Addressing the European Parliament, Irish Europe Minister Dick Roche welcomed the accession to the treaty by Cuba and East Timor in the past two years, which he said brought it closer to covering the whole world.

"However, there are three countries, India, Israel and Pakistan, that remain outside the regime and we continue to call upon them to accede unconditionally to the NPT as non-nuclear weapon states," he said.

"The EU has repeatedly stated that the NPT is the cornerstone of the global non-proliferation regime and the essential foundation for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament," Roche added.

EU External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten expressed concern at last week's admission by the father of Pakistan's nuclear programme, A.Q. Khan, of his involvement in black-market operations trading in nuclear information.

"Recent revelations on the proliferation of nuclear weapons technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea have highlighted the importance of maintaining and strengthening effective controls," he told the Strasbourg assembly.

The Irish minister also restated the commitment of the EU, which includes nuclear powers Britain and France, to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

He said the EU urged "all states with nuclear capability to abide by a moratorium on nuclear test explosions or any other nuclear explosions and refrain from any actions which are contrary to the CTBT".

WAR.WIRE