Artikel: Brothers in EU Arms Export Controls?
/In July 2023 the Dutch government announced its intention to join the multilateral Agreement on the Control of Arms Exports between France, Germany, and Spain. The letter carrying the announcement simultaneously repealed the existing Dutch presumption of denial policy regarding arms exports to Saudi-Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. This article analyses these developments within the broader framework of the Netherlands and EU arms export controls. Its aim is to introduce the readers to challenges facing EU arms export controls, to explain the reasoning behind the Netherlands’ decision to join the agreement, and to describe some of the potential practical implications for the Dutch defence and security sector. The article finds that while the EU has been working towards a common European approach to arms export controls for over three decades, the EU Common Position (1st introduced in 2008) did not achieve the desired convergence on arms export policies. The recent push towards further European defence cooperation, which further increases the need for such convergence, has paradoxically led to the creation of a new multilateral agreement between France, Germany, and Spain instead. By unpacking this paradox, the article finds that the agreement has the potential to improve convergence between its partners in relation to their joint defence projects. It is a concrete step in clarifying export control policy decisions and criteria for the participating Member States. The Dutch intention to join the agreement is primarily motivated by the need for further European defence cooperation and the desire for the Netherlands and its defence industry to actively contribute to such cooperation. If the Netherlands were to succeed in joining the agreement and if other Member States are open to joining as well, this could in fact also inform and positively influence the upcoming 2024 revision of the EU Common Position.
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Brothers in EU Arms Export Controls? door F. van Essen & H. Annink in Compliance, Ethics & Sustainability
