WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3656/97 by Mihail PAPAYANNAKIS to the Commission. The arms trade
C 158/170 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 25. 5. 98 As part of the discussions on the reform of the market organisation for olive oil, the Commission will look carefully at the various aspects of the question of mixtures. (1) OJ 172, 30. 9. 1966. (2) OJ L 278, 11. 10. 1997. (98/C 158/227) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3656/97 by Mihail Papayannakis (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (19 November 1997) Subject: The arms trade Some Member States of the European Union are arms producers and export arms to third countries, and the Commission has taken decisions since 1991 on regulating the arms trade but these decisions have been without any binding force or follow-up. This is a highly sensitive sector and represents many important interests and influences many key sectors of the economy. However, despite the fact that certain Member States have now adopted codes of conduct on arms sales, there is as yet no common European policy in this area. In view of the above, will the Commission say whether it intends to take initiatives to introduce a code of conduct to regulate the arms trade in a binding manner, and if so when? Answer given by Mr Van den Broek on behalf of the Commission (5 December 1997) The Commission is concerned about the diverging policies and practices which exist among Member States in the sensitive area of arms production and exports. The Parliament adopted in May 1997 a resolution, based on the Titley report, which called upon the Commission to draw up a white paper on arms exports so that a better assessment might be made of the place of the Community in the world arms trade. The Commission welcomed this suggestion and is currently preparing the document. (98/C 158/228) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3657/97 by Anne McIntosh (PPE) to the Council (19 November 1997) Subject: Asylum provisions With European Union Member States applying a variety of standards and tests in relation to those seeking asylum, does the Council foresee the implementation of minimum EU-wide criteria aimed at discouraging bogus asylum seekers from claiming national state benefits? Answer (12 February 1998) The Council has adopted a number of measures to harmonize the procedures that Member States apply when examining asylum requests. These measures are aimed at giving fair treatment to any asylum seeker, including the possibility of not granting refugee status under the Geneva Convention of 1951 to persons who are unable to establish that they are persecuted under the terms of that Convention. In particular, the following measures have been adopted: 1. Joint position of 4 March 1996 defined by the Council on the harmonized application of the definition of the term árefugeeí in Article 1 of the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 relating to the status of refugees (1)