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

MAIN (PART 1)

ANNEX 11 (PART 1)

ANNEX 12 (PART 1)

ANNEX 8 (PART 2)

ANNEX 1 (PART 3)

ANNEX 2 (PART 4)

ANNEX 7 (PART 5)

ANNEX 10 (PART 6)

ANNEX 6 (PART 7)

ANNEX 3 (PART 8)

ANNEX 4 (PART 9)

ANNEX 9 (PART 10)

ANNEX 5 (PART 11)

PDF (other languages)

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.

U.S. State Department: Designations of Foreign Terrorist Fighters

 

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

September 29, 2015

As part of the effort to counter the threats posed by foreign terrorist fighters, the Department of State has designated ten individuals and five groups, and amended the designations of two additional groups as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, which imposes sanctions and penalties on terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism. Also today, the Treasury Department concurrently announced the designation of 15 key Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorism facilitators pursuant to E.O. 13224, for a total of 35 new U.S. terrorism designations issued today. As a result of these designations, all property subject to U.S. jurisdiction in which these individuals or groups have any interest is blocked and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them or to their benefit.
 

The Department of State’s designations today, and those carried out by the Treasury Department, highlight the scope of the foreign terrorist fighter challenge facing the international community. At the same time, these U.S. sanctions also underscore our resolve to counter the threat posed to international peace and stability by foreign terrorist fighters. The Counter-ISIL Coalition has taken a number of steps to address the flow of Foreign Terrorist Fighters, but it is clear that more work remains to be done.

 

Credible reports published recently on the topic of foreign terrorist fighters in Syria and Iraq have provided first-hand accounts of the barbaric injustices and nihilistic violence perpetrated by ISIL – the result of which has been defections from ISIL. The United States will continue to work closely with its partners and multilateral bodies to apply sanctions against ISIL’s tyranny of violence and oppression.

 

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Caucasus Province (ISIL-CP) became ISIL’s newest regional group on June 23, 2015 when the spokesman for ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi released an audio recording accepting the sworn allegiance of the fighters of four Caucasus regions – Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, and Kabardino-Balkaria. The statement also appointed Rustam Aselderov as the emir of the new ISIL-CP. On September 2, 2015, ISIL-CP claimed responsibility for an attack on a Russian military base in Magaramkent, southern Dagestan, which resulted in the deaths and injuries of a number of Russian citizens.

 

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Khorasan’s (ISIL-K) formation was announced in an online video on January 10, 2015. The group is led by former Tehrik-e Taliban (TTP) commander Hafiz Saeed Khan, and consists of former Pakistani and Afghan Taliban faction commanders who swore an oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. On January 26, 2015, ISIL spokesman Abu Muhammad al Adnani announced ISIL’s expansion into Khorasan by reporting that Baghdadi had accepted Khan’s pledge and appointed him as Governor of Khorasan.

 

Rustam Aselderov is a former commander of the North Caucasus extremist group Caucasus Emirate, a designated SDGT, and the current leader of ISIL-CP. Aselderov defected from Caucasus Emirate, and swore allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in early December 2014. A spokesman for al-Baghdadi accepted this pledge of allegiance and appointed Aselderov as the “emir” of ISIL-CP, which conducted its first attack in September 2015, which resulted in the deaths of Russian citizens.

 

French citizen Emilie Konig traveled to Syria in 2012 to join and fight for ISIL. While in Syria, Konig directed individuals in France to attack French government institutions. In a video posted on May 31, 2013, Konig was shown training with weapons in Syria.

 

French citizen Peter Cherif is a foreign fighter and member of al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). In 2004, he was captured while fighting for al-Qa’ida in Iraq (AQI) near Fallujah. He was convicted in Baghdad in July 2006 for illegally crossing the border, and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He escaped in March 2007 after an insurgent attack and prison break, and traveled to Syria. He was later arrested in Syria, extradited, and served 18 months in jail in France. He was released pending trial and fled the country to Yemen. Cherif was sentenced to five years in prison, in abstentia, for being a member of a terrorist organization.

