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EP panels adopt resolution linking EU arms exports to human rights record

BRUSSELS, Oct 9 (KUNA) -- The European Parliament's Foreign affairs and Defence committees adopted a joint resolution Tuesday arguing that arms export has impact on human rights and democracy, therefore it needs to be guided by strict, transparent, effective and control system.
The EU member states systematic failure to apply EU rules on arms export control should be addressed by wider transparency and sanctions mechanism, said the resolution approved by 27 votes to four.
The full EP is to vote on it at the November plenary session in Strasbourg, France.
The resolution notes that EU member states have common agreed rules, setting the criteria on who could get an arms export licence, but they systematically fail to apply them. It notes that a number of EU member states did not fully revealed their arms export data, which hinders the possibility to have a complete picture of member states' export activities.
The EU is the second largest arms supplier in the world (27 percent of global arms export), after the USA (34 percent) and before Russia (22 percent), noted an EP press release. (end) nk.ibi