SLOVAKIA will release its annual report on arms trading for the year. The Economy Ministry had planned to release the report only in 2007, based on an EU request, but calls for wider public access to information have pushed the government to start releasing its reports much earlier.
The report will include the number of issued licenses and categorisation of exported military material, as well as the material’s price, volume, and the destinations to which it was transported, wrote the economic daily Hospodárske noviny.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, two global non-governmental organisations, have been warning Slovakia that it needs to make arms trading more transparent and give the public access to the related information.
The organisations said that, in the case of the transit of military material, Slovakia enjoys a license exemption if the material does not stay in Slovakia longer than seven days. Thus the re-exported military cargo only passes through customs and airport checks, which do not prevent illegal arms trading.
Compiled by Beata Balogová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