 

ISIL member and foreign fighter Boubaker Hakim appeared in an ISIL video where he claimed responsibility for the assassinations of two Tunisian political leaders in 2013. Previously, Hakim was reported to have ties with U.S. designated FTO Ansar al-Sharia Tunisia (AAS-T) and to have worked with related associates to target Western diplomats in North Africa.

 

Maxime Hauchard is a French national who traveled to Syria to join ISIL in August 2013. Hauchard was identified among the ISIL fighters who appeared in the November 2014 execution video which depicted the beheadings of several Syrian soldiers and showed the severed head of an American hostage.

 

Tarkhan Ismailovich Gaziyev is a North Caucasian foreign terrorist fighter who has been involved in the Chechen insurgency since 2003. In 2007, he became the Caucasus Emirate Commander of the Southwestern Front of the Province of Chechnya, and carried out numerous attacks in this role. Gaziyev later split from the group in 2010 and then entered Syria through Turkey, where he now leads an ISIL-linked group known as Tarkhan Jamaat.

 

Shamil Izmaylov is a well-known Russian foreign terrorist fighter currently in Syria. Before arriving in Syria in 2012, Izmaylov trained in—and later set up his own—training center in Egypt. In mid-2013, Izmaylov established his own Russian-speaking ISIL faction in Raqqa. In addition to participating in combat in Syria, Izmaylov has also been associated with Caucasus Emirate.

 

Nasser Muthana traveled to Syria from his home in Cardiff, UK in November 2013, to fight for ISIL. In June 2014, Muthana was featured in an ISIL video where he admits to having participated in battles in Syria.
 

British citizen Sally Jones traveled from the UK to Syria in 2013 to join ISIL and fight alongside her husband, deceased ISIL hacker Junaid Hussain. Jones and Hussain targeted American military personnel through publication of a “hit list” online to encourage lone offender attacks. Jones has used social media to recruit women to join ISIL. In August 2015, Jones encouraged individuals aspiring to conduct attacks in Britain by offering guidance on how to construct homemade bombs.

 

Jund al-Khilafah in Algeria (JAK-A) emerged on September 13, 2014, when senior al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) military commanders broke away from the group and announced its allegiance to ISIL. JAK-A is best known for its abduction and subsequent beheading of French national Herve Gourdel in September 2014.

 

Mujahidin Indonesian Timur (MIT) is an ISIL-linked terrorist group operating in Indonesia. MIT members have ties to other U.S. Department of State designated FTOs, including Jemmah Anshorut Tauhid (JAT) and Jemaah Islamiya (JI). In July 2014, MIT’s leader, Abu Warda Santoso, pledged allegiance to ISIL. MIT has become increasingly bold in its attacks on security forces, which includes the use of explosives and shootings.

 

Former Tajikistan special operations colonel, police commander, and military expert Gulmurod Khalimov is a Syria-based ISIL member and recruiter. Khalimov was the commander of a special paramilitary unit in the Tajikistan Ministry of Interior. Khalimov appeared in a propaganda video confirming that he fights for ISIL.

 

In addition to the E.O. 13224 designations listed above, the Department of State has designated Jaysh Rijal al-Tariq al Naqshabandi (JRTN) as a Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT) under E.O. 13224, and as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). JRTN is a terrorist group that first announced insurgency operations against Coalition Forces in Iraq in December 2006 in response to the hanging of Saddam Hussein. JRTN claimed numerous attacks on Coalition Forces until their withdrawal in 2011. JRTN’s other goals include overthrowing the government of Iraq for a Ba’athist or similar regime. JRTN played an important role in some of ISIL’s most significant military advances, including the seizure of Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city.

 

Also under the FTO and E.O. 13224 authorities, the designations of Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (ABM) have been amended to add several aliases, including ISIL Sinai Province (ISIL SP). In November 2014, ABM pledged allegiance to ISIL, and has since used ISIL Sinai Province as its primary name. ISIL leadership accepted ABM’s pledge that same month. ISIL Sinai Province continues to attack Egyptian targets.

 

 

The Office of Website Management, Bureau of Public Affairs, manages this site as a portal for information from the U.S. State Department. External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.

