Defense industry: Traffic light prevents Eurofighter exports to Saudi Arabia

The federal government wants to prevent the delivery of Eurofighter fighter jets to Saudi Arabia until the end of the legislative period. “Any decision on Eurofighter deliveries to Saudi Arabia is not in the foreseeable future,” said Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Government circles have said that the decision will initially apply until the next federal elections, i.e. until autumn 2025. The traffic light government, on the other hand, wants to give the green light for the delivery of A400M military transport aircraft to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Background and criticism of arms exports to Saudi Arabia and UAE

Arms exports to Saudi Arabia and the UAE are controversial because both countries are involved in the Yemen war. The 2021 coalition agreement between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP states: “We will not issue export licenses for armaments to states as long as they can be shown to be directly involved in the Yemen war.”

This clause should no longer apply. Because of the extensive cessation of hostilities, this clause “can no longer guide action,” said Scholz. “The situation in Yemen has changed a lot.” Many of those involved in the conflict have withdrawn from the conflict.

For years, Saudi Arabia and the UAE had fought on the side of the government in Yemen against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels who overran the country in 2014. Since the diplomatic rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran – the main supporter of the Yemeni rebels – the situation has calmed down. Between April and October 2022, an official ceasefire was finally brought about with the help of the United Nations.

Détente policy and possible exceptions

Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit emphasized that the policy of détente in the region was largely due to Saudi Arabia. The kingdom continues to abide by the terms of the ceasefire. “As far as the German government is aware, there have been no military operations by foreign states against the Houthi rebels since they expired last October.” This also applies to the UAE.

Nevertheless, there is no fundamental reversal in arms exports to the two authoritarian states, which are also criticized for their human rights situation. Until the end of the Yemen war, applications for Saudi Arabian export licenses will be postponed. Exceptions could be made in specific individual cases depending on the relevance of the mission to the Yemen conflict and taking into account a possible mission for human rights violations. As before, exceptions are also possible for joint projects with other EU and NATO countries.

No exception for Eurofighter fighter jets,

However, no exception should be made for the Eurofighters manufactured in Great Britain, for which components are supplied from Germany. The Greens politician Anton Hofreiter said a few days ago that Saudi Arabia had signaled an interest in 48 Eurofighters. But Great Britain cannot deliver that without German approval.

The situation is different with transport aircraft of the type A400M. According to Hofreiter, the UAE are interested in six copies, which are now to be delivered. The new interpretation of the Yemen clause will enable “many decisions to be made, for example when it comes to the A400M,” said Scholz.

The agreement within the federal government also sets an example with regard to the arms export law, which the government has been working on for more than a year. However, an agreement is not yet in sight.