PROJECT FOR THE PROMOTION OF EFFECTIVE ARMS EXPORT CONTROLS
ANNEXSupplementary provisions
ANNEX
PROJECT FOR THE PROMOTION OF EFFECTIVE ARMS EXPORT CONTROLS
1. Background, purpose and objectives
The purpose of this Decision is to promote accountability and responsibility with regard to the legal arms trade in line with Common Position 2008/944/CFSP, thereby contributing to peace, security and stability in countries neighbouring the Union. The objectives of this Decision are to render international trade in conventional weapons more responsible and transparent, and to mitigate the risk of the diversion of arms to unauthorised users, through transfer of expertise aimed at supporting alignment with the legal and operational standards of the EU and Member States, with particular focus on the EU candidate countries and EU neighbourhood.
The action should aim to increase the effectiveness of national arms export systems in targeted countries, through legal, institutional and other relevant developments and changes and their alignment with Common Position 2008/944/CFSP, with a view to supporting alignment of third states with the EU arms export control standards ( acquis ) and best practices in their implementation, including, where appropriate, the ATT. For the EU candidate countries, this action will support their EU accession aspirations, and – prior to accession – their partnership with the EU and its Member States in arms export controls.
Those outcomes should be pursued while seeking complementarity and synergies with the Union’s ongoing assistance projects in support of the implementation of the ATT, as well as in the field of export controls on dual-use goods. The scope of beneficiaries under this Decision should not overlap with beneficiaries covered under the EU ATT Outreach Project (Council Decision (CFSP) 2021/2309 and the successor Decision), except as previously agreed to by the COARM Working Group.
In order to achieve the abovementioned objectives, the Union should continue to promote the standards of Common Position 2008/944/CFSP, building on the achievements reached through the implementation of Joint Action 2008/230/CFSP and Council Decisions 2009/1012/CFSP, 2012/711/CFSP, (CFSP) 2015/2309, (CFSP) 2018/101, (CFSP) 2020/1464 and (CFSP) 2023/2539, and of the Arms Trade Treaty. For that purpose, assistance should be provided to beneficiary third countries for the drafting, updating and implementation, as appropriate, of relevant legislative, administrative and institutional measures that support an effective system of conventional arms transfer controls.
Support should also be given to the training of licensing and enforcement officers responsible for the implementation and enforcement of arms transfer controls, and to national and regional measures promoting transparency and appropriate scrutiny over exports of conventional weapons. Furthermore, contacts with the private sector (including industry, research institutes and academia) should be promoted in order to ensure compliance with arms transfer control legislation and regulations, focusing in particular on internal compliance programmes (ICPs).
Because partner states of the COARM project are at different stages in terms of their technical assistance needs, the project will make use of a differentiated approach when designing outreach activities, taking into account the specific nature of cooperation with each partner country.
With regard to partner countries that have an EU candidate status, the project will offer them an adapted outreach approach that focuses more on institutional memory-building and self-sustainability, including offering more support with regard to alignment with the EU acquis on arms export controls, where appropriate.
2. Selection of the implementing agency
The implementation of this Decision is entrusted to BAFA. Where appropriate, BAFA will partner with Member States’ export control agencies, relevant regional and international organisations, think tanks, research institutes and NGOs.
BAFA has leading experience in the provision of export control assistance and outreach activities. It has developed such experience in all of the relevant fields of strategic export control, addressing CBRN-related dual-use goods and military goods. Through those programmes and activities, BAFA has gained in-depth knowledge of the export control systems of most of the countries included in this Council Decision.
With regard to arms export control assistance and outreach, BAFA successfully completed the implementation of Council Decisions 2009/1012/CFSP, 2012/711/CFSP, (CFSP) 2015/2309 (CFSP) 2018/101 (CFSP) 2020/1464 and (CFSP) 2023/2539. BAFA is also in charge of the technical implementation of the ATT implementation support programme established by Council Decisions 2013/768/CFSP, (CFSP) 2017/915 and (CFSP) 2021/2309 and various EU P2P projects in the field of export controls on dual-use goods, in part for the same partner countries as under this Council Decision.
