Speaking in The Hague, the Chancellor has praised progress made at the Nuclear Security Summit. "We have achieved a great deal," said Angela Merkel. The next summit is to be held in Washington D.C. in 2016.
It is every bit as important to learn and test ways of dealing with incidents and attacks as it is to identify all sources of nuclear material, declared Angela Merkel. In this context, the Chancellor pointed to the Netherlands, which tried something entirely new in conjunction with this third Nuclear Security Summit: the response to nuclear incidents, such as terrorist attacks.
President Barack Obama has extended an invitation to the next Nuclear Security Summit, which will be held in Washington D.C. in 2016. Thereafter, said Angela Merkel, there are a great many good reasons for having the process steered by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), although it must be accompanied by political processes. "We will have to discuss the precise form this could take over the next two years."
At the third Nuclear Security Summit 53 heads of state and government, and representatives of the United Nations, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Interpol and the European Union discussed, for instance, how to prevent thefts of nuclear materials and the construction of "dirty bombs".
In 2010 at the first Nuclear Security Summit in Washington D.C. political commitments were drawn up, to underline national responsibility for taking steps to ensure nuclear security. The Washington Work Plan was to be implemented on a voluntary basis by the individual states. At the second summit in Seoul participants also discussed how to prevent the illicit trafficking of nuclear materials. Germany was particularly active in having the security of radioactive sources used for civilian purposes included. Following the accident at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant, the safety of nuclear power plants too has been the subject of much debate.
Angela Merkel said that she assumed that the number of sources of nuclear material around the world would continue to increase, e.g. in the field of medicine. The possibility of cyber attacks, using IT facilities, will also rise. The whole question of nuclear safety and security thus goes much further than merely securing weapons and military materials. The summit has opened people’s eyes; a great deal has happened, she said. This is also thanks to the initiative of the American President. Positive international developments have emerged.
One day earlier, Angela Merkel called for increased efforts to achieve nuclear security. While it is encouraging to note that the international community feels more committed to the issue of nuclear safety and security, she said, "progress in some areas leaves a lot to be desired".
One example is the Budapest Memorandum, which pledges to uphold the territorial integrity of Ukraine in return for the country renouncing its nuclear arsenal. "Today we must note that Russia has flagrantly violated the provisions of this agreement, and that the Budapest Memorandum cannot be seen as a success," said the Chancellor.
Ten countries currently have nuclear weapons, 30 have nuclear power plants and almost every country in the world has nuclear material, for instance in the field of medical technology.
Iran’s nuclear programme was also on the summit agenda. "We are unfortunately still a long way from achieving our vision of a world without nuclear hazards, and there is still a lot of work to do".
On the side-lines of the summit an informal meeting was attended by the heads of state or government of France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, the United States of America, Japan and Germany. The main focus of the meeting was the current situation in Ukraine.