 

 

U.S. White House FACT SHEET: Leaders’ Summit to Counter ISIL and Violent Extremism

Visit Website

President Obama today is hosting a Summit highlighting the international community’s efforts to counter ISIL, address Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs), and Counter Violent Extremism (CVE).  The President has made clear that ISIL poses a threat to the United States and the international community, and that we will use all instruments of power to defeat it.  He has also made clear that this fight will not be won quickly, solely through military means, or by the United States alone.  This is a long-term struggle that will be won with a comprehensive approach in concert with state and nongovernmental actors across the globe—which is exactly what we are doing.  This Summit, also hosted by Vice President Biden, built on progress achieved the last year and provided the participants the opportunity to announce new initiatives.  Today the international community demonstrated its resolve to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL and break the lifecycle of terrorism – from radicalization to conflict zones and everywhere in between. 

Countering ISIL

The United States established and is leading a Coalition of more than 60 partners committed to degrading and ultimately destroying ISIL, and today welcomed new Coalition members Malaysia, Nigeria, and Tunisia to join those efforts.  While military power rolled back some of the group’s territorial gains and improved local partner forces’ capabilities, Coalition efforts to begin countering ISIL’s messaging, disrupting its finances and countering the FTF threat continue to be equally important.  And through humanitarian assistance and stabilization programs, the Coalition is helping those who have survived ISIL’s barbarity.  Yesterday the Coalition released a statement outlining the breadth and depth of counter-ISIL efforts in the past year.

As part of our counter-ISIL efforts, the Coalition is supporting the Iraqi government’s progress toward effective governance.  Under Prime Minister Abadi, Baghdad has approved a comprehensive program to foster inclusive governance and reconciliation, and taken initial steps to rein in corruption, streamline the bureaucracy and decentralize responsibilities to provincial and local leaders. The U.S. and our Coalition partners will work with the Iraqi Government to help ensure these and many other steps are fully implemented.

The challenge of establishing effective governance is even greater in Syria, where the regime is conducting a brutal campaign that has fractured the country and allowed ISIL to flourish.  With our allies, we are pursuing a negotiated political transition that removes Asad from power and establishes a transitional government uniting the Syrian people.  
More than two dozen Coalition partners, led by the United States, have contributed to the military campaign in Iraq and Syria, conducting over 7,200 air strikes to date and training and providing equipment and ammunition to local partners.  As a result, ISIL has lost the ability to operate freely in 20-25 percent of the populated territory it held one year ago in Iraq and Syria.  In Syria, Kurdish and Arab partners—with Coalition support—have cut off ISIL’s access to all but 68 miles of the 600-mile long Syria-Turkey border, which is an important step toward preventing FTF travel and squeezing ISIL supply lines.   

• In Iraq, 18 Coalition members have trained more than 13,000 Iraqi and Peshmerga soldiers.  The Coalition has also facilitated training for thousands of Sunni tribal fighters, supporting Baghdad’s efforts to recapture Ramadi and liberate Anbar Province.
• In Syria, the Department of Defense is training and equipping appropriately vetted elements of the Syrian armed opposition to counter ISIL and create the conditions for a political settlement.  Training sites were established in Turkey and Jordan, and sites in Qatar and Saudi Arabia will open shortly.  Coalition strikes and nonlethal assistance have also helped a variety of other forces in Syria, many of whom played critical roles clearing ISIL from all but approximately 68 miles of the Turkey-Syria border.

The Coalition is working to squeeze ISIL financially.  Early this year, the Coalition’s Counter ISIL Financial Group (CIFG), co-chaired by the United States, Italy and Saudi Arabia, developed an action plan to disrupt ISIL’s financial activity and ability to raise, move and use funds.  This week, the United States designated over 30 ISIL officials, facilitators and supporters and announced a State Department Rewards for Justice offer of up to $5 million for information leading to the significant disruption of the sale of oil or antiquities benefiting ISIL.  Additionally, the UN added key ISIL facilitators to the UN al-Qa’ida Sanctions List, effectively freezing their assets and preventing them from using the international financial system as well as prohibiting their travel in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1267. 

