Activities of Klemen GROŠELJ related to 2020/2003(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on Arms export: implementation of Common Position 2008/944/CFSP
Amendments (49)
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the global crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic could have significant geostrategic repercussions and strengthens the need to build a genuine European strategic autonomy;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the publication of the 20th and 21st annual reports; deplores the late publication of information about exports during 2017 and 2018, albeit with delay; believes that the publication of both reports represent a step forward towards a common EU position in the field of arms export, in the framework of an ever more challenging international context marked by increasing volumes of export and decreasing levels of transparency; considers both reports as valuable complements to the UN reports on global and regional arms export transparency;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that ten Member States made full submissions to the 20th annual report, and eleven to the 21st; deplores the fact that two of the main exporting countries – Germany and the UK – did not make full submissions, thereby showing an increased implementation of common rules at a time of decreasing global transparency in the arms trade, especially among several major arms exporting countries; calls on Member States to provide submissions for future annual reports with a view to further strengthening the EU’s efforts to improve the transparency of the global arms trade;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Deplores the fact thatCalls on Member States to use very different information in order to generate data on the value of licences, which rendersharmonised and EU-level standardised data on the value of licences and other arms transfers, with a view to make the annual report considerably lessmore usable as a comparative data set and serves to diminish its transparency and accountability before citizens and parliaments; urges France, in particular, to refrain from submitting data on the value of licences at pre-contract stage and broad values for global licences, which undermines the comparability of the reportas a tool to increase its transparency and accountability;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that the countries of the Middle East and North Africa, a region of several armed conflicts, remain the foremost regional destination for exports according to the last two annual reports; is concernednotes that thisese regional focus undermines the Common Foreign and Security Policy (s face significant and continuing security challenges and that every export has to be assessed on a case by case basis, in the context of the wider CFSP) and EU specific EU actions aimed at regional peace and stability;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recalls that the EU has been implementing a number of arms embargoes25 in line with the objectives of the CFSP; notes that the EU undertakes missions in the framework of the CFSP, including a mission enforcing an arms embargo in Libya, with the aim of strengthening regional peace stability; _________________ 25 https://www.sanctionsmap.eu/#/main?chec ked=
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Welcomes Member States’ renewed commitment to the legally binding Common Position as amended by Council Decision (CFSP) 2019/1560 and stresses the importance of thoroughly assessing export licence applications for military technology and equipment according to the criteria stipulated therein;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Welcomes the update of the EU common position of 2008 to take into account relevant developments, such as the adoption of the Arms trade treaty, to which all Member States are party;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Supports Council’s commitment to strengthening the control of export of military technology and equipment; notes the willingness of Member States to reinforce cooperation and promote convergence in this field, within the framework of the CFSP; in this regard, calls on Member States to develop, implement and uphold common standards of management of transfers of military technology and equipment;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Points out that Council Decision (CFSP) 2019/1560 and the relevant conclusions of 16 September 2019 have the potential to ensure that EU citizens are furnished with better information about the strategic choices made by their governments in an area which directly affects their security and their countries’ adherence to values and norms;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Points out that Council Decision (CFSP) 2019/1560 and the relevant conclusions of 16 September 2019 have the potential to ensure that EU citizens are furnished with better information about threflect a growing awareness among Member States of the need for even greater national and EU-wide strategic choices made by their governmentsnsparency and convergence in anthe area which directly affects their security and their countries’ adherence to values and normsof arms export and the need to strengthen public oversight in this sensitive national security domain;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls on EU Member States exporting arms to regions with ongoing conflicts to adhere to the greatest possible extent to CFSP principles, objectives and trade regimes;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Supports Council’s reaffirmation that military equipment and technology should be traded in a responsible and accountable way; welcomes Council’s renewed commitment to further promoting cooperation and convergence in Member States’ policies to prevent the export of military technology and equipment that might be used for internal repression or international aggression, or contribute to regional instability;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Notes with concern the growingthat divergences between the arms export policies and practices of the Member States cand the failure to introduce new instruments to promote convergence towards the strict application slow down the convergence of EU rules in this area;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. SNotes and fully supports the Council’s decision to introduce a clear reporting deadline for national submissions; welcomes the steps taken towards the online approach and encourages the further developmentreaffirmed commitment to transparency in the international arms trade; welcomes in this regard the introduction of concrete measures intended to facilitate the correct, coherent and timely reporting of Member States’ arms exports, such as the inclusion of clear reporting deadlines to the EU Annual Report and further guidelines ofn the lattersubstance and process of