Vol. 474 No. 5
32 Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the representations, if any, which have been made by him to the European Union Council of Ministers to control the manufacture and export of arms; the decisions, if any, which have been made by the European Union in this regard. [2413/97]
The Government's overriding objective in the field of arms exports is the promotion of restraint and responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and technologies for military use. During the recent Presidency, Ireland succeeded in securing internal agreement, within the framework of the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the Union, on initial elements of interpretation and some practical measures for application of the EU's common criteria on arms exports, known as the Luxembourg and Lisbon criteria. This was the first advance in this regard since the criteria themselves were adopted by the Luxembourg and Lisbon European Councils in 1991 and 1992 respectively. In reply to a related priority question on 11 December, I made clear that this was a start only. I can assure the House that Ireland will continue to pursue incremental advances in this difficult area wherever these are achievable.
Taking into account the current policies of the major arms exporting member states, I have to say that there appears to be little, if any, prospect in the short-term of achieving a common interpretation of the arms export criteria at the high level of restraint which Ireland would favour. However, Ireland will continue to take every opportunity to advance its policy objectives in this important area.
