Political principles of the Federal Government for the export of war weapons and other military equipment

German version - Deutsche Fassung

In an effort to

• to sharpen the Federal Government's Political Principles on the Export of War Weapons and Other Military Equipment from the year 2000 and to adapt them to the changed circumstances,
• to further restrict its arms export policy,
• within the framework of the international and legal obligations of the Federal Republic of Germany, to orient the export of armaments to the security needs and foreign policy interests of the Federal Republic of Germany,
• to strengthen cooperation at the European level within the framework of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, to promote the convergence of decisions on arms exports and to develop common approaches,
• within the framework of the European Defence Union, to deepen defence economic cooperation between the member states, to strengthen the European defence industrial base and maintain technological competencies, and to ensure that the Bundeswehr and European partner forces are adequately equipped,
• to contribute to the safeguarding of peace and human rights, to the prevention of violence and to sustainable development in the world by limiting and controlling German arms exports,
• to contribute to reducing the risk of transfers of small arms and light weapons and thus to support international efforts to combat the illicit trade in these weapons,
• accordingly, to take into account the decisions of international institutions that seek to restrict the international arms trade from a disarmament point of view,
• to work towards making such decisions legally binding at the international level, including at the European level,
• to ensure the Federal Republic of Germany's capacity for international cooperation and alliances and to promote European cooperation in the field of armaments,

the Federal Government has redefined its principles for the export of war weapons and other military equipment as follows:

I. General Principles

1. The Federal Government shall take its decisions on exports of war weapons (1) and other military equipment (2) in accordance with the War Weapons Control Act (KrWaffKontrG) and the Foreign Trade and Payments Act (AWG) in conformity with the "Common Position 2008/944/CFSP of the Council of the European Union of 8 December 2008 defining common rules governing control of exports of military equipment and technology" ("Common Position"), the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which entered into force on 24 December 2014 ("Treaty"). The Common Position is based on the Arms Trade Treaty, which entered into force on 24 December 2014, and the Federal Government's Principles on Export Licensing Policy for Small Arms and Light Weapons, Their Ammunition and Related Manufacturing Equipment to Third Countries of 18 March 2015 and any subsequent regulations. The criteria of the Common Position and any successor legislation form an integral part of these Political Principles. 

Insofar as the subsequent Principles provide for more restrictive standards in relation to the "Common Position", they shall take precedence.

2. Special weight is attached to the observance of human rights in the country of destination and end-use in decisions on exports of war weapons and other military equipment. 3.

3. Licences for exports of war weapons and other military equipment will not be granted if there is sufficient suspicion that they are being misused for internal repression as defined in the Common Position or for other persistent and systematic human rights violations. For this question, the human rights situation in the recipient country plays a prominent role. 

4. Findings of the EU, the Council of Europe, the United Nations (UN), the OSCE and other international bodies will be included in such an examination of the human rights issue. Reports from international human rights organisations will also be taken into account.

5. The end-use of war weapons and other military equipment by the intended end-user must be ensured in an effective manner. To this end, the Federal Government conducts an ex-ante verification of the end-use in accordance with internationally practised and agreed practice. Before a licence for the export of military equipment is granted, all available information on the end-use is comprehensively examined and assessed. If there are doubts about the end-user's end-use, export applications are rejected. 

6. Before granting export licences for technology, it must be examined whether this would enable the establishment of foreign arms production which is not in line with the Federal Government's restrictive arms export policy as laid down in these Principles. In this context, the Federal Government reserves the right to establish a re-export reservation for exports of goods produced with the help of exported technology. 

7. The Federal Government will process applications for arms export licences expeditiously, taking into account the necessary diligence and the required depth of examination.

8. The above-mentioned general principles also apply in principle to the examination of advance applications.

9. Licences for the export of war weapons and other military equipment are generally granted for a period of two years.

II. EU Member States, NATO countries, NATO-equivalent countries

1. The export of war weapons and other military equipment to EU Member States, NATO countries (3) and NATO-equivalent countries (4) must be oriented towards the security interests of the Federal Republic of Germany within the framework of the Alliance and the EU, in particular taking into account the Permanent Structured Cooperation of the EU on Security and Defence (PESCO) adopted by the Council on 11 December 2017. In principle, it is not to be restricted, unless a restriction is required in individual cases for special political reasons.