reporting;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. NotWelcomes that since the adoption of the legally binding Common Position in 2008, an increasing number of weapon systems produced in Europe are made up of components from multiple countries and involve bi- or multilateral cooperation for; underlines the positive role of technological, industrial and political reasoncooperation in promoting confidence building among Member States and third countries;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Notes an increase in the transfer of knowledge and technology, which allows third countries to undertake licensed production of European military technology; believes that this process can foster the harmonisation of public oversight and transparency standards in defence production and accelerate the creation of internationally recognised and respected rules on arms production and export;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Notes that most Member States have not outlined a common policy regulating the transfer of weapons components to another Member State which would ensure that any export to third countries from the Member State of assembly is consistent with the export policy of the Member State providing the components; notes that some of them continue to consider intra-EU transfers of arms and defence-related products as exports operations; regards this as particularly problematic in the context of the increasing divergences between licensing practices across the EU; observes thatcalls the Commission to assess the effects of Directive 2009/43/EC on intra- Community transfers has proven ill- equipped to achieveand the stated goal of setting high common standards for exports to third countries;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Notes that despite a correlation between divergences in export policies and difficulties of intra-UE cooperation, the sooner is the consequence of the weakness of the European defence spending, the persistent fragmentation of the internal market for defence-related products and the existence of industrial duplications; calls therefore the European Commission, the Council and Member States to fully implement the European Action Plan for Defence; calls in particular for a swift adoption of the European Defence Fund and for an adequate level of funding enabling the reduction of market fragmentation and industrial consolidation while ensuring the EU and its Member States will dispose of military capabilities they need; calls the Commission to ensure the correct implementation of directive 2009/81/EC and Directive 2009/43/EC;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Notes that bilateral cooperation on industrial defence-related projects between Member States lead to export control agreements which can provide a baseline for the EU as a whole;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. NotWelcomes that EU funds such as the Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR), the European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP) and the European Defence Fund (EDF), initiatives such as the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD) and the European Peace Facility (EPF), legislation such as the intra- Community transfers and defence procurement directives of 2009, and the creation of administrative capacities such as the Commission Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS) are heralding an increasing Europeanisation of arms production and capability development as well as strengthening cooperation among Member States and enhancing common standards in the field of arms exports;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Notes that EU funds such as the Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR), the European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP) and the European Defence Fund (EDF), initiatives such as the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD) and the European Peace Facility (EPF), legislation such as the intra-Community transfers and defence procurement directives of 2009, and the creation of administrative capacities such as the Commission Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS) are heraldaiming ant increasing Europeanisation of arms production and capability development;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Believes that the strengthening of the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base should be accompanied by closer cooperation and convergence in the control of exports of military technology and equipment, with the aim of improving the effectiveness of the CFSP and the CSDP in particular;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Underlines the fact that the interinstitutional agreement on the establishment of the EDF authorestablishes the Commission to assess whether the transfer of ownership or the granting of an exclusive licence of EDF-co-fundeda specific type of assessment function for the Commission with regard to a specific category of exports of military technology to third countravenes the security and defence interests of the EU and its Member States or the objectives of the fund as set out in Article 3 of the proposed regulation; notes that this new legislation establisies without prejudice to the competences of EU Member States export control authorities to grant thes a specific type of control function for the Commission with regard to a specific category of exports of military technology to third countriesuthorization in this framework;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. UnderlinWelcomes the fact that the interinstitutional agreement on the establishment of the EDF authorises the Commission to assess whether the transfer of ownership or the granting of an exclusive licence of EDF-co-funded military technology contravenes the security and defence interests of the EU and its Member States or the objectives of the fund as set out in Article 3 of the proposed regulation; notes that this new legislation establishes a specific type of control function for the Commission with regard to a specific category of exports of military technology to third countrieis a clear commitment to a greater level of control and equips the Commission with additional powers of civilian oversight with regard to a specific category of exports of military technology to third countries, thereby further enhancing transparency and minimising the risk of a misuse of EU funds;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Notes that under the EPF, Member States and the European External Action Service (EEAS) will work on creating an EU-level system for arms transfers to third countries; Believes that for any future steps towards an EU-level system for arms transfers, in particular to a common denominator, the Schmidt-Debré harmonisation agreement with the ‘de Dinimis’ rule can already be handled as a framework;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 5
