Introduction

Since 2006, the European Union (EU) has supported the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) by means of two Joint Actions and five Council Decisions in the framework of the EU Strategy against Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Over thirteen million Euros have been provided by the European Union, mostly to support capacity-building activities in developing countries. The EU Joint Actions and Council Decisions can be found here:

• Council Joint Action 2006/184/CFSP (2006-2007)
• Council Joint Action 2008/858/CFSP (2009-2011)
• Council Decision 2012/421/CFSP (2012–2015)
• Council Decision 2016/51/CFSP (2016-2019)
• Council Decision 2019/97/CFSP (2019-2023)
• Council Decision 2021/2072/CFSP (2021-23)  
• Council Decision 2024/349/CFSP (2024-26)

Implementation

The Geneva Branch of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) is currently implementing Council Decisions 2021/2072 and 2024/349

Council Decision 2021/2072 aims to support the building of resilience in biosafety and biosecurity through the BWC by means of four major projects:  

1. Strengthening biosafety and biosecurity capabilities in Africa through increased regional coordination 
2. Capacity building for BWC National Contact Points 
3. Facilitating the review of developments in science and technology of relevance to the BWC by also involving academia and industry 
4. Broadening support for voluntary transparency exercises

Council Decision 2024/349 aims to support implementation of the BWC on the international, regional and national levels through five projects:  

• Support for BWC universalization
• Capacity Development in support of BTWC national implementation
• Youth for Biosecurity Initiative
• Support for the BTWC inter-sessional programme
• Enabling tools for outreach, education and engagement