WRITTEN QUESTION E-3873/00 by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Council. The arms trade.
Date: 2000-12-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Middle East, arms limitation, arms trade, defence expenditure, export restriction, illicit trade, precious stones, rapid reaction force

21.8.2001

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 235 E/31

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(28 February 2001)

The Ebola outbreak in Uganda appears to have been brought under control. A total of 428 cases and
173 deaths were recorded with a case fatality rate of 40 %. Masindi and Mbara have been declared Ebola
free. The worst hit district of Gulu reported its last case on 12 January 2001 and is expected to be declared
Ebola free on 24 February.

At the onset of the outbreak the EU, through ECHO, rapidly approved a contribution of € 250 000 to
support the work of the Ebola Task Force. This sum channelled through WHO, supported disease
surveillance and control, case management and a public education campaign.

Immediately on notification of the first cases in Gulu district in October 2000, the Ministry of Health
established a national Task Force to coordinate the response to the epidemic. The task force, which
included technical experts from WHO Geneva, and CDC Atlanta, established multi-disciplinary teams to
work with hospital and district health staff. The teams established isolation and laboratory facilities in
tracing and
treatment of
hospitals, carried out active case detection,
implemented an effective national information campaign.

infected patients and contact

The last case in Gulu district, the baby of the previous case detected on 22 December 2000, was reported
on 12 January 2001. The last case in Masindi district was diagnosed on 19 December 2000. As of
24 January the cumulative total numbers are 396 cases and 150 deaths in Gulu district and 27 cases and
19 deaths in Masindi district. While the epidemic appears to be contained and CDC staff have been
withdrawn, the work of the task force is ongoing. Surveillance and prevention measures need to be
continued for some time. WHO recommends no special restrictions on travel or trade to or from Uganda.

The donor response, technical support and funding for control measures were rapid and substantial. The
Ministry of Health acted rapidly and in an open manner in co-ordinating an effective response to the
epidemic.

Under its international research collaboration programme (INCO), the Commission has supported a project
on Ebola fever diagnosis and surveillance, targeting the border region of Guinea-Conakry and Ivory Coast,
where one of the last larger epidemics took place. New rapid diagnostic tests are under development and
a district-based surveillace programme established in West-Africa is elaborated. Possibilities to involve
Ugandan laboratories in these activities will be considered.

(2001/C 235 E/035)

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
Israel and the Arab Emirates will devote USD 60 billion to military
countries such as Saudi Arabia,
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;

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21.8.2001

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(cid:146)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(cid:146)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(cid:146) 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).