On 21 March 2022, Foreign Affairs and Defence Ministers of the EU adopted the Strategic Compass, after 2 years of negotiations. Meant to be a kind of White Paper on Defence for the EU, it now remains to be seen to what extent the political commitments will actually be kept. However, what is certain is that the most concrete proposals are a new boon for the arms industry in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Civil society calls on policymakers to prevent the weakening of arms exports control
8 May 2026
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