Spain suspends military export licenses to Egypt

The Spanish government has announced the suspension of all military export licenses to Egypt, in condemnation of the use of excessive force against civilians.

The suspended licenses included those for military planes, which represents about 90 per cent of Spanish sales to Egypt.

This announcement came after a similar British step, which saw the suspension of 49 export licenses to Egypt. The British government said that it did not want British goods to be used in the current unrest which has led to the death of civilians in Egypt.

The suspended licenses include those for a wide range of equipment and spare parts of helicopters, military planes, software programmes and communication tools for tanks.

British secretary of state for business, Vince Cable, said, “as a result of the latest developments in Egypt, we have agreed with our partners in the EU to go forward and suspend all export licenses of goods could be used in repression in the country.”

Vince Cable explained the reason behind this step, “By acting together, we want to send a clear signal that we condemn all violence in Egypt.”

The suspension will continue to be kept under review until “conditions in Egypt indicate that it is appropriate to lift these restrictions.”