EU list aims to strengthen policing of arms exports

Date: 09/09/1999

By Simon Taylor

EU governments are hoping to achieve a major breakthrough in efforts to police arms exports at a meeting later this month.

Officials are planning to draw up the first ever Union-wide report on which arms exports have been turned down by governments because they break international rules on the sale of weapons to trouble spots. The list will be a useful tool for member states as they seek to stop arms dealers who have been refused licences in one country from applying again in another where controls are not as tight.

All 15 member states have now submitted national reports on applications which have been rejected, paving the way for a decision on the list at a meeting of arms trade experts on 21 September.

But anti arms-trade campaigners have expressed concern that the system will be less effective than hoped if the lists are not made public. "For the system to work properly, parliamentarians need to verify their own national performance and compare it with other countries. But without transparency, it defeats the object," said Ian Davidson of London-based Saferworld.

Officials said the issue of whether to publish the lists would be discussed at the meeting.

EU governments have agreed to compile and share lists of rejected applications as part of a code of conduct on arms exports drawn up under the UK presidency last year. The code is designed to prevent arms being sold to combatants in the numerous conflict zones across the world in defiance of international weapons embargoes. Governments also pledged to refuse applications to export equipment which could be used for internal repression.

Countries which reject bids for sales of arms will have to register the decision on a list, citing the reason for turning down the request. Other EU member states will then be able to check whether companies applying for licences have failed at their first attempt.

The Finns are also hoping to make progress on new rules to clamp down on arms brokers this month. The Germans have tabled proposals for regulations which would require all brokers who buy arms for sale outside the Union to apply for an export licence. The guidelines would apply to arms bought in non-EU countries which would not be covered by the normal controls on exports.

Member states responded positively to the German plan at a meeting in July, but asked for more time to examine it in detail.