Strasbourg, 17/11/2005 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament is keeping pressure up on Member States so that they make the new code of conduct on arms exports legally binding (see EUROPE 8984 on the position of Member States along these lines), adopting the own-initiative report by Raul Romera i Rueda (Greens/EFA, Spain) on Thursday. The EP welcomes the establishment of a “toolbox” and mechanisms intended to regulate arms exports to countries for which the embargo has been lifted. In this context, it considers that the embargo against China cannot be lifted until the human rights and civil and political liberties situation has been clearly and lastingly improved. The Parliament rejects the amendments recommending that discussions be continued on the creation of a European control agency to monitor implementation of the ban on arms exports.
Furthermore, MEPs stress the risk that the proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALW) will have an adverse impact on sustainable development and on women and children. In this context, they call on the Council to adopt guidelines on SALW policies and programmes in developing countries. The Parliament also calls for an assessment to be made of the role of disarmament, demobilisation and reinsertion programmes (DDR) in the Union's external and development aid policies.