Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-10-04-Speech-3-319"
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"en.20001004.12.3-319"2
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"Mr President, I congratulate Mr Titley on his report, as others have done earlier today.
As many of us said at the time in 1998, we saw the code of conduct as a very important first step towards having common and responsible arms export policies. But we saw it as a beginning and not by any means the end of the process. It is important to recognise that, at a time when our European concerns can seem somewhat abstract and rhetorical, controlling weapons is a real way in which Member States' governments, the Commission and Parliament can demonstrate the positive benefits of being able to work together here for a common approach to arms control.
Now we have to look at how we can further strengthen that code of conduct and in particular make it legally binding. We see dealers buying Cold War weapons in Eastern Europe, flying them into African war zones and creating terrible suffering. It is important to develop ways in which EU candidate countries can be brought into the information exchange and into consultation mechanisms. Candidate countries should also be involved in discussions on the further development and strengthening of the code.
Secondly, it is important that we reach a common understanding of what the code's criteria actually mean in practice. The acid test of the code will be whether it deters undercutting. There should be in-depth multilateral consultations before one country can grant a licence that another has rejected.
In a democratic Europe we have a right to know which countries are selling arms and where. Therefore all Member States have to publish arms reports. What we would like to see is a consolidated European report which should be published and scrutinised by this Parliament. All proposed transactions organised by arms brokers should be subject to the licence approval of national governments and all countries should require all arms broking activities to be licensed.
Finally, arms fuel conflicts all over the world. We urge our governments in Europe to tighten up the controls on the movements of these lethal weapons."@en1
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