Monday, September 12, 2016

EU COMMISSION issues DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) amending Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 setting up a Community regime for the control of exports, transfer, brokering and transit of dual-use items


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.


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