Report exposes Italy and Malta as top EU arms exporters to Libya

Feb 23, 2011, 11:16 GMT

Brussels - Libya has received hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of arms from the European Union, with Italy and Malta emerging as the bloc's top exporters, according to a report doing the rounds in Brussels on Wednesday.

The report, which was first published by the EU in January but had gone largely unnoticed, came to the fore as Moamer Gaddafi's regime was attracting worldwide condemnation for quashing anti-government protests by killing hundreds of civilians.

According to the EU's latest annual report on arms exports, which refers to 2009, the bloc's member states granted 343 million euros' (470 million dollars') worth of export licences to Libya.

The document noted that actual arms exports to Libya amounted to 174 million euros, but warned that figures were incomplete.

Italy - which on Tuesday denied accusations by Gaddafi that it was arming the revolt - was shown to have granted export licences totalling 112 million euros, with a single 108-million-euro licence for military aircraft making up most of the amount.

Malta emerged as the second-largest exporter, having authorized the sale of an 80-million-euro consignment of small arms.

Germany was third in the list, with 53 million euros of licences, mostly for electronic jamming equipment used to disrupt mobile phone, internet and GPS communication.

France was next with 30.5 million euros, followed by Britain with 25.5 million euros, and Belgium with 22 million euros.

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