In light of Putin’s recent offer of a voluntary, time-limited extension of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) obligations to the US, ELN Policy and Research Director Oliver Meier writes that US allies in Europe should seize this opportunity to help shape the outcome of deliberations about how to respond to Putin’s initiative.
Competing perceptions of nuclear deterrence are no longer peripheral disagreements within the NPT and are now driving deep divisions within the regime, threatening its very stability. ELN Policy Fellow Jana Baldus urges states to bridge this divide by recognising differing security perspectives and addressing concerns on all sides. Nuclear-armed states must clarify the rationale behind deterrence and confront double standards, while non-nuclear states should engage with the wider security consequences of rejecting deterrence and consider Russia’s and China’s strategies as well as those of the West.
The threat to global non-proliferation norms resulting from Israel’s attack on Iran is putting Europe’s commitment to multilateralism and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to a real test. ELN Policy & Research Director Oliver Meier writes that those countries still believing in multilateralism can bring their political, economic, and military clout to protect and strengthen the global non-proliferation regime. They must come down from the fence from which they have been observing the conflict and engage on the side of diplomacy and international law.
At the 2025 NPT PrepCom, the European Leadership Network (ELN) convened experts and officials to explore practical steps for strengthening the treaty, including reducing nuclear risks and addressing emerging technologies.
This policy brief explores the integration of digital twin technologies into nuclear decision-making processes, assessing their potential to reduce risks stemming from emerging disruptive technologies (EDTs). It argues for international dialogue, transparency, and responsible innovation to prevent misuse, enhance NC3 resilience, and strengthen strategic stability through informed, scenario-based crisis simulations.
At the 2025 NPT Preparatory Committee in New York this month a key issue likely to spark debate is the increasing salience of nuclear weapons. All five nuclear-weapon states under the NPT are increasing the role and significance of nuclear weapons in their military and security policies, at odds with the commitments accepted under the NPT. This new policy brief from the ELN’s Protecting the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty project examines this challenge and offers recommendations for states to address it within the NPT framework.