White paper on export control of dual-use products
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerned the EU Commission's white paper on export controls of dual-use products, which means products that can be used both civilly and militarily. M argued that it is reasonable to coordinate rules within the EU to avoid exceptions and that the committee has no objections to the government's position of not moving forward the evaluation of the EU regulation 1. V considered that the war in Ukraine makes it necessary to conduct a review as early as next year in order to limit Russia's access to products 2. MP argued that the current sanctions regime is leaking and that there are clear reasons to move forward the evaluation of the regulation 3.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Stefan Olsson (M)
Mr. Speaker! The Foreign Affairs Committee's report number 3 concerns the EU Commission's white paper on export control of dual-use products. The Speaker has, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure, judged that the document is of such a nature that the Riksdag should comment on it, and the task has been assigned to the Foreign Affairs Committee, which is the committee that reviews Sweden's arms exports. The matter is essentially uncomplicated, without any significant political dividing lines between the parties.
The background is that the EU has previously been working to align the member states' rules for export control of dual-use products, i.e., products that can be used for both civilian and military purposes. In addition, there is also international cooperation regarding these products. It is primarily this that has now been complicated because Russia is no longer a functioning cooperation partner. The EU Commission has therefore summarized what needs to be done next and proposes four measures.
The Commission proposes, firstly, that a new common export control list of products and technologies be established. Secondly, a new political forum is needed for this where the export control of these products can be discussed. The Commission proposes, thirdly, that the EU also establishes a mechanism for information sharing, so that the Member States can quickly notify each other when different changes need to be made. Fourthly, the Commission proposes that the existing EU regulation governing the export of these products be evaluated as early as next year.
In the matter, there is also a statement from the Government Offices in the form of a fact memorandum. It is stated there that the government will probably take the position of supporting the first three proposals, but not the fourth regarding moving forward the evaluation.
Mr. Speaker! The committee has taken note of the documents and a presentation by responsible officials at the Government Offices and has nothing to object to regarding the preliminary position that appears in the Government Offices' fact memorandum.
Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine is the reason why the EU needs to tighten its rules for export control. There is no obvious boundary between what is civilian and what is military products. We should generally have as little trade with Russia as possible. It is reasonable that all of this is coordinated within the EU so that no member state thinks that there should be exceptions.
Mr. Speaker! There is a reservation from Vänsterpartiet and Miljöpartiet in the report. It concerns the question of whether the EU regulation on dual-use should be evaluated as early as 2025 or, as intended, at some point after 2026 but no later than 2028.
From the fact memorandum, it appears that the Government Offices' officials prefer that the regulation, which was adopted as late as 2021, is given more time to take effect before it is evaluated. The committee shares that view.
In conclusion, I would like to vote in favor of the committee's proposal for a decision.
Håkan Svenneling (V)
Mr. Speaker! Today we are moving with some somewhat difficult and strange words. We have a white paper, which one can say is a proposal that the EU Commission has prepared and which is then sent for consultation to the member states and the parliaments. The Riksdag can then express what we think in a so-called statement. It is this that lies on the Riksdag's table today.
Vänsterpartiet, together with Miljöpartiet, has a small reservation. It concerns the review of what is called PDA, which is the next complicated word. It is – just as Stefan Olsson touched upon here earlier – products with dual-use, i.e., products that have a civilian purpose fundamentally but can be used for a military purpose.
There are a lot of such products, which are often very technically advanced. It can also be about trying to bypass sanctions to get hold of various circuit boards and so on. We have seen that Russia has very actively used itself of this during this war.
It is the war in Ukraine that makes Vänsterpartiet and Miljöpartiet reserve themselves today, in favor of the EU Commission's proposal to conduct a review as early as next year. The war has changed our world very much.
The current regulation was adopted in 2021, that is, one year before the war. It is therefore reasonable to conduct a review as soon as possible, i.e., already next year, to find ways to prevent Russia from accessing dual-use products.
In recent days, we have also seen another example of how products can find legs and find other areas of use. It concerns Israel. The Swedish company Aimpoint has sold scopes that are fundamentally used for hunting purposes. Now, evidence has emerged that they have been used by the Israeli military in Gaza.
This may not be a product with exactly dual-use, but it is a prime example of the types of products that today are not sufficiently regulated and which lie on the borderline between being a weapon or a product that can be used for a civil purpose, such as hunting.
This makes it more important than ever to review the legislation in the area of products with dual uses in order to achieve a holistic approach where we cover as much as we possibly can. I do not understand why both the government and the parliamentary majority oppose a review, when we know that it can make a difference for people who are in war and conflicts - in Ukraine and in Gaza. Therefore, the Riksdag must instead vote for our motive reservation.
Jacob Risberg (MP)
Mr. Speaker! We are here today to talk about the Commission's white paper on export control of dual-use products, that is, the control of products that are primarily developed for civilian purposes but which can also be used militarily.
In Sweden, we have today a relatively strong legislation regarding the export of war materiel, even though exceptions are made on a regular basis to democratic and friendly countries. A large part of the control mechanism that has been developed to control arms exports is placed on controlling exactly PDA, products with dual-use. The list of which products it can involve is very long.
Today we have very far-reaching trade sanctions with Russia and Belarus due to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and in Gaza, there is a senseless massacre of civilians, especially women and children. This makes issues regarding precisely the export of war materiel and the control of dual-use products more important than ever.
Mr. Speaker! What is the situation regarding the compliance with the sanctions and the export control of PDA today? We have known from previous media reporting that a large number of Swedish companies have exported various types of products to Russia despite the sanctions, and the government has been slow to react or act against this. Now, thank goodness, it has not concerned war materiel or products with dual-use, but it still shows that the sanctions regime is leaking.
This week, new reports emerged regarding how Western high-tech electronics reached Russia through various routes and are being used in their weapons systems. In the high-profile case, it was primarily Japanese and American electronics, and it was unclear whether the goods even fall under the list of dual-use products.
White Paper on export control of products with dual-use applications
A more serious case, at least from a Swedish perspective, is what Dagens Nyheter wrote the other day, namely that the Swedish company Aimpoint sells red dot sights to Israel. These sights are not even classified as dual-use products today, despite the fact that they are demonstrably used by the Israeli military in the war in Gaza.
These cases clearly show that the Swedish export control, the PDA Regulation, and the international sanctions do not function perfectly. It is always possible to tighten the requirements and the control further, as well as to constantly review the PDA Regulation and other regulatory frameworks.
The White Paper answers to some extent some questions regarding the PDA Regulation, but the current security situation means that there are clear reasons to move forward the evaluation of the PDA Regulation that the Commission proposes. This advancement comes as a proposal in the White Paper from the Commission, but it is therefore something that the Swedish government and the majority in the committee oppose.
Mr. Speaker! Miljöpartiet would have preferred a prior evaluation and review of the PDA regulation, which is why I move for approval of the reservation of motive in the matter.
The deliberation was hereby concluded.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.