ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we analyse the history of the European policy on nuclear and non-proliferation from the first foray of European states into nuclear issues to the development of a common policy on nuclear non-proliferation many years later. We discuss the emergence, development, and consolidation of the incipient vision of nuclear non-proliferation, which would subsequently lead to the more explicit development of a European non-proliferation policy. To do this, we review the origin and creation of the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM), analyse the main provisions of the treaty establishing EURATOM concerning non-proliferation issues, and examine the process of creating a safeguard system within the European Community (EC). The chapter also examines the development and consolidation of bilateral relations between EURATOM and its international counterpart, the International Atomic Energy Agency, whose cooperation has been vital in terms of safeguard implementation and, consequently, nuclear non-proliferation. Finally, we proceed to analyse the factors that led the States of the European Community and later the European Union to harmonise their policies on nuclear non-proliferation, ultimately establishing a common policy in this matter.
