§ Ann ClwydTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions the UK has initiated consultations on an export licence which has been denied by another member state under the consultation arrangements specified in the EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports; what were the outcomes of these consultations; on how many occasions other member states have initiated consultations on export licences which have been denied by the United Kingdom; and what were the outcomes of these consultations. [95644]
§ Mr. HainOperative Provision 4 of the EU Code of Conduct states
Member states will keep … consultations [under the Code] confidential".We interpret this as including the outcomes of such consultations.
The first annual report on the operation of the Code of Conduct, which has been published in the Official Journal of the European Communities, records that between June 1998, when the Code was adopted, and September 1999, the UK was involved in seven bilateral discussions concerning denials issued either by the UK or by other member states. Several of these discussions focused on whether a proposed export was essentially identical to that covered by a denial notification, although in some cases there was also a substantive exchange of views on the proposed export. We would not therefore characterise all of these discussions as formal consultations under the Code of Conduct.
§ Mr. OatenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which UK officials are participating in the implementation of the EU code of Conduct on Arms Exports; what progress was made at the review meeting on 21 September in Brussels; and if he will make a statement. [95690]
§ Mr. HainThe EU Code of Conduct establishes criteria which are to be applied to export licence applications covering all goods on the UK Military List, and dual-use goods where there are grounds for believing that the end-user will be the armed forces or internal security forces. Licences to export arms and other goods whose export is controlled for strategic reasons are issued by the Trade and Industry Secretary acting through the Export Control Organisation of the Department of Trade and Industry, which circulates all relevant applications to other Departments with an interest, as determined by those Departments in line with their policy responsibilities, including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Ministry of Defence and the Department of International Development. All of the above Departments therefore have a role in implementing the Code of Conduct.
739WLead responsibility for policy issues relating to the Code of Conduct rests with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which consults other interested Departments as necessary, including those listed above.
The meeting of the CFSP Working Group on Conventional Arms Exports (COARM) on 21 September agreed the text of the first annual report on the operation of the Code of Conduct since its adoption on 8 June 1998. The report summarises member states' experiences of the Code, and gives a detailed account of practical steps taken to support the operation of the Code and priorities for future action. A meeting of the Council of Ministers on 11 October took note of the report and decided to publish it in the Official Journal of the European Communities.