91997E3656

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.