Implementation of the regulation outlawing the trade in goods which could be used for torture
18.3.2010
WRITTEN QUESTION E-2020/10
by Georgios Papanikolaou (PPE)
to the Commission
In 2006, the EU introduced the first multilateral agreement in the world on export controls to prevent international trade in goods which could be used for torture. According to a recently published report by Amnesty International and the Omega Research Foundation, manufacturers of security equipment manage in a variety of ways to break the law in order to export goods which could be used for torture. Regulation (EC) No 1236/2005[1] is not, or only partially, applied by Member States. Between 2006 and 2009, for example, Germany issued export licences for foot shackles and chemical sprays, while the Czech Republic issued licences for chemical sprays, shackles and electric-shock devices. According to the same report, loopholes in the regulation allow companies to continue to illegally trade in goods which could be used for torture.
Would the Commission therefore:
- 1.provide more detailed information regarding the state of implementation of the regulation by Member States;
- 2.state what steps it intends to take in order to ensure that Member States fully apply European legislation banning the trade in such goods?
- [1] OJ L 200, 30.7.2005, p. 1.
OJ C 138 E, 07/05/2011