(read the press release in French)
05 March 2025 – Today the European Network Against Arms Trade (ENAAT) launches its new website (www.enaat.org), a unique tool for information and critical analysis about European arms exports and EU policies supporting the military industry, and how they exacerbate the global arms race.
On this International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness, and on the eve of the special European Summit on defence which is expected to confirm an unprecedented drive for rearmament at the EU level, in contradiction with the original idea of a Union conceived as a ‘peace project’, peace groups across Europe relaunch their efforts to control an irresponsible arms trade fuelled by senseless and dangerous military spending.
“This new website is an important resource for activists, journalists, politicians and everyone else who wants to know more about the EU and the military industry. In these times of seemingly unlimited support for the arms industry and rapid militarisation, it is necessary to present facts and analyses and hear voices with critical perspectives on current developments”, according to Francesco Vignarca, coordinator of Rete Pace & Disarmo and member of the ENAAT Steering group.
The last decade has seen rapid developments at the EU level regarding support for the arms industry, from funding instruments such as the European Defence Fund (EDF) and the Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP) up to the announced ReArm Europe plan. “‘These funds and coming loans amount to subsidies aiming to strengthen the global competitiveness of the European arms industry, i.e. to increase arms exports and reduce the controls and restrictions that apply to them” warns Wendela de Vries, researcher at Stop Wapenhandel and member of the ENAAT steering group.
ENAAT and its member organisations have monitored these developments closely since 2016, and regularly publish information and analysis on their implementation and the companies that benefit from them. Reports, fact sheets and news can be found on the new website, as well as information on campaigns and events.
Another key feature of the website is the ‘Arms export browser’ which visualises the values of arms exports by EU member states since 1998. The browser can be searched and ordered in various ways to get insights about the main exporters, important customers, and the types of military equipment that the EU nations export. Based on the annual official reports on arms exports from the EU itself, the ENAAT website is the only online source that presents these figures in an easily searchable and workable form.
The newsletter ‘News from the Brussels’ Bubble’ is published every few months and presents a list of short news items with links to go deeper, covering the main developments regarding EU funding for the arms industry and other aspects of EU militarisation, including the European Peace Facility. All editions are available on the website.
ENAAT is an informal self-organising network of 21 peace groups from 14 European countries, founded in 1984 and seeking to limit or stop the international arms trade through research, publication, advocacy and public campaigning. ENAAT’s project ‘disarming the European project’ monitors developments at EU level, in particular policies allocating European funds to the arms industry.
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For more information:
Laëtitia Sédou, ENAAT EU projet officer
laetitia@enaat.org – mobile: +32.496.15.83.91
www.enaat.org