European Union & Small ArmsIn 1991 and 1992, the Foreign Ministers of the EC agreed upon
a series of arms export criteria. Member states were not legally obliged
to apply these criteria in making national decisions about whether to permit
arms exports. However, they made a strong political commitment to consider the criteria
in the licensing process. In the 1994 Treaty on European Union, the member states decided on a Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). Ever since, the EU gradually has become an arena of armament cooperation and an independent actor on a number of issues related to arms transfers. More about intra-EU armament cooperation The Programme for Preventing and Combating Illicit Trafficking in Conventional Arms", was adopted by the EU Council of Ministers working group COARM in 1997. The programme provides a coherent framework for tackling illicit weapons trafficking, but makes no provisions for reviewing, reforming or harmonising regulations among EU member states. More
about the EU and illicit arms trafficking More about the EU Code of Conduct In 1998 the Council also adopted a Joint Action on the European Union's contribution to combating the destabilizing the accumulation and spread of small arms and light weapons. More about the EU Joint Action on small arms Since the introduction of the Code, a number of other policy instruments and agreed practices have been added to an increasing list of joint EU efforts in the area. A council declaration of June 2000 adopted a common list of military equipment covered by the European Union code of conduct on arms exports. More about the EU Common Military List The latest EU effort in the area came in June 2003, as the Council adopted a Common Position on the control of arms brokering. More about EU and Arms Brokering Since the early 90s, the European Parliament has actively followed this process. The Parliament has both expressed opinions on arms transfers issues in general and in connection with the annual reports issued by the Council under the Code of Conduct on Arms Exports. More about the European Parliament and Arms Exports An overview of many EU initiatives can be found in an information folder published by the European Commission. Download: Small arms and light weapons: The response of the European Union (PDF) |
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