliferation, with a particular emphasis on the European Union (EU) perspective. The paper focuses on the NSG and its nonproliferation role, as well as the context of the nuclear ENR issue. Further, it analyses the main factors involved in pushing the ENR issue into the NSG forum and the course of negotiations leading up to the changes in the NSG guidelines. Finally, the paper examines the revised guidelines and identifies their effects on the international non-proliferation regime, especially within the context of the EU Strategy against Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.