Debate: Arms export: implementation of Common Position /CFSP
Date: MONDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER 2020
Speaker: Josep Borrell Fontelles
Language: EN

You are right that decisions on arms exports receive great attention and are politically sensitive because indeed trade in arms may potentially carry the risk of serious breaches for human rights, humanitarian law and regional stability, and most of the time the three things together. A strict implementation by Member States of the agreed common positions on arms exports is therefore essential to uphold the European Union’s values and its strategic objective. As you state in your report, this is also crucial for our credibility as a geopolitical player. A high level of convergence with regard to its full application will indeed more effectively ensure respect for human rights and international law by all parties involved. I think we can say that we, the European Union, are moving fast in the field of defence. The European Defence Fund and the European Peace Facility will serve to strengthen internal collaboration on defence matters to make the European Union a more capable security provider at the global level. Our defence industries will become ever more closely intertwined. They will strengthen our strategic autonomy and the protection of our citizens, fostering innovation and saving cost. All that is right, but, at the same time, in this context, further convergence of arms export policies becomes still more important.  As mentioned in your motion for a resolution, maintaining a vibrant and innovative defence industry in the European Union is a key component of our strategic autonomy and our European defence. It serves to ensure our capabilities and reduce dependency, while the defence industry is also a major source of technological innovation. I will give you some examples. In 2018, it generated more than EUR 100 billion in revenue and supported more than 400 000 jobs in Europe – 400 000 jobs! To ensure a thriving defence industry, exports are essential, but of course the defence industry is different from other industrial sectors and deserves special consideration, taking into account its obvious links to national and international security, human rights and humanitarian values. That’s why the European Union Member States have also exported control rules in place for military equipment since 2008. Under the common position on arms export, Member States assess arms export license applications against a number of criteria established to ensure our strategic interests and also our values. A review of this text was finalised last year. The Council agreed that the common position will serve this purpose but introduce some changes to bring the text into line with the adopted Arms Trade Treaty and other recent developments. In your own statement on the common position on arms export control, you stress three key objectives: the need for increased control, convergency and transparency. First, your support for an increase control. Let me start by saying that I am grateful the report welcomes operations within these objectives to implement a United Nations arms embargo on Libya. This is a concrete example of what the European Union does to prevent arms ending up in the wrong hands. Further, as a global actor, the EU supports outreach activities to assist countries in the European neighbourhood and beyond in setting up arms export control mechanisms and implementing the Arms Trade Treaty.  Second, on transparency, European Union Member States are already among the most transparent countries, including in arms exports. Still, in order to increase the possibility to further scrutinise accountability, I am glad to say that this year the European External Action Service will launch a public, searchable database on its website to allow all stakeholders to consult and analyse Member States’ arms exports in a user-friendly way. So everybody will be able to know what the Member States’ arms exports are about – everybody will be able to find out whatever data they want to know about it.   Third, and lastly, increased convergence. Member States are holding regular exchanges to share information on policies, denial of licences and possible measures. As a concrete result, a new initiative has been launched and the working party on arms exports is currently preparing a Council decision to set rules on end-user certificates for the export of small arms and light weapons and their ammunition.  Let me conclude by anticipating that the next annual European Union arms export report on 2019 will become available shortly, probably in October, two months earlier than in previous years, and it will bring a lot of precious information about these developments. I would like to thank you for your attention. I am looking forward to hearing your points or views.