High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini on July 9 met with the Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, as he prepares to leave the Organisation later this month.
High Representative/Vice President Mogherini expressed appreciation for Ambassador Üzümcü’s 8-year leadership at the helm of the Organisation. The professionalism and unwavering commitment of the Organisation’s Technical Secretariat under the leadership of Director-General Üzümcü to the goals of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) was recognised by the awarding of the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize to the OPCW. High Representative/Vice-President Mogherini also underlined the EU’s continuous support of the effective implementation and universalisation of the CWC and substantive financial contribution to the core activities of the OPCW and its operations in Syria.
High Representative/Vice-President Mogherini and Director General Üzümcü agreed that the CWC regime has been seriously threatened since 2012 by the repeated use of chemical weapons in Syria, Iraq, Malaysia and the UK. Federica Mogherini reiterated the support of the EU to the decision of the Special Conference of CWC States Parties, adopted on 27 June, which is a crucial step towards preserving and upholding the global norm against the use of chemical weapons. She confirmed that the EU stands ready to support the Technical Secretariat of the OPCW and to cooperate with all States Parties to the CWC, with a view to the implementation of this Decision.
