{"id":40869,"date":"2019-03-26T22:25:57","date_gmt":"2019-03-26T22:25:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/03\/26\/french-envoy-presses-germany-on-stalling-arms-exports\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T20:54:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T20:54:15","slug":"french-envoy-presses-germany-on-stalling-arms-exports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2019\/03\/26\/french-envoy-presses-germany-on-stalling-arms-exports\/","title":{"rendered":"French envoy presses Germany on stalling arms exports"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

COLOGNE, Germany \u2014 France\u2019s ambassador to Germany is pushing Berlin to loosen its restrictive stance on arms exports to Saudi Arabia, arguing Europe\u2019s fledgling defense identity depends on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCredible export opportunities based on clear and predictable rules are an indispensable prerequisite for the continuation of our European defense industry,\u201d Anne-Marie Desc\u00f4tes wrote in an essay published Tuesday by the Berlin-based Federal Academy for Security Policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arms makers here rely on exports because the European market alone is too small to keep the lineup of defense companies in business, she argued. The French ambassador decried Germany\u2019s tendency to treat weapons exports as a matter of national policy, as opposed to considering them in the context of alliances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Desc\u00f4tes\u2019 comments come as Germany faces a make-or-break moment in a public debate that has lasted months. Local media reported Tuesday that the Bundessicherheitsrat, a secretive cross-Cabinet panel, would convene Wednesday to debate the continuation of an embargo against Riyadh that is slated to expire at the end of the month.<\/p>\n\n\n\t