Cover of the Report by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany on Its Policy on the Exports of Conventional Military Equipment in 2018

The Federal Government’s Military Equipment Export Report furnishes information to the Bundestag and the public about the licences issued for the export of conventional military equipment in the reference year. The reports, which are published periodically, make an important contribution towards an objective and informed debate on the issue of exports of military equipment.

In 2018, individual licences (i.e. licences for single transactions) worth around €4.82 billion were issued for the export of military equipment (2017: approx. €6.24 billion). Here, a proportion of 47.2% (2017: 39.2%) went to licences for exports to EU/NATO and NATO-equivalent countries, which are linked by a particularly close security policy partnership with Germany. Export licences worth €2.55 billion were issued for third countries (2017: €3.795 billion). The total value of the licences for small arms and parts for small arms in 2018 amounted to €38.91 million. The 2017 figure was €47.82 million. The licences for small arms for third countries in 2018 were worth €403,703 (2017: €15.1 million). The low value for third countries is a clear indicator of the Federal Government’s very restrictive policy on licences of small arms exports to third countries.