Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, announced on the evening of Monday 14 September that the European External Action Service would launch “a public database on its website to enable all stakeholders to consult and analyse Member States’ arms exports in a user-friendly way” this year.
“Everyone will be able to know what Member States are exporting in terms of arms, so that they can get all the data they want on this subject”, he explained during a debate in the European Parliament ahead of the vote on the report by Hannah Neumann (Greens/EFA, Germany) on ‘Arms exports, implementation of Common Position 2008/944/CFSP’ on the evening of 16 September. According to Mr Borrell, the database will increase the Member States’ “opportunities for control and accountability”.
Furthermore, according to him, the EU Council Working Group on Arms Exports is preparing an EU Council Decision to lay down rules on end-user certificates for the export of small arms and light weapons along with ammunition.
Mr Borrell also announced that the EU’s annual report on arms exports in 2019 would be brought forward and published “probably next month, in October” instead of December. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)