Brussels, 27/11/2006 (Agence Europe) - On 23 November the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee appealed for better implementation of the code of conduct on EU arms exports, which dates back to 1998. By adopting by a large majority the own initiative report from Spanish Green Raül Romeva i Rueda (47 votes for, 2 against and no abstentions), the parliamentary committee judges it “unacceptable” that this code has still not been adopted as a common position of the Council (which would make it binding) when the text has been approved by the COARM working group (export of convention weapons) in June 2005. The committee considers that Member States of the EU should reach an agreement on a list of countries involved in armed conflicts and wars and to where arms exports should be banned. It also believes that greater attention should be paid to the human rights situation in countries where arms are sent. In this context, it considers that the embargo on arms sales to China should not be lifted in the absence of noticeable progress in the human rights and social and political freedoms situation in the country. The question of respect by all for the embargos decreed by the EU on arms sales should also be on the agenda in all future negotiations begun by the Council of the EU and the European Commission as part of the European Neighbourhood Policy and the Cooperation Partnership Agreements. The EU code of conduct should be extended to private security firms, as is the case in the USA. The parliamentary committee is calling on the presidency of the EU and Member States of the EU to work towards the adoption of an international treaty on the arms trade which is legally binding and which establishes minimal global standards for arms transfers. The GUE/NGL, which voted against this text, announced its intention to present an opinion expressing its disagreement. (dt)