Joint resolution replacing B3-0552, 0555, 0562, 0564, 0565 and 0660/91

The European Parliament

A. Having regard to its resolution of 22 November 1990 on the Intergovernmental Conferences in the context of Parliament's strategy for European Union, in particular the principles and objectives for joint action in the area of foreign and security policy set out in Article 130u,

B. Whereas the arms export policy of the Member States of the Community is in urgent need of regulation now without waiting until such time as the common security policy can be implemented,

C. Whereas the general principles, valid at world level, governing the arms trade and, in particular the flow of weapons systems to the developing countries should be defined,

D. Welcoming the speech by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Perez de Cuellar, to the European Parliament on 16 April 1991 calling for significant measures in the field of disarmement and arms trade restrictions,

E. Having regard to the indications that the Commission is considering an initiative to coordinate the control of arms exports as one of the measures which might be taken in the aftermath of the war,

F. Whereas the war in the Gulf, on such a scale, was made possible only through the systematic arming of Iraq with non-conventional weapons, in particular chemical and biological weapons, in which European firms participated to a large degree,

G. Whereas uncontrolled arms exports pose a threat to European security,

H. Whereas regions of the Community where employment is heavily dependent on the defence industries must be encouraged to diversify into socially more useful production,

I. Having regard to its resolution of 14 March 1989 on European arms exports,

J. Having regard to its resolution of 13 July 1990 on disarmament, the conversion of defence industries and arms exports,

1. Calls on the Member States to reach a rapid agreement on the non-utilization of Article 223 of the EEC Treaty as regards the production of and trade in arms, munitions and war material and, at the Intergovernmental Conference, to reach a decision to delete that article from the Treaty,

2. Calls on the Community to take immediate steps to monitor and reduce exports of arms, goods and technology capable of being put to military use and to draw up Community regulations on arms exports providing for sanctions against Member States that do not respect arms embargos,

3. Calls on the Member States to harmonize their legislation on arms exports to make breaches of the Law criminal offences, so as to avoid a situation in which Member States whose legislation is less strict are the exit points of choice for Community arms exports,

4. Calls for a complete ban on the export of technology and raw materials for the production of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons; considers, in this connection, that Council Regulation (EEC) n· 428/89 of 20 February 1989 concerning the export of certain chemical products represents a useful first step in this direction but that the war in the Gulf has revealed it to be quite insufficient; therefore calls for a detailed survey of deliveries before and during the Gulf war and a list of the uncoordinated restrictions adopted by certain governements in recent months,

5. Calls for a ban on the export of arms, goods and technology capable of being put to military use to countries which ignore the internationally recognized standards of human rights, in particular, the Fourth Geneva Convention; calls for the necessary action to be taken to ensure that this ban is applied by all countries with the aid of the United Nations and by any other suitable means,

6. Calls for cooperation in the field of civil technology and economic aid for countries that renounce the acquisition of technologically advanced offensive military arsenals, that reduce military expenditure and shape their domestic policy in accordance with the principles of democracy and rigorous respect for human rights,

7. Calls on the Community to support the proposal to establish a UN register of arms sales as a step towards bringing the international arms trade under control and insists that the export of Conventional weapons to areas of instability, as well as that of weapons of mass destruction, must be subject to strict controls,

8. Calls for better coordination of the European arms industry in the EC internal market with a view to reducing surplus capacity and avoiding duplication, particularly in the cost-intensive area of research; considers that the rationalization and conversion of the arms sector are essential conditions for reducing the economic need for arms exports,

9. Calls for assistance to be given to the arms production industries to help them switch to civilian activities and for the Commission to make sure that such aid does not in fact take the form of disguised subsidies used to assist the recovery of these industries; calls, in this context, for account to be taken of the need to maintain employment in high-technology sectors,

10. Calls on the Community and the Member States to establish structures to assist in the conversion of arms industries and calls on its political groups to give serious consideration to the possibility of creating a broadly representative committee of inquiry into the arms trade and arms exports,

11. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, EPC and the Commission.