The European Union has voluntarily contributed around EUR 4.45 million (EUR 4,447,748) to support Non-Routine Missions of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), particularly deployments and investigations in Syria, as well as Technical Assistance Visits, training and equipment for Ukraine.
The voluntary contribution was formalised on 15 December 2025 in a signing ceremony held between the European Union (EU) Special Envoy for Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, H.E. Mr Stephan Klement, and the OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Fernando Arias, at the Organisation's Headquarters in The Hague.
Special Envoy Klement stated: "The European Union is a strong supporter of the OPCW in upholding the global ban on chemical weapons. The EU is contributing €4.45 million in voluntary funding for getting rid of the Assad-era secret Chemical Weapons programme in Syria and identifying perpetrators of toxic chemicals use on the frontlines in Ukraine."
Director-General Fernando Arias stated: "I wish to express my sincere appreciation to the EU, which has been an Organisation's biggest contributor both financially and politically. The EU's steadfast and sustained support for the OPCW will continue to uphold the norms and principles of the Chemical Weapons Convention and significantly strengthen our shared mission to advance the goal of a world free of chemical weapons."
"The Syrian chemical weapons dossier has been the most challenging case over the past 12 years, and bringing it to an end lies at the very core of the Convention. The OPCW is also closely monitoring developments in Ukraine, and continues to work to further support the Ukrainian authorities within the framework of the Convention. I am confident that the EU's contribution will provide strong impetus to these ongoing efforts," he added.
Background
In 2003, the EU adopted its Strategy against the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction. The strategy is designed to prevent, deter, halt and, where possible, eliminate weapons of mass destruction programmes worldwide. In February 2024, the EU and OPCW signed a Memorandum of Understanding to enhance and strengthen collaboration in common areas of interest in accordance with the OPCW programme and the mandate of the Technical Secretariat. On 20 November 2025, the Council of the European Union adopt a decision in support of enhancing the OPCW mission activities related to Syria and Ukraine and enhancing OPCW operational effectiveness through satellite imagery.
Since 2004, the Secretariat has received EUR 49.8 million in voluntary contributions from EU Institutions. The total amount committed by the EU through Council Decisions amounts to EUR 46.9 million.
The fall of the Assad government in December 2024 created an opportunity to uncover the full scope of Syria's chemical weapons programme and to eliminate it in line with the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). In February 2025, the OPCW Director-General visited Syria and held separate meetings with the Syrian President and Foreign Minister. They expressed Syria's recognition of all OPCW mandates, including the identification of perpetrators of chemical weapons use in Syria and reaffirmed Syria's full commitment to fulfilling its obligations under the CWC. In March 2025, the Syrian Foreign Minister visited the OPCW and addressed the Executive Council, where he renewed Syria's commitment to the Convention.
Since the visit by the Director-General to Damascus in February 2025, the OPCW Technical Secretariat deployed several times to Syria, involving visits to suspected locations, sampling, interviews, collection of documents related to Syria's chemical weapons programme, and coordination.
The OPCW Technical Secretariat has been monitoring the situation on the territory of Ukraine since the start of the war in February 2022 in relation to allegations of use of toxic chemicals as weapons.
In 2024 and 2025, the Technical Secretariat conducted three Technical Assistance Visits (TAVs) to Ukraine upon Ukraine's request. The reports of all three TAVs confirmed that the samples collected by Ukraine on the battlefield contained the toxic chemical 2-Chlorobenzylidenemalononitrile, known as CS. The Convention explicitly prohibits the use of riot control agents as a weapon of war on the battlefield.
As the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW, with its 193 Member States, oversees the global endeavour to permanently eliminate chemical weapons. Since the Convention's entry into force in 1997, it is the most successful disarmament treaty eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction.
In 2023, the OPCW verified that all chemical weapons stockpiles declared by the 193 States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention since 1997 - totalling 72,304 metric tonnes of chemical agents - have been irreversibly destroyed under the OPCW's strict verification regime.
For its extensive efforts in eliminating chemical weapons, the OPCW received the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize.