The Coalition is also working to erode ISIL’s appeal by strengthening capabilities to counter the group’s messages of hate.  The State Department’s Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications operationalized an Interagency Counterterrorism Communications cell to improve cross-government collaboration on countering ISIL’s online messaging.  And the UAE-based Sawab (“the right path”) Center is increasing online debate to undermine ISIL’s claims to legitimacy and strategic success. 

The United States and its partners are responding to the humanitarian impact of the conflict and ISIL’s depravity.  In Syria, ISIL has contributed to the crisis that has forced nearly 12 million people from their homes, including more than 4 million refugees, 7.6 million internally displaced persons and 5.5 million children.  The United States is the single largest humanitarian aid donor for those impacted by the Syria crisis, contributing $4.5 billion since the crisis began.  Since 2014, 3.2 million Iraqis have also become internally displaced, and the United States has contributed more than $477 million in humanitarian assistance to address this and the needs of other vulnerable populations.  Additionally, on September 15, the Department of Defense approved up to $75 million for relief supplies to help address immediate lifesaving needs for displaced Iraqis.  Our joint efforts with Coalition partners, including financial contributions to the United Nations Development Program’s Funding Facility for Immediate Stabilization, have begun yielding positive results near Tikrit, where approximately 100,000 civilians displaced by ISIL’s violence have returned.

Countering the Foreign Terrorist Fighter Threat

ISIL is a unique threat in large part due to its ability to attract FTFs, and the United States is leading global efforts to address this challenge.  Last year, President Obama chaired a UN Security Council summit at which UNSCR 2178 was adopted.  The binding resolution, which has improved the international community’s ability to counter the FTF threat, requires countries to prevent suspected individuals from entering or transiting their countries; disrupt financial support to FTFs; implement UNSCR 1267 sanctions obligations and propose sanctions against those supporting ISIL and affiliates or derivatives of al-Qaida; and implement legislation to enable prosecution.  UNSCR 2178 also underscores the centrality of efforts to counter violent extremism to suppress the FTF threat, a theme amplified at today’s summit.

Since the adoption of UNSCR 2178, 22 countries have passed legal frameworks to better address the threat posed by FTFs, 34 countries have arrested FTFs, and 12 have successfully prosecuted at least one foreign terrorist fighter.  The United States has supported several of our partners’ development and implementation of laws addressing the FTF threat while respecting fundamental human rights and civil liberties.
The United States continues to help partners improve border security to better identify, restrict and report suspected FTF travel, including encouraging partners to participate in multilateral information sharing mechanisms.

Today, through INTERPOL’s Counterterrorism Fusion Center (CTFC), 52 countries now share foreign terrorist fighter profiles.  Bilaterally, the United States has concluded arrangements with over 40 international partners to provide a mechanism for sharing terrorist travel information.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is encouraging additional countries to join the U.S. and more than 60 other countries that use travel information, like Advanced Passenger Information (API), to more effectivity identify known and previously unknown FTFs. 

In May, DHS and the State Department drove an unprecedented meeting of Interior Ministers of UN Security Council nations to advocate for strong implementation of UNSCR 2178 principles.  The ministerial focused on border controls particularly.  DHS also announced the creation of an open-source tool for strengthening border security.  At a July meeting in Spain, DHS, State and partner nations made key financial commitments to strengthening border security. 

At home, we are employing a whole-of-government approach, leveraging homeland security, law enforcement, justice sector, intelligence, diplomatic, capacity building, and information sharing tools to counter FTFs. 

DHS and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) disseminate Joint Intelligence Bulletins to share threat information with state, local and tribal law enforcement.  Additionally, in recent months DHS announced changes to security partnerships required under the Visa Waiver Program to align with UNSCR 2178 and enhanced the Electronic system for Travel Authorization (ESTA). These efforts enhance security while continuing to encourage legitimate trade and travel.

Building Global Movements to Counter Violent Extremism

As President Obama has said, “ideologies are not defeated with guns; they’re defeated by better ideas – a more attractive and more compelling vision.”  That is why President Obama convened the February 2015 White House Summit to Counter Violent Extremism, where the international community came together to expand efforts against violent extremism.  Since then, driven by U.S. leadership, the global CVE movement has grown rapidly.

