EU Launches Public Database on Arms Exports

The EU has launched a publicly accessible database detailing the value, type of equipment, and destination of all arms exports from each of its member states. The online database, initiated by the European External Action Service and covering data from 2013 to 2019, will be updated annually and is intended to increase transparency in the sector in a “user-friendly manner”. Samuel Perlo-Freeman, a research coordinator at the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) told OCCRP on Wednesday that this was a “good initiative, in that it is making this data much more accessible to the general public.” He noted, however, that “the user interface…