WRITTEN QUESTION E-3873/00

by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Council

(20 December 2000)

Subject: The arms trade

Thanks to oil profits Middle Eastern countries are once again investing in the military sector. This year countries such as Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Arab Emirates will devote USD 60 billion to military expenditure, 5 % more than the current budget.

As a consequence of this the United States has allocated new funding for defence, whilst Europe, with the exception of the United Kingdom, is reducing its military budget by 6 %.

Can the Council launch a programme of measures to discourage the buying and selling of arms based on:

1. asking the oil-producing countries to comply with the measures adopted at the Caracas summit regarding the reduction in the price of oil;

2. a ban on the illegal trade in diamonds in order to prevent profits from being turned into weapons;

3. urging the EU countries to increase the funding available for military research and development, precisely in order to meet the commitment to set up a joint European army?

Reply

(7 May 2001)

The main principles of the EU regarding the arms trade are set out in: the EU programme for preventing and combating illicit trafficking in conventional arms, adopted on 26 June 1997; the European Union Code of Conduct on Arms Exports, adopted on 8 June 1998; the EU Joint Action on the European Union's contribution to combating the destabilising accumulation and spread of small arms and light weapons, adopted on 17 December 1998.

In particular, the Code of Conduct defines the specific conditions with which Member States have to comply when exporting arms. Criterion Four of the Code underlines the need to preserve regional peace, security and stability. Therefore, Member States will not issue an export licence if there is a clear risk that the intended recipient would use the proposed export aggressively against another country or to assert by force a territorial claim. Furthermore, Criterion Eight of this Code states that the compatibility of the arms exports with the technical and economic capacity of the recipient country has to be considered. Therefore, Member States will take into account, in the light of information from relevant sources, such as UNDP, World Bank, IMF and OECD reports, whether the proposed export would seriously hamper the sustainable development of the recipient country. In this context the Member States will consider the recipient country's relative levels of military and social expenditure, taking into account also any EU or bilateral aid.

Under the Code of Conduct, Member States are committed to assessing the situation of potential or actual recipients of Member States' arms exports. They will also use their best endeavours to encourage other arms-exporting States to subscribe to the principles of the Code of Conduct.

The European Union has always supported unreservedly all endeavours at international level to put an end to the illegal exploitation of diamonds and other assets. In particular, it advocates the establishment of an effective international certification system for rough diamonds, so as to put a stop to trade in illegally mined diamonds. The Council considers, however, that account must be taken of the fact that the legitimate diamond trade is of great importance for many countries and can contribute to stability and prosperity, and that the integrity of the legitimate diamond industry should not therefore be brought into disrepute.

At a Capabilities Commitment Conference held in Brussels on 20 November 2000, EU Member States announced the military resources which they are prepared to supply for Petersberg tasks carried out by the EU, in accordance with the headline goal set by the European Council in Helsinki. At the same time, on 21 November 2000, non-EU NATO members and accession candidates also announced the military resources which they are prepared to supply.

The aim is to make the EU better able to handle crises militarily through the use of existing forces. It is thus not inconceivable that there may be a need to improve military capabilities in some areas. This is currently being looked into.

It should be noted that the European security and defence policy (ESDP) does not entail the creation of a European army, but rather the establishment of a rapid reaction force based on voluntary contributions (the European Council having decided in Helsinki that Member States must be able, by 2003, to deploy within 60 days and sustain for at least one year military forces of up to 50 000-60 000 persons, capable of carrying out the full range of Petersberg tasks).