2. Co-operation should be in the interest of the Alliance and/or European policy. In the case of cooperation with countries mentioned in Section II, in particular cooperation which is the subject of intergovernmental agreements, these principles of arms export policy will be implemented as far as possible. In this context, the Federal Government, taking into account its special interest in the ability to cooperate, will not refrain from exerting influence on export projects of cooperation partners (Section II.3). 

3. In the context of governmental cooperation, the Federal Ministry of Defence will consult with the Federal Government in good time before giving Germany's consent to new export commitments for third countries.

In any case, the Federal Government reserves the right to oppose certain export plans of the cooperation partner in consultation in order to enforce its arms export policy principles. Therefore, in all new cooperation agreements to be concluded, such a consultation procedure should be sought in principle in the case of exports by the partner country, which gives the Federal Government the opportunity to effectively raise objections. In this context, the Federal Government will carefully weigh the interests of cooperation against the principle of a restrictive arms export policy, taking into account the human rights criterion. 

4. In the case of exports of war weapons and other military equipment in which German supplies are used, the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and the Federal Ministry of Defence, with the participation of the Federal Chancellery, will examine whether the preconditions for initiating consultations exist in individual cases. 

Objections by the Federal Government to the use of German supplies are raised - as a rule after referral to the Federal Security Council - e.g. in the following cases

• Exports to countries involved in armed conflict, unless a case under Article 51 of the UN Charter applies,
• Exports to countries where an outbreak of armed conflict is imminent or where existing tensions and conflicts would be triggered, maintained or exacerbated by the export,
• Exports where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that they will be used for internal repression as defined in the Common Position or for other persistent and systematic violations of human rights,
• Exports which endanger the essential security interests of the Federal Republic of Germany,
• Exports which would place such a considerable burden on foreign relations with third countries that even Germany's own interest in cooperation and in maintaining good relations with the cooperation partner must take a back seat.

Objections will not be raised if direct exports would be likely to be approved in view of the considerations set out under III. 4 - 7.

5. For cooperation between German enterprises and enterprises of the countries mentioned in Section II, which is not the subject of intergovernmental agreements, subcontracting, corresponding to direct deliveries to these countries, is in principle not to be restricted, subject to compliance with the general principles. However, the Federal Government will exert influence on exports from industrial cooperations in the same way as in the case of cooperations which are the subject of intergovernmental agreements. To this end, it will demand that the German cooperation partner, when supplying parts which are essential for a war weapon in terms of volume or importance, be contractually granted corresponding possibilities for exerting influence and timely information on export intentions. 

6. For German supplies of parts (individual parts or assemblies) which are war weapons or other military equipment, regulations may be applied which take into account the integration of the supplied parts into higher-level (weapons) systems, in particular de minimis regulations.

III. Third countries

1. The export of war weapons and other military equipment to countries other than those mentioned under II. is handled restrictively. In particular, it must not lead to the build-up of additional, export-specific capacities. In accordance with the principle of case-by-case examination, the Federal Government will not grant blanket privileges to individual countries or regions.

2. The export of war weapons subject to licensing under the War Weapons Control Act and the Foreign Trade and Payments Act will not be approved unless, in individual cases, special foreign or security policy interests of the Federal Republic of Germany, taking into account the interests of the alliance, argue for a licence to be granted by way of exception. Employment policy reasons must not play a decisive role. 3.

3. Decisions on exports of small arms and light weapons, their ammunition and corresponding manufacturing equipment to third countries shall be governed by the "Principles of the Federal Government for Export Licensing Policy for the Supply of Small Arms and Light Weapons, their Ammunition and Corresponding Manufacturing Equipment to Third Countries", as amended from time to time.

