WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3656/97 by Mihail PAPAYANNAKIS to the Commission. The arms trade
Date: 1997-11-19
Institutions: European Parliament, PAPAYANNAKIS
Subjects: EU Member State, EU policy, EU publication, arms industry, arms trade, code of conduct, export, military equipment, professional ethics, third country

C 158/170

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

25. 5. 98

As  part  of  the  discussions  on  the  reform  of  the  market  organisation  for  olive  oil,  the  Commission  will  look
carefully at the various aspects of the question of mixtures.

(1)  OJ 172, 30.9.1966.
(2)  OJ L 278, 11.10.1997.

(98/C 158/227)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3656/97

by Mihail Papayannakis (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(19 November 1997)

Subject: The arms trade

Some  Member  States  of  the  European  Union  are  arms  producers  and  export  arms  to  third  countries,  and  the
Commission has taken decisions since 1991 on regulating the arms trade but these decisions have been without
any binding force or follow-up.

This is a highly sensitive sector and represents many important interests and influences many key sectors of the
economy. However, despite the fact that certain Member States have now adopted codes of conduct on arms
sales, there is as yet no common European policy in this area.

In view of the above, will the Commission say whether it intends to take initiatives to introduce a code of conduct
to regulate the arms trade in a binding manner, and if so when?

Answer given by Mr Van den Broek on behalf of the Commission

(5 December 1997)

The Commission is concerned about the diverging policies and practices which exist among Member States in
the sensitive area of arms production and exports. The Parliament adopted in May 1997 a resolution, based on the
Titley  report,  which  called  upon  the  Commission  to  draw  up  a  white  paper  on  arms  exports  so  that  a  better
assessment might be made of the place of the Community in the world arms trade. The Commission welcomed
this suggestion and is currently preparing the document.

(98/C 158/228)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3657/97

by Anne McIntosh (PPE) to the Council

(19 November 1997)

Subject: Asylum provisions

With  European  Union  Member  States  applying  a  variety  of  standards  and  tests  in  relation  to  those  seeking
asylum, does the Council foresee the implementation of minimum EU-wide criteria aimed at discouraging bogus
asylum seekers from claiming national state benefits?

Answer

(12 February 1998)

The Council has adopted a number of measures to harmonize the procedures that Member States apply when
examining asylum requests. These measures are aimed at giving fair treatment to any asylum seeker, including
the possibility of not granting refugee status under the Geneva Convention of 1951 to persons who are unable to
establish that they are persecuted under the terms of that Convention. In particular, the following measures have
been adopted:

1.  Joint position of 4 March 1996 defined by the Council on the harmonized application of the definition of the
term (cid:145)refugee(cid:146) in Article 1 of the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 relating to the status of refugees (1).