Global Progress

Today, the United States announced the launch of the International CT and CVE Clearinghouse Mechanism (ICCM) to improve capacity-building coordination among key partners in several pilot countries.  The ICCM will identify programming gaps, and mobilize and coordinate donor resources to address identified needs.

We also highlighted new initiatives and progress on a number of key initiatives announced at the February 2015 White House Summit to Counter Violent Extremism:

Strong Cities Network: Today, Attorney General Loretta Lynch will keynote the launch the first global network of municipal and other sub-national leaders to support the development of effective rights-based community focused programs and training to build resilience against violent extremism.

The Global Youth Summit to Counter Violent Extremism: Yesterday, Lisa Monaco, the President’s Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor, kicked off a summit that brought together more than 80 global youth leaders and organizations from more than 45 countries to build support for innovative youth-led initiatives.  The development of global virtual platforms will allow participating youth leaders and youth-oriented organizations to remain connected and share best practices. 

Peer-to-Peer Global University Challenge: Spanning both domestic and international CVE efforts, the United States Government recently launched this initiative to empower university students in the United States, Canada, North Africa, Middle East, Europe, Australia, and Asia.  Their objectives were to design and implement a social or digital initiative, product, or tool to motivate and empower their peers to join the movement in countering violent extremism.  The spring 2015 winner of the of Peer-to-Peer Challenge, One 95.org from Missouri State University, was showcased yesterday at the Global Youth Summit.  

RESOLVE (Research and Solutions for Violent Extremism):  This international CVE research network, which was launched last week, will provide grants to local researchers and serve as a platform to facilitate information sharing and mentoring. It will be managed by a consortium of organizations that will include the Geneva Centre on Security Policy, Hedayah, the Institute for Security Studies, the Africa Policy Institute, and the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Balkans Regional CVE Initiative: The Government of Albania will lead a Western Balkans regional CVE initiative to build regional capacity and cooperation on CVE issues, in particular through supporting front-line CVE practitioners, civil society, and local communities, developing national CVE strategies, and promoting research, education, and counter-messaging. 

East Africa CVE Center of Excellence and Counter-Messaging Hub: The Government of Djibouti will host an Intergovernmental Authority on Development center to provide dedicated support, training, and research related to CVE, and serve as a resource for governments and civil society from across the region.

Guidelines and Good Practices for Developing Inclusive National CVE Strategies: Hedayah, in collaboration with the Global Center on Cooperative Security and the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe, produced a set of guidelines, good practices and principles for the development of national CVE strategies/action plans that promote a “whole of society” approach to CVE.

Domestic Progress

The federal government has partnered with local governments, public safety officials, educators and social service providers in greater Boston, Los Angeles and the Twin Cities to implement strategic prevention frameworks that address the unique issues facing their local communities. Since February, federal officials and local partners have advanced and expanded their prevention frameworks to include the addition of new community stakeholders, developed private sector partnerships, and developed a new series of youth-focused programs.   

In September, the Department of Justice (DOJ) Community Oriented Policing Service (COPS), in partnership with the Police Executive Research Forum, convened law enforcement executives and community partners from over a dozen cities to explore how to adapt best practices and lessons learned from Boston, Los Angeles, Montgomery County, Md. and the Twin Cities to regions around the country. 

Participants discussed how to identify and build relationships with key stakeholders and methods to develop, implement and assess community engagement, prevention and intervention programs.  The COPS Office and Police Executive Research Forum will develop a series of case studies for local law enforcement seeking to replicate these programs.
DHS, in partnership with the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), continues to lead, improve and expand its community engagement work including Community Engagement Roundtables, Town Hall Meetings, Community Awareness Briefings and Community Resilience Exercises in cities all across the country.

Enhanced efforts will expand opportunities to reach more diverse communities; help develop the necessary understanding of terrorism and terrorist recruitment tactics; and to collectively and holistically explore ways to address these threats before they become a challenge at the local level.

In order to enhance training for federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement, DHS and DOJ work cooperatively with its federal partners to update CVE-relevant training programs based on current threat assessments through programs such as the Uniformed Police Training Program, Criminal Investigator Training Program, Land Management Police Training Program, and the Rural Police Officer Training.

