The Member States have urged non-members to adopt the principles of the Code and have welcomed the alignment to these principles of the associated countries of central and eastern Europe and Cyprus, the EFTA countries members of the European Economic Area, and Canada. These countries have declared that they share the principles contained in the EU Code of Conduct and will use them to guide their national export licensing decisions. In the spirit of the Code, some of these countries have now begun to circulate information on their conventional arms export control procedures. While the general experience of the implementation of the Code of Conduct has indeed been a positive one, there remain issues requiring additional clarification and development. In fact, improving the effectiveness of the Code to further enhance the high common European standards for arms exports will be an ongoing process, of which the annual review is an essential element.
Work continues on items still to be added to the list.
Various national proposals are under discussion with the aim of creating a comprehensive common European list of military equipment that reflects current international security and human rights concerns. Denials on items subject to national controls by Member States, but not included in the abovementioned list, will continue to be notified to all Member States. Priorities for coordinated action in the future The Code of Conduct is a unique document that demonstrates the European Union commitment to maintaining high common standards on arms exports. However, it is a new document and this review can therefore reflect only the initial experiences with its implementation. The finalisation of the common European list of military equipment is a top priority.