John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Question 491: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the Government's position on the EU embargo on weapons sales to China. [1596/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The Government continues to examine this issue with our EU partners in the context of our overall relationship with China, our ongoing commitment to human rights and the broader regional and international context.

At the EU-China Summit held on 8 December 2004 the EU confirmed its political will to continue to work towards lifting the embargo. The Chinese side welcomed this positive signal and considered it beneficial to the sound development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and the EU. The EU reaffirmed that work on strengthening the application of the EU code of conduct on arms exports was continuing.

The European Council at its meeting on 16-17 December 2004 reaffirmed its political will to continue to work towards lifting the embargo. At the same time, the EU underlined that the result of any decision should not be an increase of arms exports from EU member states to China. In this regard, the European Council recalled the importance of the criteria of the EU code of conduct on arms exports, in particular criteria regarding human rights, stability and security in the region and the national security of friendly and allied countries. The European Council also stressed the importance of the early adoption of a revised EU code of conduct on arms exports and the new instrument on measures pertaining to arms exports to post embargo countries, known as the "toolbox".

The EU code of conduct on arms exports is a politically binding document which has been in operation since 1998 and contains eight criteria for assessing applications for export licences for military equipment. Included in these criteria is respect for human rights in the country of final destination and the preservation of regional peace, security and stability. Work on revising the code of conduct is currently ongoing and progressing well at technical level within the EU.

During his discussions with Chinese leaders in Beijing last week, the Taoiseach indicated that Ireland was ready to support the lifting of the arms embargo once the revised code of conduct was in place. He recalled the mutual understanding that the lifting of the embargo was not intended to lead to an increase in EU arms exports to China. He also explained the importance to the EU of continued progress in the promotion and protection of human rights in China.