WRITTEN QUESTION E-1324/01

by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Council

(4 May 2001)

Subject: Article 296(1)(b) of the EC Treaty

Pursuant to Article 296(1)(b), Member States are permitted to waive the general principle of competition (Title VI of the EC Treaty) in the case of military procurement. The Council adopted the list of products to which this applies on 15 April 1958.

What products appear on the list of 15 April 1958 to which Article 296(1)(b) refers?

Reply

(27 September 2001)

The list of the arms, munition and war materiel, including nuclear arms, to which the provisions of Article 296 paragraph 1(b) of the Treaty of Rome are applicable is given below.

1. Portable and automatic firearms, such as rifles, carbines, revolvers, pistols, sub-machine guns and machine guns, except for hunting weapons, pistols and other low calibre weapons of the calibre less than 7 mm.

2. Artillery, and smoke, gas and flame throwing weapons such as:

(a) cannon, howitzers, mortars, artillery, anti-tank guns, rocket launchers, flame throwers, recoilless guns;

(b) military smoke and gas guns.

3. Ammunition for the weapons at 1 and 2 above.

4. Bombs, torpedoes, rockets and guided missiles:

(a) bombs, torpedoes, grenades, including smoke grenades, smoke bombs, rockets, mines, guided missiles, underwater grenades, incendiary bombs;

(b) military apparatus and components specially designed for the handling, assembly, dismantling, firing or detection of the articles at (a) above.

5. Military fire control equipment:

(a) firing computers and guidance systems in infra-red and other night guidance devices;

(b) telemeters, position indicators, altimeters;

(c) electronic tracking components, gyroscopic, optical and acoustic;

(d) bomb sights and gun sights, periscopes for the equipment specified in this list.

6. Tanks and specialist fighting vehicles:

(a) tanks;

(b) military type vehicles, armed or armoured, including amphibious vehicles;

(c) armoured cars;

(d) half-tracked military vehicles;

(e) military vehicles with tank bodies;

(f) trailers specially designed for the transportation of the ammunition specified at paragraphs 3 and 4.

7. Toxic or radioactive agents:

(a) toxic, biological or chemical agents and radioactive agents adapted for destructive use in war against persons, animals or crops;

(b) military apparatus for the propagation, detection and identification of substances at paragraph (a) above;

(c) counter-measures material related to paragraph (a) above.

8. Powders, explosives and liquid or solid propellants:

(a) powders and liquid or solid propellants specially designed and constructed for use with the material at paragraphs 3, 4 and 7 above;

(b) military explosives;

(c) incendiary and freezing agents for military use.

9. Warships and their specialist equipment:

(a) warships of all kinds;

(b) equipment specially designed for laying, detecting and sweeping mines;

(c) underwater cables.

10. Aircraft and equipment for military use.

11. Military electronic equipment.

12. Cameras specially designed for military use.

13. Other equipment and material.

14. Specialised parts and items of material included in this list insofar as they are of a military nature.

15. Machines, equipment and items exclusively designed for the study, manufacture, testing and control of arms, munitions and apparatus of an exclusively military nature included in this list.