Abstract

Despite the adoption of a voluntarist law in March 2003, there is no real control of arms brokers in Belgium. Moreover, the regionalization of the competence in the area of arms export in Belgium and the adoption of the EU Common Position on the control of arms brokering, which both happened a few months after the adoption of the Belgian law, had as consequences that the law’s objectives are not achieved and that Belgium does not comply to the European norms. Therefore, there it is clearly necessary (and legally binding) to amend the law which regulates the broker’s activities in Belgium in order to effectively combat the illicit arms trafficking.

Keywords: broker, arms brokering, arms trafficking, EU Common Position on the brokering, Belgium.