Open Statement to Members of the European Parliament: “Stop EU funding to military R&D”

Today, +25 civil society organisations urge decision makers to prevent arms export control systems from being weakened under the pretext of ‘simplification’ and ‘efficiency’. The negotiations on the EU omnibus package relating to defence are well advanced and about to conclude, including on the proposals modifying the Transfer directive regulating intra-EU arms exports. Weapons and military technology cannot be sold like toys or cans of beans, and EU governments are the ones responsible for ensuring compliance with European and international law, in particular the EU Common position on arms exports, the Arms Trade Treaty and the Convention on