BAFA is, therefore, uniquely placed to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the export control systems of countries that will be the beneficiaries of the activities provided for in this Decision. It is also most able to facilitate synergies between the various arms export control assistance and outreach programmes and to avoid duplication. This is of particular relevance for beneficiary countries that have received support under previous Union cooperation programmes for strengthening local capacity with regard to applying and updating the national arms trade control system in line with international standards and recent developments.
3. Coordination with other Union assistance projects in the field of export controls
Based on the experience of previous European Union outreach activities in the field of export controls covering both dual-use goods and conventional arms, synergy and complementarity should be sought. Where appropriate, synergy can be sought in conjunction with other activities financed through the CFSP budget or with other activities relating to dual-use goods export controls financed through Union financial instruments other than the CFSP budget. This should be done in full compliance with the legal and financial limitations set for the use of relevant Union financial instruments.
4. Coordination with other donors’ assistance projects in the field of export controls
Where appropriate, synergy and complementarity with other donors’ assistance projects in the field of export control outreach should also be sought. Coordination with other donors should be carried out, where applicable and appropriate, on a case-by-case basis in order to best use synergies and resources and avoid overlap.
5. Approach to beneficiary countries
The objectives of the project will be pursued through technical assistance to a number of beneficiary countries, which have demonstrated their willingness to develop their standards and practices regarding arms export control. The assistance activities to be undertaken and the scope of cooperation to be offered will take into account the status of the individual beneficiary countries, in particular regarding:
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their candidatures for membership of the Union and whether the beneficiary countries are official candidates or potential candidates,
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their possible membership of, or application for membership of, international export control regimes relating to the transfer of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies,
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their capacity as a producer, importer or trading hub in relation to trade in conventional military equipment and technologies,
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the level of maturity of the existing national export control system, with particular consideration given to the progress made as a result of support received under previous arms export control cooperation programmes financed by the Union, and
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their position regarding the ATT.
Cooperation with the EU candidate countries should be further developed in the spirit of the differentiated approach and toolkit described below. The focus of cooperation with these will be on support for their full alignment with the acquis in the area of arms export control and with Common Position 2008/944/CFSP in order to support their EU accession process, subject to measuring of progress. This includes beneficiary countries achieving abilities to build institutional memory and achieve self-sustainability; strengthening the role of these beneficiaries as multipliers and providers of knowledge and expertise in their respective regions, where appropriate and applicable, as well as in other regions, while continuing to support information exchange and cooperation with EU experts and among countries with a similar level of maturity (also from other export control projects).
As such, these partner states should continue to participate in regional events within their geographical region, as well as in assessment events. At the same time, a certain number of dedicated activities will be allocated to them that will, where appropriate, also include a mentoring component.
6. Beneficiary countries
Unless agreed by the COARM Working Group, the scope of beneficiaries under this Decision should not overlap with the beneficiaries covered under the EU ATT Outreach Project (Council Decision (CFSP) 2021/2309 and the successor Decision)
Beneficiary countries under this Decision are:
(a)
South-Eastern European Countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo ( *1 ) )
(b)
Eastern European and Caucasian countries of the European Neighbourhood Policy (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus ( *2 ) , Georgia, Republic of Moldova)
(c)
North African, Mediterranean and Southern Neighbourhood countries of the European Neighbourhood Policy (Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan and Lebanon)
(d)
Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Mongolia)
(e)
Ukraine.
6.1. Amongst these, the beneficiary countries who are current EU candidate countries are:
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, the Republic of North Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia and Ukraine.
For this group the project will render specially designed activities as described in Section 7.2.
6.2. Amendment of the list of beneficiary countries
The COARM Working Group may, in exceptional cases, after consultations with the implementing agency, decide to add countries to the list of beneficiaries. Modifications should be communicated in a formal manner between BAFA and the Union through the Chair of the Working Group.
