Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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15. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if there has been discussion at the European council of foreign ministers in relation to controlling the multibillion euro EU arms industry and ensuring that EU manufacturers of armaments are only being used according to EU-wide guidelines; the position Ireland adopted in such discussions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38363/20]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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EU Common Position 2008/944/CFSP (CP) defines common rules governing the control of exports of military technology and equipment, and sets out eight risk assessment criteria to be taken into consideration when assessing military goods applications. These criteria include respect for human rights and international humanitarian law, internal situation in the destination country and risk of diversion.

The EU is the only regional organisation to have established a legally binding arrangement on conventional arms exports. Decisions on licensing of exports remain a Member State competence, with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment responsible for this issue in Ireland.

The EU Working Party on Conventional Arms Exports meets monthly to discuss export controls for conventional arms, and allows EU Member States to share information on their export policies to non-EU countries, and on national denials of applications for export licenses to non-EU countries.

In the EU Foreign Affairs Council meetings over the past year, EU Foreign Ministers have discussed the issue of arms exports in the context of existing EU and UN arms embargoes. On 14 October 2019 the Council discussed the commitment of Member States to strong national positions regarding arms export policies to Turkey, in response to unilateral Turkish military action in Syria. In these discussions, Ireland supported strict application of the Common Position criteria in response to Turkey's actions.

In October 2020, the EU launched a searchable online database that allows all stakeholders consult and analyse data on Member States’ arms exports in a user-friendly manner. In December 2019, the EU renewed funding for its iTrace project with Conflict Armament Research. The iTrace project aims to provide concrete information on the diversion and trafficking of conventional arms and their ammunition, including providing tailored support to Member States to assist in diversion risk assessment and mitigation, and to expose routes and entities involved in diversion to conflict zones.