C(2016)5707/F1
TRADE (DG
Trade)
12/09/2016
1.
CONTEXT OF THE DELEGATED ACT
According
to the provisions of Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 dual-use items - items
that can be used for both civilian and military purposes or can contribute to
the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, or both - shall be subject to
effective control when they are exported from or transit through the European
Union, or are delivered to a third country as a result of brokering services.
Annex I to
Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 establishes the common list of dual-use
items subject to controls in the Union – the "EU dual-use control
list". Decisions on the items subject to controls are taken within the
framework of the international non-proliferation regimes and export control
arrangements, namely the Australia Group, the Missile Technology Control
Regime, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Wassenaar Arrangement and the Chemical
Weapons Convention.
The list of
dual-use items set out in Annex I to Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 needs
to stay current in order to ensure full compliance with international security
obligations, guarantee transparency, maintain the Union competitiveness and
facilitate references for export control authorities and economic operators.
This requires updated and consolidated versions of Annex I to Council
Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 to be published at regular intervals.
Article
15(1) and (3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 stipulate that "the
Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts … concerning
updating the list of dual-use items set out in Annex I"…"in
conformity with the relevant obligations and commitments, and any modifications
thereof, that Member States have accepted as members of the international
non-proliferation regimes and export control arrangements, or by ratification
of relevant international treaties". Article 15(3) further sets out
that "where the updating of Annex I concerns dual-use items which are
also listed in Annexes IIa to IIg or IV, those Annexes shall be amended
accordingly".
The current
EU dual-use control list was last updated by Commission Delegated Regulation
(EU) No 2015/2420 of 12 October 2015, taking account of the control list
changes adopted by the international non-proliferation regimes and export
control arrangements until the end of 2014. The changes to the control lists
adopted by the international non-proliferation regimes and export control
arrangements in 2015 now require another amendment of Annex I to Council
Regulation (EC) No 428/2009. The delegated act therefore presents a variety of
amendments to the Union dual-use control list concerning the control
parameters, the technical definitions and descriptions and the removal or
addition of dual-use items. The amendments to the Union dual-use control list
in Annex I also necessitate consequential amendments to Annexes IIa to IIg and
Annex IV.
It should
be recalled that the provisions of Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 are
without prejudice to those of Article 9 of Decision No 1104/2011/EU of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on the rules for
access to the public regulated service provided by the global navigation
satellite system established under the Galileo programme.
