Strasbourg, December 4, 2008 - The European Parliament has adopted today a common resolution of 6 political groups, strongly requesting from the European Council to accept the transformation of the Code of Arms into a legal binding instrument.

From the ALDE Group, the resolution was initiated and signed by Romanian MEP Renate Weber (PNL). Find below the plenary speech Renate Weber has held during the debate on the resolution.

"We celebrate this year the 10th anniversary of the EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports. But even though this was a success at the time we have to express now our frustration and bitterness with the failure to make it a legally binding instrument. 3 years have passed since the Council Working Group on Arms reached a technical agreement on a Common Position. How many more years the European Council needs to adopt it?

How can we, the European Union, protect our own credibility when speaking against illegal arms trafficking if we are not able to put our entire house in order? We need the Code of Conduct be legally binding if we want to avoid any easy intra-community transfer of arms which may tempt brokers to look for the weakest link in Europe.

Colleagues, when we are talking about arms exports we in fact think at human lives which are at stake in unstable countries. And we can easily be accused that instead of peace making we are feeding in local conflicts in vulnerable parts of the world. 

I welcome the French Defence Minister's declaration that France has withdrawn its reservations from the Common Position. With this resolution in its hands will the French Presidency be able to convince the other Member States?

I certainly hope so, wishing the French Presidency to add the adoption of the Common Position as a great achievement of its term".