In 2016, SaferGlobe published for the first time a statistical overview of the European Union’s arms exports. The topic had been addressed since 2013 in connection with the Finnish Arms Control Report. Based on the statistical data compiled from these reports, it was decided to develop an independent project on the subject.
The project examined the EU’s arms exports in 2015 and 2016, using as key figures the export license values reported in the national arms export reports of five countries—Spain, France, Sweden, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Using national arms export reports enables a more up-to-date analysis than one based on the EU’s annual reports.
The year 2016 was significant in the European Union’s common foreign and security policy, as the Union’s new Global Strategy was published then. This strategy is likely to guide the Union’s foreign and security policy far into the future. It also mentions the arms exports of EU countries and sets as an objective the strengthening of the Union’s common rules in member states’ arms export policies. The strategy concerns the EU’s endeavor towards a more coherent policy—that is, ensuring that the foreign policies of member states and the Union complement each other more effectively.
In this publication, alongside general statistical developments, we examine the problem areas that emerged in arms exports in 2016 and the changing roles of different parliaments—both national and the European Parliament. Underlying this is the question of how the arms exports of member states relate to the EU’s broader efforts to promote stability and peace and to advance human rights.