EP says no to lifting arms embargo on China
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Brussels, April 15, IRNA
EP-China-Embargo
The European Parliament passed a resolution Thursday afternoon rejecting the lifting of the arms embargo on China.
During a plenary session of the 72-member EP, the only elected EU institution, in Strasbourg, 431 MEPs voted in favor of the resolution and 85 against.
The resolution is nonbinding but it reflects public opinion in the 25-member EU.
The EU imposed the arms embargo on China following the Tiananmen Square incidents in 1989.
France and Germany want the arms embargo lifted, saying that the human rights situation in China has now improved.
But the US and some EU countries oppose lifting the embargo, arguing that the human rights situation in China has not improved.
In their resolution, MEPs described Taiwan as "a model of democracy for the whole of China."
Meanwhile, EU foreign ministers are to discuss the arms embargo during their informal meeting in Luxembourg Friday.
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::IRNA No.017 15/04/2005 13:34 --End
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