7. Activity descriptions
7.1. Activities for countries requiring particular technical assistance
7.1.1. Individual and Remote Assistance
The project will take the form of workshops offering individual beneficiary countries assistance in areas of specific national concern upon their request. State officials from the beneficiary countries, including government, licensing and enforcement officials, will participate in the workshops. Depending on the exact needs and availability of the beneficiary countries’ and Member States’ experts, the events, as a rule, will have a two-day format. Activities can also be organized online, as required.
The individual assistance workshops will be mainly held at the request of the beneficiary countries. They are intended to address a specific issue related to arms export control raised by a beneficiary country. These workshops may address, among other things, targeted national capacity-building measures, outreach to industry (including research institutes or academia), and national training strategies in the area of arms export control.
In addition, individual support, where suitable and appropriate, will be provided through remote assistance (among others: legal reviews; consultation on specific cases, including support for technical rating of a particular good; etc.).
Experts from Member States’ national administrations (including former officials), representatives of countries that have aligned themselves with Common Position 2008/944/CFSP as well as representatives of the private sector will provide their expertise. Representatives of beneficiary countries who have an EU candidate status and who were trained specifically to do so under Decisions (CFSP) 2020/1464, (CFSP) 2023/2539 or the present CFSP Decision will be able to act as regional experts and provide their specific expertise for other beneficiary countries under this project, where appropriate.
7.1.2. Multilateral Activities and Knowledge Exchange
The project will take the form of multilateral activities involving at least two beneficiary countries who are interested in an issue of common concern for the purpose of exchanging knowledge, experience and national approaches on this particular issue. These activities can be organized in one of the beneficiary countries of this Decision, in a Member State or online.
7.2. Activities for EU candidate countries
7.2.1. Train-the-Trainer
The project will take the form of up to two ‘train-the trainer’ courses that will provide additional support in building up own national capacity based on the continued implementation of the BAFA ‘train-the-trainer’ approach. The skills developed in this training course will include, among others, didactics, knowledge transfer and specific institutional memory training. When implementing the activities described by this Decision, the trained trainers should be further promoted and encouraged to participate in activities as multipliers or providers of knowledge and expertise at a national, regional, cross-regional and international level. In this way, these beneficiary countries will also be supported in moving away from individual assistance and becoming more autonomous in their national and regional implementation of strategic trade controls. Participation in one or both courses can be offered, where appropriate, to additional beneficiary countries of the project not named under 6.1, when appropriate, and according to their needs.
7.2.2. Peer-to-Peer visits
The project will support the organisation of peer-to-peer visits involving at least two beneficiary countries that are either EU candidate countries or have completed at least one ‘train-the-trainer’ course. These activities should be designed to allow participants to utilize the skills developed during the Train-the-Trainer courses and provide them with an opportunity to share their countries’ experiences and progress with regard to arms export control capacity building, both with each other as well as with other partner countries. The content of the visit will be developed by the hosting partner countries, with feedback and primarily logistical support provided by the implementing agency.
7.2.3. Institutional capacity building measures
The project will also support beneficiary countries that have completed at least one ‘train-the-trainer’ course in self-organizing and implementing national training and outreach activities. This can include, among other measures, outreach to industry or academia and training for licensing or customs officers. The content of the training and activities will be developed by the beneficiary countries themselves, with mentoring components and, where appropriate, additional expertise provided by the implementing agency, as described under point 7.1.1.
7.2.4. National and multilateral activities
The Project will include national and multilateral activities in the form and with expertise as described under 7.1.1., but in this case, aimed at specifically supporting closer alignment with the EU acquis on arms export controls for EU candidate countries.
7.2.5. Joint Conferences
This project will support joint conferences for all EU candidate countries. These conferences will provide a forum for advanced-level discussions, information exchange and training opportunities. Experts from Member States’ national administrations (including former officials), representatives of countries that have aligned themselves with Common Position 2008/944/CFSP as well as representatives of the private sector will provide their expertise.
