Activities of Tunne KELAM related to 2018/2157(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on arms exports: implementation of Common Position 2008/944/CFSP PDF (385 KB) DOC (71 KB)
Amendments (19)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital –A (new)
Recital –A (new)
-A. whereas the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence is laid down in Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas Common Position 2008/944/CFSP is a legally binding framework laying down eight criteria; whereas, wherever these are not met, the issuance of an export licence should be denied (criteria 1-4) or consideration should at least be given to doing so (criteria 5-8); whereas the decision to transfer or deny the transfer of any military technology or equipment remains at the national discretion of each Member State according to article 4(2) of the Common Position;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the latest figures14 show that arms exports from the EU-28 amounted to over 27 % of the global total in 2013-2017, which makes them, collectively, the second largest arms supplier in the world after the US (34 %) and followed by Russia (22 %); whereas years 2015 and 2016 have been the years in which by far the historicallyobserved the highest numbers of arms exports licences have been granted since the beginning of EU data collection, with a total value of EUR 195.95 billion in 2015 and, according to the most recent report by the Working Party on Conventional Arms Exports (COARM), EUR 191.45 billion in 201615 ; _________________ 14 Trends in international arms transfers, 2017 (SIPRI Fact Sheet, March 2018). 15 http://enaat.org/eu-export- browser/licence.de.html
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas not all Member States make a full submission to COARM; whereas, because of the differing data collection arrangements and submission procedures of individual Member States and their different interpretation of the eight criteria, data sets are incomplete and vary, and arms export practices diverge widely;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas the defence sector has become a focal point of EU policy since the European Global Strategy (EUGS) argustates that a ‘sustainable, innovative and competitive European defence industry is essential for Europe’s strategic autonomy and for a credible CSDP’17 ; whereas the main task of the European Defence Fund and, as a precursor, the EDIDP, which has recently been launched, is to ‘support the competitiveness of Europe’s defence industry’18 ; _________________ 17 A Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and. Security Policy: ‘Shared Vision, Common Action: A Stronger Europe’, Brussels, June 2016. 18 Launching the European Defence Fund, COM(2017)0295, Brussels, 7.6.2017.
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph –1 (new)
Paragraph –1 (new)
-1. Underlines that states have the legitimate right to acquire military technology for the purposes of self- defence; notes that maintaining a defence industry serves as part of the self-defence of the Member States;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph –1 a (new)
Paragraph –1 a (new)
-1a. Notes that a European defence market serves as an instrument for guaranteeing the security and defence of Member States, Union citizens and contributes to the implementation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and in particular the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP); calls on the Member States to overcome the current lack of efficiency in defence spending due to duplication, fragmentation, lack of interoperability and to aim for the EU to become a security provider also by better controlling arms exports;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Acknowledges that the EU is the only union of states to have a legally binding framework through which arms export control is being improved, including in crisis regions and countries with a questionable human rights record; welcomes, in this connection, the fact that European and non-European third countries have joined the arms export control system on the basis of the Common Position; encourages also remaining candidate countries, countries in the process of attaining candidate status, or countries otherwise wishing to engage themselves on the path of EU accession, to apply the provisions of the Common Position;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes with concern that the eight criteria are applied and interpreted with varying degrees of rigour in the Member States; calls, therefore, for a standard, uniformly strict interpretation and full implementation of the Common Position with all its obligations;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. CriticisNotes the violations of the eight criteria by Member States and the fact that military technology does sometimes reach destinations and end users that do not meet the criteria laid down in the Common Position; considers that uniform and consistent application of the eight criteria should be promoted; regrets the lack of provisions on sanctions to be imposed on Member States that fail to comply with the eight criteria when granting licencesurges the Member States to improve the consistency of the implementation of the Common Position and advises the Member States to make provision for arrangements to conduct independent checks;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Is alarmed by the fact that 97.2 % of licence requests for exports to Egypt and Saudi Arabia were granted even though exports into both countries violate at least criteria 1 to 6 of the Common Position, and bearing in mind that failure to meet criteria 1 to 4 must lead to a denial of the licence; regrets that almost all licence applications (95 %) for exports to Saudi Arabia have been granted as regards category ML919 (i.e. vessels of war) exports, which are used to enforce the naval blockade on Yemen, contributing to the deterioration of the humanitarian situation and to the ongoing suffering of the population of Yemen; notes that some Member States have effectively halted their arms exports to Saudi Arabia; _________________ 19 Vessels of war (surface or underwater), special naval equipment, accessories, components and other surface vessels http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52016 XG0406(01)&from=EN
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Is concerned that the proliferation of weapon systems in wartime and in situations of significant political tension may disproportionately affect civilians; is alarmed at the global arms raceunderlines that conflicts should be solved by diplomatic means as a priority; and that military approaches to solving political conflict and turmoil; underlines that conflicts should be solved by should be considered only once the diplomatic means as a priorityre exhausted;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Insists, in the light of the Common Position review process, that support should be voiced for powerful, clear and unambiguous wording in the Common Position in order to avoid differing interpretations and applications of the criteria;Notes that the Council conducts the reassessment of the implementation of Common Position and the fulfilment of its objectives in2018; , urges that the Common Position’s reviewassessment of the implementation examines how the Common Position is implemented at national level, including an assessment of the different ways in which the Common Position is implemented in states’ laws and regulations, the methods used to assess licence applications and the government agencies and ministries that are involved; stresses, in this connection, that projects funded with the newly launched EDIDP and the future Defence Fund, must come under national and EU control and reporting mechanisms/regimes and be subject to full parliamentary scrutiny;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Criticises the fact that a number of Member States did not make full submissions to the nineteenth annual report on the basis of detailed, country-specific data; notes that Cyprus submitted a ‘nil’ report; criticises the fact that Greece did not submit a report at all, Italy and France only reported total data on the value of actual exports and Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Malta and the United Kingdom did not report values of actual exports; is concerned that, as a result, important information is missing from the COARM annual report, which is therefore not up to date or able to present a complete picture of Member States’ export activities; considers that a standardised verification and reporting system should be established to provide more detailed and exhaustive information; reiterates its request that all Member States, especially the main arms- exporting ones which have not made full submissions, provide a full set of data regarding their past exports with a view to the next annual report;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Notes that not all EU national parliaments scrutinise governmental licensing decisions by, inter alia, producing annual arms export reports; calls, therefore, for a general increase in parliamentary and public oversight; points to Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, which provide for the possibility of regular responses to the EU Annual Reports on Arms Exports;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Welcomes regular consultations with national parliaments, arms export control authorities, industry associations and civil society as central to meaningful transparency; calls on COARM, all the Member States and the EEAS to enhance dialogue with civil society and consultations with national parliaments and arms export control authorities; encourages national parliaments, civil society and academia to exercise independent scrutiny of the arms trade, and calls on the Member States and the EEAS to support such activities, including by financial means;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Is of the opinion that an effective international arms control agreement should cover state-to-state transfers, state- to-privnon-state-end-user transfers and leases, as well as loans, gifts, aid or any other form of transfer;