Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-03-14-Speech-3-173"
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"en.20070314.14.3-173"2
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"The possession of nuclear weapons has been a key element of the United Kingdom’s defence posture for the past 54 years. Given today’s dangerous world and the unpredictability of threats in the future, it would be foolish to take any decisions that would weaken our ability to maintain an independent British nuclear deterrent or the credibility of our deterrent policy. For the relatively small investment of less than 3 % of the UK defence budget over a 20-year period, the UK can maintain a vital defence capability. The UK is recognised as a legitimate Nuclear Weapon State under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and Conservatives support the aim of eventual global nuclear disarmament as set out in Article VI of the NPT.
However, we are firmly against any unilateral nuclear disarmament that would expose our nation and its people to risk and leave our strategic defence entirely in the hands of others. Decisions that affect the security of the United Kingdom, its territory and citizens, are the responsibility of Her Majesty’s Government and not the European Union. Most of today’s resolution is surprisingly uncontroversial and the extreme amendments placed by the Left were defeated.
However, we could not support any text welcoming the efforts of international fellow-travellers of the so-called Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament such as the ‘Parliamentary Network on Nuclear Disarmament’ (Recital E). We therefore abstained in the vote on the resolution as a whole."@en1
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