Lithuanian government rejects plans to liberalise arms trade

The Lithuanian government has rejected proposals to ease requirements for arms and explosives manufacturers operating in international markets and to allow trade in foreign-made weapons and other defence equipment, LRT reported.

The Cabinet approved the conclusion prepared by the Ministry of the Economy and Innovation this week. It said that liberalising arms control without adequate safeguards would not serve national security interests.

The proposed amendments would allow arms manufacturers to trade weapons or parts made by other manufacturers and remove a ban on brokering purchases of Category A weapons, ammunition and their parts. They would also permit brokering in explosives trading and expand the number of companies allowed to organise exhibitions of Category A weapons or their parts.

According to the government’s conclusion, responsibility for trading in Category A weapons, properly checking transactions and preventing the unwanted diversion or misuse of goods could shift to state institutions rather than the companies conducting the activities. It also warned that insufficient safety requirements for Category A weapons exhibitions could lead to improper storage and inadequate physical protection, increasing the risk of weapons entering illegal circulation.

Lukas Savickas, a politician from the Democratic faction For Lithuania and the energy minister who submitted the amendments, has said that current rules on arms and ammunition trade weaken Lithuania’s competitiveness. He said companies were unable to participate in many NATO or European Union projects and that Lithuania was one of the few EU countries where defence-sector companies were effectively prohibited from brokering.

The government said it plans to submit coordinated amendments to the Law on the Control of Weapons and Ammunition and the Law on the Control of Strategic Goods during the autumn session of the Lithuanian parliament.