EU Statement on Transparency and Reporting - Arms Trade Treaty

EU Statement

Transparency and Reporting

Arms Trade Treaty

Ninth Conference of States Parties

Geneva, 21-25 August 2023

Madam President,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania and Republic of Moldova[1], the potential candidate country Georgia, as well as the EFTA country Norway, member of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this statement.

The EU remains a steadfast supporter of cooperation, responsibility, and transparency in international arms trade, as underlying principles of the ATT. Since reporting on arms exports and imports is one of cornerstone obligations of the ATT, the EU reiterates its call on all States Parties to fulfil their reporting obligations not only in a timely but also transparent manner. We encourage all States Parties to report publicly in the interest of enhancing the relevance of ATT reports, and facilitating effective information-sharing on transfer decisions.

We note with concern that many States Parties are still not in compliance with their legal obligation to submit initial and annual reports under Article 13 of the ATT, but we also welcome progress, with a number of States Parties submitting several annual reports at the same time to clear their backlog.

The EU thanks the ATT Secretariat for assuming facilitator duties for the Working Group on Transparency and Reporting, welcomes the Group’s recommendations and encourages the Conference of States Parties to endorse them. In particular, the EU supports the recommendation to request the ATT Secretariat to develop further measures to facilitate and support peer-to-peer assistance, including the role of reporting champions. It is as a promising measure for de-centralized, cost-effective capacity building, well suited to regional circumstances. Attention should also be given to the specific reasons that impair timely and transparent reporting in each individual case, be it the lack of capacity or awareness in relevant agencies, rotation of personnel, or lack of institutional memory. A tailored approach should be therefore adopted to support fulfilment of ATT obligations. In these, as well as other aspects, utilizing the full range of resources, including online tools, and expertise available to ATT, and also voluntary bilateral and regional assistance, should be considered to maximize output. The EU stands ready to assist in such efforts by seeking synergies with activities under EU-financed outreach projects, and encourages the ATT Secretariat to continue its work under EU-financed Implementation Support Project.

In this light, the EU also supports the proposed WGTR mandate for the next ATT working cycle.

Madam President,

The EU and its Member States attach great importance to transparency in the arms trade, and thus publish detailed data on arms exports every year. The 24^th EU Annual Report on exports of military technology and equipment in the year 2021 was released in December 2022 and is publicly available in a searchable online database on the website of the European External Action Service. This database has been of great benefit to all stakeholders, enhancing transparency. We encourage other regional and national bodies to implement similar systems. The EU annual report displays the number and value of authorized exports for all destination countries, the type of military technology involved as per EU Common Military List mirroring the Wassenaar Arrangement Munitions List, and the number of denials per type of military technology and destination country, as well as the criteria that were invoked as the reason for the denial. The EU annual report for the year 2022 is being finalised and will become public shortly. In this context, the EU is aware of considerations regarding national security that could pose challenges to transparency of legitimate transfers of arms and ammunition from its Member States under the European Peace Facility to Ukraine, which aim to help Ukraine exercise its inherent right of self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter. In this context, EU Member States have assessed that the export of the military equipment in support of Ukraine’s self-defence is fully in line with the legal obligations stemming from the EU Common Position 2008/944/CFSP on arms export and with obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty, as well as with the Wassenaar Arrangement Initial Elements.

Thank you, Madam President.

[1] North Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.