Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-09-25-Speech-4-100"
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".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Mr von Wogau, I too am glad to be with you again today. I have not forgotten the excellent dialogue we engaged in at meetings of the various parliamentary and non-parliamentary groups when you tackled issues relating to European defence. In particular, I remember the time when I was leading the group on European defence policy within the Convention.
This is also the reason for the delay in drafting our proposal. The latter is now being considered by competent bodies within the Council. We still hope, however, that it will be possible to adopt it in the near future.
The Parliament report and the very important proposals by General Morillon you mentioned a moment ago, Mr von Wogau, both rightly highlight the link between export control measures and the development of a European Union defence procurement policy. Such a policy was proposed in the Commission communication of March 2003.
Clearly, there is a connection between relaxing controls on the movement of arms within the European Union on the one hand and strengthening and harmonising practices on the control of exports to third countries on the other.
In this connection, it is essential to consider carefully the proposals on a common monitoring system within the European Union. You and I both worked on this idea in the framework of the Convention. In light of this, it is now appropriate for us to explore the possibility of creating a European arms export control agency. We should also consider a European agency on armaments, procurement and research. Such an agency could be one of the instruments of a single European arms market. The latter is sorely needed, as you pointed out.
That concludes my response to the contribution by Mr von Wogau. Thank you for your attention, ladies and gentlemen.
Mr von Wogau, I would like to thank you for drafting the splendid report you have just presented to us, namely the Fourth annual report on the European Union Code of Conduct on Arms Exports.
One of the merits of this report is that it puts the problem of arms exports back in a wider context. In other words, it puts it in the context of the policies of the European Union. Some of the most notable of these are the challenge of the forthcoming enlargement, the common foreign and security policy, and of course, defence policy. Another is the need to develop a European procurement and defence policy.
The European Union Code of Conduct on Arms Exports adopted in 1998 is politically binding on Member States. The ultimate responsibility for arms exports rests with national governments. Nonetheless, certain aspects of the arms trade do come within the remit of the CFSP. The Commission fully endorses the CFSP, and endeavours to implement everything that falls within the competence of the Community. The Commission is prepared to collaborate with Member States in areas where responsibility is shared. Compliance with the regulation on products with a dual use is one such area.
The Commission welcomes the progress on implementation of the code and better transparency made last year by the Council under the Danish and Greek Presidencies. In particular, I would like to highlight the improvements concerning the data contained in the annual report and in the introduction of a record of the procedures agreed by the Member States within the framework of the code of conduct. I should also like to mention the adoption in June last year of the common position on the control of arms brokerage activities.
The Commission is aware of Parliament’s strong interest in this subject. We have taken special note of the constructive and ambitious position adopted in the House as reflected in your report, Mr von Wogau. Your report encourages the Council to pursue its work in this field and strive to improve it. We agree with almost all of your assessment of the fourth year of the implementation of this code, Mr von Wogau. We appreciate many of the suggestions put forward in your report. I refer both to those aimed at greater transparency and more rigorous control and to those seeking greater harmonisation and legally binding provisions.
We agree with your proposal to make more frequent use of the expertise of the group on conventional arms exports and the Council’s geographical working groups in order to draft common assessments and ensure a more multilateral approach. This could prove an important step towards harmonising the arms exports policies of all the Member States. More attention must be paid to the attempts to establish a common definition of the eighth criterion of the code regarding compatibility between arms exports and the technical and economic capacity of the country of destination.
I believe it is also very important for the European Union that the acceding countries should be fully engaged in procedures linked to the code of conduct, especially as regards the exchange of information and notification of licences refused. In addition, the European Union should continue to encourage third countries to adhere to the principles of the code. It should also continue to support efforts to create an international instrument for this field, especially the work within the framework of the G8.
The Commission has presented a draft Community Council regulation on the trade in certain goods and equipment that could be used to inflict torture, capital punishment or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. I believe it is essential to ensure respect for the European policy banning the death penalty and torture. No exceptions can be allowed. At the same time, the WTO provisions must be respected. Hence the relative complexity of the measure."@en1
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