Subheading 5
Implementing the Common Position in the light of enhanced coordination on Europeanisedation of arms production at EU level
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Notes that the lack of convergence of national arms export policies and decision-making is becoming increasingly untenable in the context of the prevailing Europeanisgrowing Europeanisation of arms production and the stated ambitions and plans to increase this further will require in the long run a progressive convergence of national arms export policies and decision-making; recalls the importance of the appropriation by Member States of such a process; regrets the current divergences between nation ofal arms production and the stated ambitions and plans to increase this furtherexport policies and decision-making; calls the Council to continue its efforts to favour the convergence of arms export policies and decision-making;
Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Welcomes the strengthening of EU defence cooperation in the framework of the CSDP, resulting in increased convergence of common rules and standards of transparency of arms exports and technology and fostering confidence- building among Member States and third country partners;
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 – introductory part
Paragraph 19 – introductory part
19. Believes that the Europeanisenhanced coordination ofn arms production at EU level needs to go hand in hand with increased transparency; believnotes that there is still room for improvement in this area, particularly as regards the quality and uniformity of the data submitted by Member States; calls on the Working Party on Conventional Arms Exports (COARM): COARM information exchange system and the guide to the implementation of the Common Position are useful day-to-day tools for control authorities;
Amendment 214 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 – point a
Paragraph 19 – point a
a) to add the following additional categories in a revised reporting template, in line with internationally recognized standards, in order to implement the recent September 2019 Council conclusions: the exact type of weapon and the quantity exported, denomination of the munitions, the lot size and the specific end-user, revoked licences, and the value and duration of contracts regarding post-delivery services such as training and maintenance;
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 – point b
Paragraph 19 – point b
Amendment 220 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 – point b
Paragraph 19 – point b
b) to disaggregate data with regard to denial information so as to facilitate thecollect and present data in a way that would enable, if required, the necessary scrutiny of specific shipments or Member States;
Amendment 224 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 – point c
Paragraph 19 – point c
c) to clarifydevelop EU and internationally recognized definitions such as licensed value and actual exports so as to facilitate the comparability of data between Member States and at international level;
Amendment 231 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Welcomes the decision to transform the annual report into an interactive and searchable online database and expects it to be up and running before publication of the export data for 2019; calls on the EEAS to inform Parliament about the precise date on which this database will go online; urges COARM to choseapply a solution that enables data to be exported in a structured format;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 – introductory part
Paragraph 21 – introductory part
21. Calls on COARM to work towards amending Article 7 of the Common Position, by calling for an improved exchange of ‘relevant information, including information on denial notifications and arms export policies’ and other ‘measures to further increase convergence’; stresses the need, to this end:
Amendment 254 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 – point c
Paragraph 21 – point c
c) to undertake a jointshare assessments of country situations or potential export recipients in the light of the principles and criteria of the Common Position within the framework of the CFSP and in consultation with external stakeholders, including Parliament;
Amendment 261 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Believes that the EU institutions should organise peer reviews with a view to encouraginge authorities to share best practices on the collection and processing of data, fostering a better understanding of different national approaches, identifying differencnational peculiarities as regards the interpretation of the eight criteria, and discussing ways and means to improve harmonisation and convergence among Member States;
Amendment 267 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Strongly bBelieves that a much higher level of convergence as regards the strictfull application of the criteria will strengthenmore effectively ensure the respect for human rights, and international law and the CFSP,by all parties involved in the arms trade and bolster the EU’s strategic security interests and strategic autonomy, in accordance with the goals and ambitions of the CFSP;
Amendment 275 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Stresses that effective end-use controls are crucial for acould result in a more responsible export policy and forcould lowering the risk of diversion in particular; calls on the Council, the Member States, the EEAS and the Commission to set up a large-scalcomprehensive training and capacity-building programme for national and EU officials on arms export controls; stresses the need to use and adequate amount of EU funding to ensure that sufficientthe necessary staff resources are available at national and EU levels and at delegations and embassies in importing countries for the purposes of implementing viable end-use controls of all aspects of the global arms trade; calls on the EEAS and COARM to report on iTrace any identified diversion of EU- origin goods as part of the annual report;
Amendment 289 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Believes that the increasing Europeanisation of arms production, the recent Council conclusions on convergence in arms exports and the establishment of the EPF should be complemented by a mechanism for EU-level monitoring and control based on strict compliance with the eight criteria;
Amendment 301 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Considers that regular consultations with national parliaments, arms export control authorities, industry associations and civil society are central toneeded to enhance meaningful transparency; calls on COARM to enhance dialogue with civil society and industries, as well as consultations with Parliament and arms export control authorities; encourages 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;