Armaments exports, all the numbers for Italy. Mediobanca report

“Exporting weapons from Italy in compliance with the laws involves a certain burden and numerous bureaucratic steps”.

This is highlighted by the report from the Mediobanca research area on the Defense System regarding the legislative discipline that regulates the marketing of armaments and the export and import flows of our country, that "only companies that are able to fulfill and bear the costs belong truly to the Italian defense industrial complex and constitute its strong nucleus".

The matter is regulated by the bill converted into Law no. 185 of 9 July 1990 entitled "New rules on the control of the export, import and transit of armament materials", presented on 9 December 1987 by the then Minister of Defense , Valerio Zanone, on behalf of the Goria government. That is, the law according to which, for example, the export of bombs and missiles to Saudi Arabia as well as the United Arab Emirates was prohibited, to prevent their use in the conflict in Yemen ( both embargoes lifted ).

Here is the reconstruction from the Mediobanca research area on the genesis of the legislation and the numbers of our country's arms exports.

MILITARY EXPORT PRE LAW N.185/1990

Before the entry into force of Law n.185/1990, the export of armaments to Italy was regulated by general provisions governing foreign trade, recalls the Mediobanca report.

The growth of Italian arms exports began in the late 1970s and reached its highest levels in the early 1980s. The main destination was represented by the countries of the South of the world. From these came a demand mainly oriented towards technologically medium-level products and not subject to political restrictions. The Italian arms export policy was therefore characterized by commercial criteria, without taking into account the level of human rights protection guaranteed by the importing countries, Mediobanca highlights.

THE THREE MAIN ASPECTS OF LAW N.185/1990

Following the presentation of numerous legislative proposals during various legislatures starting from the Seventies and after more than five years of parliamentary debate, law n.185 was promulgated in 1990. Up until that moment, and for almost 50 years, Royal Decree no. had essentially remained in force. 1161 of 11 July 1941 (signed by Mussolini, Ciano, Teruzzi and Grandi). The latter had subjected the entire matter to "state secrecy", removing it from any control of Parliament, the report recalls.

According to Mediobanca, Law no. 185/1990 is characterized by three aspects: first, it requires that decisions on arms exports comply with the foreign and defense policy of the State according to the principles of the Republican Constitution which in article 11 declares: " Italy repudiates war as an instrument of attack on the freedom of other peoples and as a means of resolving international disputes”; secondly, it requires a system of controls by the Government, with specific procedures for issuing authorizations before sale and export and methods of control over the final destination of armaments and thirdly, it requires that every year the President of the Council of Ministers provide Parliament with a Report on the export, import and transit of arms operations which occurred in the previous year which includes the reports of the various ministries entrusted with various responsibilities in the field of arms exports.

THE AUTHORIZATION MECHANISM

The authorizations referred to in point two can be summarized as follows: the company that wants to export must request authorization from the Government. The recipients can only be foreign governments or companies authorized by them. Furthermore, the request must be accompanied by a Certificate of End Use (CUF) issued by the recipient Government and certifying that the material will be exported for its own use and that it will not be re-exported.

COUNTRIES TO WHICH IT IS FORBIDDEN TO EXPORT WEAPONS

Law n.185/1990 prohibits the export of armaments to: Countries in a state of armed conflict; Countries whose policies conflict with the aforementioned Article 11 of the Italian Constitution; Countries under total or partial embargo of war supplies by the UN or the EU; Countries responsible for proven serious violations of human rights conventions; Countries which, receiving aid from Italy, allocate resources to their military budget in excess of the country's defense needs, summarizes Mediobanca.

THE UPDATE WITH DL N.105 OF 2012

Legislative decree 22 June 2012, n. 105 amended law n.185/1990, implementing Directive 2009/43/EC. This simplifies the methods and conditions of transfers of defense products within the European Community.

As Mediobanca explains, this update served to adapt the control system to the changes that occurred in the arms trade, a sector in which globalization has caused profound transformations at a European and international level: the major defense companies have in fact progressively become multinationals, with cross-holdings and co-productions in international projects.

THE AMENDMENT BILL APPROVED BY THE MELONI GOVERNMENT IN AUGUST 2023

The Mediobanca study does not mention the bill amending law no. 9 July 1990. 185 .

