European arms sales stoking Yemen war, tougher checks needed: Parliament

The European Parliament (EP) says the European Union’s arms exports to Saudi Arabia are stoking the deadly war on Yemen, calling for sanctions on the countries that refuse to respect the EU’s rules on weapons sales.

“In Yemen, European weapons are fundamentally responsible for the war taking place,” German EU lawmaker Sabine Losing, who is leading efforts to hold EU governments accountable, said on Wednesday.

EU lawmakers said that arms sales to Saudi Arabia by EU member states undermined the European arms export control effort, calling for tougher checks on the bloc’s sales of weapons.

The EU’s Common Position on arms exports includes eight criteria that governments must apply when deciding on an arms export license. The lawmakers said arms sales to Saudi Arabia violated six out of the eight criteria.

“The Common Position on arms exports must be implemented effectively. That includes, among others, a sanctions mechanism,” Losing said.

Calls for a suspension of arms sales to Riyadh and its allies have increased, especially after the killing of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey last month, which is blamed on the highest levels of the kingdom.

Since Khashoggi’s murder in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, the EU parliament has passed two resolutions urging limits on arms sales and strengthening checks. The calls are non-binding.

According to the EU’s annual report on weapons exports, the bloc is the second largest arms supplier in the world after the United States, exporting over a quarter of all global arm.

According to figures compiled by leading online news outlet Middle East Eye, European countries have approved arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE worth more than $86.7 billion since 2015.

The report said 21 EU countries approved licenses for the export of arms, ranging from bullets and bombs to fighter jets and specialized military components in 2015.

SS