92001E1234

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1234/01

by Carlos Carnero González (PSE) to the Council

(11 April 2001)

Subject: Arms sales by Spain to Equatorial Guinea and EU Code of Conduct

A report by the Unesco study centre at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, just published, states that Spain sold substantial numbers of weapons to Equatorial Guinea in 2000. According to this report, commissioned by Amnesty International, Greenpeace, Intermón Oxfam and Médecins Sans Frontières (all of which NGOs are participating in the campaign Adiós a las armas [A Farewell to Arms]), 11 500 missiles were supplied to the value of approximately ESP 182 million.

Equatorial Guinea, as is stressed in the report submitted by Mr Gustavo Gallón Giraldo to the UN Commission on Human Rights and as is confirmed in the complaints made by numerous independent bodies, is under the yoke of a regime which systematically violates human rights and consciously denies democratic principles. It has not, to date, signed either the Convention against Torture or the Statute of the International Criminal Court.

The author of this question was able to observe in person just over a month ago, in the course of a visit to Malabo and Bata, the failure of the regime of President Teodoro Obiang to respect human rights and democratic principles, despite his repeated promises to the contrary to several international partners, including the EU in the person of Commission President Romano Prodi, whom he met in September 2000.

In the face of these complaints, is the Council considering asking the Spanish government to supply a detailed explanation on the matter? Does the Council not agree with the author of this question that these sales of missiles are contrary to the principles of the EU's Code of Conduct on arms exports to countries such as Equatorial Guinea which fail to respect human rights? Does the Council intend to ask the Madrid authorities to cease this trade, in compliance with the Code of Conduct, until such time as Equatorial Guinea becomes a genuine democracy?

Reply

(27 September 2001)

The European Union's position on arms exports is reflected in the Code of Conduct on Arms Exports adopted on 8 June 1998. The particular case raised by the Honourable Member has not been raised in the Council but decisions on whether to grant an export licence are taken by each Member State individually taking full account of the Code of Conduct and the criteria set out in it. The Code of Conduct does not provide for Member States to give any information to the Council about the grounds on which export licences are granted nor does it lie in the Council's purview to pass judgement on any particular transaction. However, Member States are required every year to inform the Council about their arms exports; on this basis an annual report is produced which allows for a common assessment of the functioning of the Code.