Additional beneficiary countries of the project not mentioned under 6.1 could be invited where deemed appropriate.
7.3. Activities for all partner countries
7.3.1 Regional workshops
The project will include two-day regional/cross-regional workshops, providing theoretical and practical training as well as an opportunity for dialogue and information exchange to, among others, consolidate regional approaches in relevant areas of conventional arms export controls.
The participants in the workshops will include government officials of the beneficiary countries covered. Representatives from national parliaments, industry and civil society, among others, may also be invited, where appropriate. Training expertise will be provided by experts as stated under 7.1.1.
The workshops may take place in a beneficiary country or in another country and may be organized either as an in-person, online or hybrid (supporting in-person and online participation at the same time) event, as appropriate.
7.3.2 Final assessment event
In order to evaluate and review the impact of the activities under this Decision, a final assessment event will be organised either online or in a hybrid format. The final assessment event will involve the participation of all beneficiary countries. If feasible, the event will be held back-to-back with a COARM Working Group meeting in Brussels to allow for broad in-person participation from Member States.
8. Project results and implementation indicators
The assessment of the results of the project will take into account the following:
8.1. Individual assessment of beneficiary countries
On an annual basis, beginning in February 2026, BAFA will provide the European External Action Service and the Commission with an update of the implementation progress reports on each of the beneficiary countries. The reports will recap the activities that took place in each beneficiary country over the duration of this Decision and assess and describe the beneficiary country’s capacity in the area of arms transfer controls based on information available to BAFA, including the information listed in Section 8.2 as appropriate.
8.2. Impact assessment and information to be included in the reports
The impact of activities of this action provided for by this Decision for the beneficiary countries should be assessed after the action has been carried out, no later than 6 months after the expiry of the Decision. The impact assessment will be carried out by BAFA in cooperation with the European External Action Service, including, as appropriate, the Union delegations in the beneficiary countries, as well as with other relevant stakeholders.
For that purpose, the following information should be included in the reports named under 8.1 also in order to assess the progress:
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existence and operation of an export control system and legislation to control the export of the technology and equipment on the EU Common Military List,
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capacity to assess export licence applications on a case-by-case basis against the criteria set out in the Common Position 2008/944/CFSP,
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Scope of control (including exports; brokering activities, transit and transhipment, intangible transfers of software and technology,
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Exchange of information (on export licences and denials) with other states,
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Check of final destination/end-user certificate when assessing applications,
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Publication of an annual report on exports of military technology and equipment, and other reporting – (e.g. UN Register, ATT annual reporting, Wassenaar Arrangement, OSCE and reports to national parliaments),
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where available, information on enforcement cases,
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whether the beneficiary country intends to or has officially aligned with Common Position 2008/944/CFSP.
9. Union visibility
BAFA will take all appropriate measures to publicise the fact that the action is funded by the Union. Such measures will be implemented in accordance with the communication and visibility manual for Union external actions published by the European Commission. BAFA will thus ensure the visibility of the Union contribution with appropriate branding and publicity, highlighting the role of the Union and raising awareness of the reasons for this Decision, as well as Union support for this Decision and the results of that support. Material produced by the project will prominently display the Union flag in accordance with relevant Union guidelines, as well as the logo ‘EU P2P export control programme’. Union delegations should be involved in events in third countries to enhance political follow-up and visibility.
Given that planned activities vary greatly in scope and character, a range of promotional tools may be used, depending on their availability and suitability, including traditional media, websites, social media, information and promotional materials (including infographics, leaflets, newsletters, press releases and others, as appropriate). Publications and public events procured under the project will be branded accordingly.
10. Duration
The total estimated duration of the project will be 36 months.
( *1 )
This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 (1999) and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.
( *2 )
The participation of Belarus remains suspended.