4. The export of small arms to third countries should no longer be licensed as a matter of principle.

5. Licences for the export of other military equipment subject to licensing under the Foreign Trade and Payments Act shall only be granted if the interests of security, the peaceful coexistence of peoples or foreign relations to be protected under the provisions of foreign trade and payments law are not endangered. 

In such cases, these protective purposes shall outweigh the national economic interest within the meaning of section 8(1) AWG. 6.

6. Licences for exports under the War Weapons Control Act and/or the Foreign Trade and Payments Act cannot be considered if the internal situation of the country in question prevents this, e.g. in the case of armed internal conflicts and if there is sufficient suspicion of misuse for internal repression or persistent and systematic human rights violations. For this question, the human rights situation in the recipient country plays a prominent role. 

7. The supply of war weapons and other military equipment related to war weapons (5) is not approved in countries that are involved in armed conflicts,

• which are involved in armed conflict or where there is a threat of such conflict,
• where an outbreak of armed conflict is imminent or existing tensions and conflicts would be triggered, maintained or aggravated by the export.

Deliveries to countries in armed external conflicts or where there is a risk of the outbreak of such conflicts are therefore generally ruled out, unless a case under Article 51 of the UN Charter applies.

8. In deciding whether to authorise the export of war weapons and other military equipment, account shall be taken of whether the sustainable development of the recipient country would be seriously impaired by disproportionate arms expenditure.

9. Furthermore, the recipient country's past behaviour with regard to the

• commitment to the fight against international terrorism and international organised crime, taking into account human rights obligations and principles,
• the respect of international obligations, in particular the renunciation of the use of force, including obligations under international humanitarian law applicable to international and non-international conflicts,
• the acceptance of commitments in the field of non-proliferation as well as in other areas of arms control and disarmament, in particular the signing, ratification and implementation of the arms control and disarmament agreements listed in the Common Position,
• its support for the UN Arms Register, the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons and all its Protocols, the Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines, the Convention on Cluster Munitions and the Arms Trade Treaty.

IV. Securing the end-use

1. Licences for the export of war weapons and other military equipment are only granted if the end-use of these items is first ensured at the end-user. As a rule, this requires a corresponding written assurance from the end user as well as other appropriate documents. 2.

2. The granting of licences may additionally be made dependent on the existence of the recipient state's consent to on-site verifications of the end-use ("post-shipment inspections") in accordance with the key points adopted by the Federal Government for the introduction of post-shipment inspections for German exports of military equipment and any follow-up regulations.

3. Deliveries of war weapons and other military equipment that are essential for a war weapon in terms of their volume or significance will only be approved if official end-use declarations containing a ban on re-exports with the reservation of a licence are available. This applies mutatis mutandis to exports of other military equipment related to war weapons in connection with the granting of licences. Effective end-use regulations are to be made a prerequisite for the war weapons produced with them. A strict standard must be applied to the recipient country's ability to carry out effective export controls. 4.

4. War weapons and other military equipment related to war weapons may only be re-exported to third countries or transferred within the meaning of the EU internal market with the written consent of the Federal Government.

5. A recipient country which, contrary to an end-use certificate, has authorised the further export of war weapons or other military equipment related to war weapons, or which has knowingly failed to prevent or sanction an unauthorised export of this kind, will in principle be barred from supplying further war weapons and other military equipment related to war weapons until these circumstances have been rectified. This also applies if violations of the end-use declaration are discovered in the course of post-shipment inspections or if the performance of on-site inspections is refused despite a corresponding undertaking in the end-use declaration. 

6. Points 1-4 above can be accompanied by outreach measures to enable other countries to improve their control systems and thus strive for an internationally comparable standard of control.

V. Transparency

The Federal Government submits to the German Bundestag an annual report on military equipment exports before the summer recess and a semi-annual report in the autumn, in which the implementation of the principles of Germany's military equipment export policy in the previous calendar year or half-year is outlined and the export licences issued by the Federal Government for war weapons and other military equipment are broken down within the framework of the legal provisions. The Federal Government also informs the German Bundestag of final licensing decisions that have been preceded by a referral to the Federal Security Council.