On Commission delegated regulation of 3 November 2025 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1818 as regards the definition of prohibited weapons

B100501/2025

European Parliament resolution on Commission delegated regulation of 3 November 2025 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1818 as regards the definition of prohibited weapons

(C(2025)3801 – 2025/2847(DEA))

The European Parliament,

–having regard to the Commission delegated regulation (C(2025)03801),

–having regard to Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/1011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on indices used as benchmarks in financial instruments and financial contracts or to measure the performance of investment funds and amending Directives 2008/48/EC and 2014/17/EU and Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, and in particular Articles 19a and 49(6) thereof,

–having regard to Rule 114(3) of its Rules of Procedures,

A.whereas Regulation (EU) 2019/2089 amending Regulation (EU) 2016/1011 establishes EU Paris-aligned Benchmarks and EU Climate Transition Benchmarks with the objective of aligning capital markets with EU climate objectives;

B.whereas Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1818 establishes minimum standards for climate-related labels for benchmarks which require that all companies involved in any activities related to controversial weapons are excluded from EU Paris-aligned Benchmarks and EU Climate Transition Benchmarks;

C.whereas those standards are not intended to ban certain types of investments, but merely to ensure that certain categories cannot be labelled as EU Paris-aligned Benchmarks or EU Climate Transition Benchmarks, in order to avoid greenwashing and protect the credibility of the EU sustainable finance framework;

D.whereas according to the Defence Readiness Omnibus adopted by the Commission in June 2025, only weapons prohibited under the international arms conventions to which the majority of Member States are parties should be excluded from certain sustainable investment indices in Regulation (EU) 2016/1011;

E.whereas under Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1818, controversial weapons are defined with reference to international treaties and conventions, United Nations principles and, where applicable, national legislation, which effectively means that an index and, by extension, a financial product, cannot be labelled as green if it invests in such companies;

F.whereas the Commission delegated regulation stipulates that ‘prohibited weapons’ mean ‘anti-personnel mines, cluster munitions, biological and chemical weapons the use, possession, development, transfer, manufacture, and stockpiling of which is expressly prohibited by the international arms conventions to which the majority of Member States are parties, as listed in the Annex’;

G.whereas the definition of ‘prohibited weapons’ is substantially narrower than that of ‘controversial weapons’ and excludes some important categories such as incendiary weapons, for example white-phosphorous munitions, depleted-uranium ammunition and nuclear weapons;

H.whereas in its notice of 28 August 2025 on the application of the sustainable finance framework and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive to the defence sector, the Commission stated clearly and unequivocally that the EU sustainable finance framework is compatible with investing in the defence sector;

I.whereas Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1288 lays down a narrow definition of what controversial weapons are, and the European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority) (ESMA) has, in its reply to a question relating to controversial weapons, confirmed that national competent authorities may follow that definition; whereas numerous investors and countries are, however, following a broader interpretation and have excluded from EU Paris Aligned Benchmarks and EU Climate Transition Benchmarks undertakings involved in nuclear weapons, depleted uranium, as well as other controversial weapons;

J.whereas, notwithstanding the fact that the current geo-political landscape merits substantial investments in defence, it is not evident that codifying a narrower interpretation, in which weapons are excluded from the ESG labels under Regulation (EU) 2016/1011, will remove any real obstacle to defence investments, but it can be upheld that it undermines the credibility and usability of the ESG framework;

K.whereas considering that a restrictive list as the one in the annex to the Commission delegated regulation does not account for future developments in weapons prohibitions, and that the concept of ‘adherence to international arms conventions to which the majority Member States are parties’ is constantly evolving and requires ongoing monitoring, the long-term certainty envisaged by the Commission delegated act cannot be guaranteed;

1.Objects to the Commission delegated regulation;

2.Calls on the Commission to submit a new delegated act that provides legal certainty while protecting the integrity of the EU sustainable finance framework, in line with the concerns raised in this resolution;

3.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and to notify it that the delegated regulation cannot enter into force;

4.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and to the governments and parliaments of the Member States.