EU resolution comes after the recentreportthat the United Kingdom (UK) exported almost 3.6 billion worth of arms to Saudi Arabiasince thewar on Yemenbegan. But the UK is not the only one:arms exports to the Middle Eastroseby 86 % between 2012 and 2016Saudi Arabiahasimported 212 % more than over the previous five years, the United Arab Emirates up 63%, Qatar up 245% and Kuwait up 175%.During the same period international transfers of major weapons reached the highest volume for any five-year period since the end of the Cold War. The EU emerges as the second largest arms supplier in the world (26%), after USA (33%) and before Russia (23%).
The motion, drafted byBodil Valero, a Swedish member of the Green block, scrutinizes the level of compliance by EU member states with their own binding commitments governing the exports of military equipment and technology.
The current EUCommon Position 2008/944/CFSPlists8 criteriathat all EU countries have to assess before issuing arms exports licences, including respect for human rights and international humanitarianlawby the recipient country, preservation of regional peace, security and stability or the attitude of the buyer country to terrorism. For instance, EU Member States shall not grant licenses if there is a clear risk that the military technology or equipment might be used for internal repression or against another country or to assert by force a territorial claim.
The resolution, titled Resolution on arms export: implementation of Common Position 2008/944/CFSP, was adopted by 386 votes to 107, overcoming opposition from the conservatives. DuringTuesdays debatein Strasburg, members of European Peoples Party (EPP) and European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), had expressed their strong opposition to the text stressing the vital importance of national sovereignty and Member States right to self-defence. On Wednesday, ECR voted against the resolution while EPPs official positionwasmerely to abstain, moving away from its previous position to strictly oppose any call for an arms embargo against Saudi Arabia.
In the resolution, MEPs criticise Member States for violating EUscommon arms export control systemby providing weapons to countries that used them in armed conflicts or for internal repression, such as Saudi Arabia in Yemen. They condemn Member States conflicting decisions on arms export, and in particularthe lack of a common approach to the situation in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
MEPs deplorethat some Member States have continued supplying military technology to Saudi Arabia despite the fact that itis being used in the conflict in Yemen. They stress that exports to Saudi Arabia are non-compliant with at least criterion2regarding thecountrys involvement in grave breaches of humanitarian law as established by competent UN authorities. MEPs also declare that such exports violate criteria 4, 6, 7 and 8 of the Common Position. They thereforere-iterate the call fromtheresolutionof 25 February 2016on the humanitarian situation in Yemen, and urge EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherinito impose an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia, noting that the situation in Yemen has since further deteriorated also due to military action carried out by the Saudi-led coalition.
The European Parliament expresses similar concerns about possible diversions of exports to Saudi Arabia and Qatar to armed non-states actors in Syriawho commit serious violations of human rights law and humanitarian law while acknowledging that most of the arms in the hands of insurgents and terrorist groups have come from non-European sources.
The resolution further calls for a strict, transparent, effective and commonly accepted and defined arms control system. It asks on EU Member States and the European External Action Service (EEAS) to take additional measures on arms control, including:
- to set up a anarms control supervisory bodyunder the auspices of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini,
- to create amechanism which sanctionsthose Member States which do not comply with the Common Position,
- toexpand the list of arms export criteria, to oblige member states to assess the risk that an arms transfer could spurcorruption,
- to increase thetransparency on arms export reportingby providing more and timely information on export licences and turning theEU annual report into a searchable online databaseby the end of 2018,
- to createeffective post-shipment controlsto ensure that arms are not being re-exported to unauthorised end users.
However, according to theSputnik,European countries such as Italy continue to increase arms exports to Saudi Arabia in spite of European Parliament resolutions calling for an embargo on sales to Riyadh.
Enrico Piovesana, an Italian journalist and director ofthe Center forMonitoring ofArms Expenditures (MILEX), toldSputnik Italiathat Italy's exports have risen dramatically.
Piovesana said, "According tothe most recent data, for2016, income fromarms exports doubled incomparison withthe previous year, from 7.9 billion ($9.4 billion) to 14.16 billion. This figure is even more impressive if we compare it withdata for2014: 2.6 billion." He added, "This is significant growth, and the Italian foreign ministry considers it a triumph: inits last report, it said that this sector has finally emerged fromthe [economic] crisis thanks tothe flexibility ofits supply."
The non-binding resolution passed bythe European Parliament onWednesday is the third call intwo years byEU parliamentarians toenforce EU Council rules onthe arms export control and impose an embargo onexports toSaudi Arabia.
Now that the European Parliament has spoken, once again, the ball is in the European Councils court. Its time that the member states lived up to their own commitments regarding arms exports.
