The Walloon Government has adopted a preliminary draft decree aimed at modernising the rules governing the transfer of defence-related and civilian weapons products, in order to make the authorisation system more efficient, simplify procedures and better adapt them to the realities of the sector, while strictly respecting ethical principles, international commitments and strengthened democratic oversight.
The decree currently in force is based on the systematic granting of individual licences for every transfer, regardless of its complexity or sensitivity. In 2024, almost 3,000 licences were issued in Wallonia in this way. Over time, this procedure has proven particularly cumbersome and insufficiently adapted to the current realities of the sector.
Several shortcomings have been identified:
- The more or less burdensome administrative procedures are essentially based on classifying countries into two blocs: the EU and NATO on the one hand, and all other countries on the other, without taking into account other relevant criteria related to the nature or sensitivity of the case, namely:
- the nature of the equipment (defensive, offensive, spare parts, etc.).
- the nature of the transfer (final sale, temporary exhibition, repairs, etc.).
- the final recipient in the country of destination (a trade fair, an armed force, a subsidiary of a Walloon group, a subcontractor, etc.).
- the civilian or military nature of the product.
- Licences, still granted individually, have a validity period limited to eighteen months, which leads to numerous renewals and corresponds neither to the realities of trade in finished products nor to the lifespan of industrial projects.
- Finally, the current framework needs to be clarified with regard to transit situations and the emergency measures that the Government may adopt.
The solutions proposed in the decree
Through this reform, the Walloon Government aims to introduce a clearer, more readable procedure that is better suited to the realities of the sector, while guaranteeing rigorous oversight in line with the Region's international commitments, ethical concerns and respect for human rights.
The decree is first restructured to clarify the applicable regimes and therefore the various procedures. In doing so, the new decree puts an end to the “all individual licences” approach, which required a separate licence for every transfer, even though European law allows for exemption mechanisms, general or global licences for less sensitive transfers.
The reform therefore reverses this logic, since in these simple, low-risk cases, the individual licence becomes the exception rather than the rule. This so-called “funnel” approach is intended to enable more efficient handling of individual applications and to focus attention on the most complex cases with regard to Wallonia's international commitments, including the assessment of compliance with ethical principles and human rights.
In addition, the products covered by authorisations are clarified to exclude materials that form part of military products but are not specifically designed for military use (screws, bolts, gaskets, rivets, etc.). The reform also provides for simplification of temporary return transfers and transfers of components that are not considered sensitive relative to the finished product. Ancillary licences linked to maintenance or warranty contracts also benefit from streamlined procedures where the main licence for the contract has already been granted under the standard procedure.
Validity period of licences
The preliminary draft decree increases the validity period of licences and permits from 18 to 36 months. The duration of licences relating to defence-related products may also be extended to a maximum of 60 months if the project in question justifies it in view of the length of its industrial development.
This increase is motivated by four main reasons:
- With the current 18-month duration, applicants do not have sufficient flexibility and must calculate their licence applications very precisely based on projected contracts and logistical needs. In practice, licence applications are either submitted at the last minute to meet logistical requirements, or filed too far in advance to anticipate needs that may ultimately not materialise or may only arise much later (for example, as part of contract negotiations with insurers, clients, etc.). This leads either to distortions in the accounting of unexecuted licences or to the need for regular renewals. Since this process can be lengthy, a company wishing to avoid any gap between two licences is sometimes forced to submit a renewal request just one year after a licence was granted, which itself may have been issued several months after the initial application.
- The extension of licence duration to up to five years for major projects is justified by the fact that these often extend well beyond the timeframes of “standard” finished-product exports and require longer-term strategic planning. The Government's aim is to offer Walloon players involved in these projects greater predictability and security in their relationships with partners.
- Successive 18-month renewals are of limited value from the perspective of sound public administration, since the regular resubmission of old files increases the administrative burden for both the Walloon Region and applicants. In 2024 and 2025, nearly 700 renewals were requested, according to figures from the Arms Licences Directorate of SPW Economy, Employment and Research.
- Furthermore, since authorisations constitute an administrative act, the preliminary draft provides that they may be suspended or withdrawn at any time, which in practice reduces the usefulness of a regular renewal process.
Emergency measures
As a counterbalance to the validity period of authorisations, the preliminary draft creates a safeguard clause through a new emergency mechanism enabling the Government to react quickly to exceptional situations. It now allows the Walloon Government to take exceptional and temporary measures to prohibit, limit or suspend certain operations relating to specific products. These measures must remain proportionate and time-limited (6 months, renewable).
These decisions may be taken to ensure compliance with ethical principles and international obligations or to protect Walloon strategic interests. They may target certain types of products, certain countries or destinations, certain actors or operations, particularly in the event of a risk of circumvention.
Democratic oversight
Since the parliamentary sub-committee for the oversight of arms licences is the legitimate body for scrutinising government action, the preliminary draft decree provides for a new reporting frequency of every four months, containing more detailed information than that currently included in the six-monthly reports required under the decree of 21 June 2012.
In addition, the preliminary draft decree requires the Government to present these reports to the sub-committee. Besides examining the data contained in the report, this presentation to Parliament will also need to fully address transit transfers, specify the final destination countries of exports, and indicate the total number of export licences that were reviewed by the advisory committee. These reports state the reasons that, where applicable, led the Government to depart from the position expressed by the Advisory Committee.
Furthermore, the preliminary draft decree will guarantee the independence of the advisory committee.
Through this reform, the Walloon Government is equipping itself with a modernised, more readable framework that is better adapted to current realities, while maintaining a high level of rigour with regard to compliance with international commitments and ethical principles, including respect for human rights.
The preliminary draft decree reflects a commitment to ensuring both the legal certainty of operators, the effectiveness and democratic oversight of public action, and Wallonia's credibility in an ever-changing international context.