Policy recommendations

  • All EU Member Sates should work towards an effective new Arms Trade Treaty and towards a new international instrument for the control over brokers. All EU Member States should implement extra-territorial legislation that enables them to control European brokers¡¦ operations from abroad;
  • The EU should adopt a legally binding Common Position on arms trade without any further delay, thereby making the Code of Conduct (CoC) a legally binding instrument;
  • The EU should strengthen the Code of Conduct so that all EU Member States are required to control all transit, are required to apply the CoC criteria for licensed production overseas or subsidiaries, and are required to demand end-user certificates and control over the re-transfer of their arms;
  • The EU should guarantee a more effective use of criterion 8 of the EU-Code of Conduct that takes greater account of the economic situation in the receiving country. This criterion should be redefined in such a way that Member States will only be able to permit a transfer if it can be ensured that the transfer will not harm sustainable development and the applicant/recipient can identify a legitimate defence need for the specific transfer;
  • The EU should discuss high military spending in their bilateral dialogues with those countries that receive EU development aid with the aim of lowering these expenditures and using these funds for development goals;
  • The EU should work towards more coherent policies; the EU council and Commission work groups on arms control and development policies should regularly meet and discuss issues of common concern.

Case: Arms-trade Policies

01-06-2011 ALDE group questions the Council on the Arms Trade Treaty

Trade in arms is an issue in which many EU member states are involved. EU member states export arms to so referred to friendly-nations which on their turn export these arms to countries with often instable governments. This is not intended by the member states and clearly undermines the development aspect of the member states and that of the EU.
Currently, the UN is in a process of preparing a global Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) in which amongst other is stated that member states are themselves responsible that these arms will not be used in battles which are in serious violations of international human rights or humanitarian law, or acts of genocide or crimes against humanity. Transparency should be one of the main pillars in the ATT.

Fair Politics welcomes the oral question by the ALDE group on the Arms Trade Treaty in which they question the Council on the EUs priorities on the global ATT. Next to this, they question the Council on how the EU will safeguard corruption. For this question the ALDE group will receive one point in our monitoring system, on behalf of the MEPs listed below.

Even though a ATT would be an excellent step and Fair Politics welcomes the initiative to work towards an ATT, there are steps which could be taken by the EU; The EU could strengthen the EU Code of Conduct (CoC) so that all EU Member States are required to control all transit, are required to apply the CoC criteria for licensed production overseas or subsidiaries, and are required to demand end-user certificates and control over the re-transfer of their arms.

Monitor fair: ALDE

Parliamentary question
O-000115/2011
9 May 2011
ORAL QUESTION, by Anneli Jäätteenmäki, Jelko Kacin, Marietje Schaake, Baroness Sarah Ludford, Ivo Vajgl, Charles Goerens, Stanimir Ilchev (ALDE)

Subject: Arms trade treaty
EU Member States are significant arms exporters. Seven out of the ten biggest arms exporters in the world come from the EU. In recent years numerous EU countries have exported arms and arms technologies to North Africa and to the Middle East (including Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen and Bahrain); Italy and France exported arms to Libya as late as 2010.
There are no global norms on arms transfers. The UN is in a process of preparing a global arms trade treaty and will hold a conference on the treaty in 2012. A working group to prepare the treaty and the conference was established last summer. The working group has now convened twice and will convene again in July this year.
Corruption within the security and defence sector, particularly in the arms trade, is a big and multifaceted problem and needs more attention. The EU Common Position on Control of Exports of Military Technology and Equipment (2008) does not include articles on corruption.
1. What are the EU priorities for the global arms trade treaty?
2. How will the EU safeguard sufficient criteria on corruption in the global arms trade treaty? What are the EU benchmarks?
3. Will the EEAS / Council prepare a common EU position on corruption in the arms trade or are any such preparations under way?