Australia Group

The Australia Group is an informal group of countries (now joined by the European Commission) established in 1985 (after the use of chemical weapons by Iraq in 1984) to help reduce the spread of chemical and biological weapons by monitoring and controlling the spread of technologies required to produce them. The group, initially consisting of 15 members, has increased to 41, including all OECD members except Mexico, the European Commission, all 27 EU member states, Croatia, Ukraine and Argentina. The name comes from Australia's initiative in the 1980s to prevent proliferation, and it manages the secretariat.

The group maintains a common list of technologies that could be used in chemical and biological weapons programs which have export restrictions placed upon them. Delegations representing the members meet annually in Paris.

Members

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, European Commission, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States.

External links

* [http://www.australiagroup.net The Australia Group homepage]