In fact, on 3 August 2023 the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Antonio Tajani, approved a bill to introduce amendments to the law of 9 July 1990, n. 185.

Last February 21, the Senate approved the government-initiated bill which dictates new rules for the control of the export, import and transit of armament materials. The provision introduces "some updates" in order to "make national legislation more responsive to the challenges arising from the evolution of the international context". This is what we read in the report on the measure which consists of a single article submitted to the Chamber for consideration.

WHAT EMERGES FROM THE 2024 REPORT TO PARLIAMENT

Returning to the Mediobanca report, we read that the first annual report referred to in point three dates back to 9 May 1991 when Giulio Andreotti, then Prime Minister, sent it to the Chambers.

The most recent Report is dated 25 March 2024 and consists of three volumes edited respectively by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Defense and the Interior and the Ministry of Economy and Finance. According to the aforementioned Report, in 2023 the overall value of export and import licenses for military materials is 7.563 billion euros, an increase of 25.7% compared to 6.017 billion in 2022. Of this overall figure, 6.312 billion are movements out of Italy and 1.251 billion in. The number of countries receiving export licenses is 83 (84 in 2022) and the number of licenses is 2,101 (2,155 in 2022).

In 2023, as in the previous four years, no country was the recipient of authorizations for a total value exceeding one billion euros, the report specifies.

THE VALUE OF ARMS EXPORTS

The value of exports to EU/NATO countries is equal to 56% of the total (with 1,516 authorizations), while the remaining 44% involved other countries (585 authorizations). This is confirmation of a constant growth trend in exports to EU/NATO countries, which began in 2018. 37.4% of the value exported to EU/NATO nations is directed towards exclusively NATO member countries (United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Norway, Turkey, Albania, North Macedonia) and 62.6% towards EU countries regardless of their accession to the Atlantic Treaty, reports Mediobanca.

FRANCE IS THE FIRST COUNTRY RECIPIENT OF MILITARY EXPORTS, FOLLOWED BY UKRAINE AND THE USA

Among the top 25 countries receiving Italian exports in 2023, France rises to first place with 465.4 million euros (from sixth in 2022), ahead of Ukraine (49th in 2022) with 417.3 million, which replaces the United States (390.3 million), dropped to third. Followed by Saudi Arabia (ninth in 2022) with 363.1 million, the United Kingdom (eighth in 2022) with 277.6 million and Turkey with 231.3 million which was in first position in 2022. The data relating to Ukraine highlights how the ongoing conflict, after an initial phase in which military assistance was managed almost entirely through supplies organized by the Ministry of Defense (which do not require a UAMA-Unit license for Authorizations of Military Materials), in 2023 saw a greater contribution from the private sector.

THE ISRAELI CASE

As regards Israel, in 2023 the value of authorized exports (9.9 million) remained stable compared to the previous year while, after the start of operations on Gaza in reaction to the assault conducted by Hamas on 7 October 2023, it the granting of new authorizations was suspended.

LEONARDO, RWM ITALIA, IDV AND AVIO THE TOP FOUR WEAPONS EXPORTING COMPANIES

In relation to exporting companies, data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation highlight how in 2023 the top 15 exporting companies accumulated 91.9% of the total value of authorizations. The top four operators in the sector are Leonardo (26.96%), RWM Italia (12.88%), Iveco Defense Vehicles (11.27%) and Avio (8.17%). The four companies alone account for approximately 59% of the trading value. Leonardo, in particular, is allocated 20.7% of the total licenses (434 out of 2,101). Furthermore, the top 15 operators Cuban 52.0% of the authorizations (1,092 out of 2,101).

IMPORT NUMBERS

Finally, with regard to imports, the Report highlights how in 2023 the value of the 478 import licenses is 1,250.7 million euros (727.7 million in 2022), of which 40.46% comes from the United States (506 million ), 26.63% from Switzerland, 11.41% from the United Kingdom, 8.91% from India and 5.64% from Canada.

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This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/spazio-e-difesa/export-armamenti-tutti-i-numeri-dellitalia-report-mediobanca/ on Sun, 19 Jan 2025 07:48:26 +0000.