Barroso: More needed from Beijing for arms ban to be lifted

Commission President Barroso has urged China to further improve its human rights record before the EU will lift its 16-year-old arms embargo. Meanwhile, the US House of Representatives has rejected a bill that would have imposed penalties on European firms selling weapons to Beijing.

Bowing to intense last-minute lobbying, the US House of Representatives has turned down a bill that would have given President Bush the authority to introduce sanctions against European companies that sell weapons to China. The vote was 215 in favour and 203 against, way short of the required two-thirds majority. The original thrust of the legislation was to push Europe towards changing its plan to suspend its arms embargo on Beijing.

Meanwhile, during his visit to China, Commission President José Manuel Barroso said that it remains difficult for Europe to lift the arms sales ban – which has been in force since 1989 – without a change in Europe’s negative perception of China’s human rights record. „We in Europe understand that China is a very, very important partner. But at the same time, there are important concerns in many of our member states about the human rights situation,“ said Barroso.