 

 

New players in Russia's aviation industry?

The 2nd Annual Conference Aviation Forum 2009 on March 27th, 2009, may point out news trends in the industry. The Russian business daily Vedomosti (organizer of the event) expects that "new large players will soon appear in the aviation field of Russia."

According to the conference's announcement some airlines that not long ago claimed for leadership are now bankrupt. Some outsiders leave, others have nothing else to do but be overtaken by stronger and more successful airlines.

The conference covers questions, such as:

• How will the market evolve?
  
• Which player will win an advantage under the new economic conditions?
  
• What advantages can those remaining in the Russian market draw from the world crisis aftereffects?
  
• What aviation business development strategies will be most efficient? What awaits the plane making industry?

The first Aviation Forum took place in spring 2008 and aroused great interest on the part of chief industry representatives. Over 200 people visited the conference, speeches were delivered by Boris Korol, deputy minister, Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, Evgeny Bachurin, former director, Federal Air Traffic Agency, Valery Okulov, chief executive officer, Aeroflot - Russian Airlines, Vitaly Vantsev, Board Member of Vnukovo International Airport JSC and other aviation market participants.

Topics for discussion

• Market redistribution. Bankruptcies of air carriers and companies consolidation and appearance of new players in the market
• Mergers of regional carriers and problems of social carriage in the context of economic changes
• Changes in the industry regulation: a single license for domestic carriage, competitive basis for the issue of international carriage licenses, change of the Federal Air Traffic Agency functions. To what extent have these measures improved the companies' position?
• New rules of relations with fuel producers and suppliers. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the existing schemes?
• Reduction of fuel prices. Market demonopolization
• Cooperation between airports and air carriers: formation of new holdings
• Main strategies of Russian and foreign plane makers: joint projects, situation with existing orders, airplanes of the future Provision with airplanes and equipment. How is the Russian Federation Government program for the aircraft fleet renovation being implemented?
• The future of leasing as one of the most promising lines of industry development
  

The following speakers will take part

• market regulators
  
• Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation,
  
• Federal Air Transport Agency of the Russian Federation,
  
• Ministry of Industry and Power,
  
• Ministry of Economic Development and Trade,
  
• Federal Anti-Monopoly Service,
  
• Federal Air-Navigation Service,
  
• Russian State Duma Committee for Power, Transport and Communications,
  
• United Aircraft Corporation,
  
• top-managers of Russian and Foreign air carriers, aircraft manufacturers, fuel companies, associations, investment entities, consultants and market analysts.
  

If you are interested, please feel free to contact Elizaveta Zyryanova, the Project Manager, concerning all agenda issues at phone +7 495 232-32-00, ext. 1184 or via e-mail: e.zyryanova@vedomosti.ru.

Please, contact Ekaterina Potapova for sponsorship and advertisement issues at phone +7 495 232-32-00, ext. 1180 or e.potapova@vedomosti.ru.

To register, fill out an application form at our website: http://events.vedomosti.ru/reg.shtml?avia9 Participant's registration fee is 24500 roubles (without VAT). Please, contact Natalya Bondareva for registration issues at phone +7 495 232-32-00 ext.1558 or n.bondareva@vedomosti.ru

YushMash in Ukraine stumbles

Ukraine's financial crises might also affect its prominent missile and satellite manifacturer Yuzhmash, the Ukrainian weekly Kiev Post reports in its latest issue, quoting Interfax.

Like Ukravtodor Yuzhmash is seen facing "debt-servicing challenges in 2009", says Oleksandr Shlapak, the first deputy of President Viktor Yushchenko's office."The most serious problem will be with servicing corporate liabilities guaranteed by the state in 2009. The point at issue is, as you know, Ukravtodor. We've managed to settle part of the problem: Credit Suisse signed an agreement on re-lending half of the sum of the credit - $960 million. Talks are still under way with Morgan Stanley.

A similarly difficult situation will occur with Yuzhmash, whose payments fall due in February. As far as I know, Yuzhmash has no revenues to pay off its debt. It means the payments should come from the budget," he told reporters on Monday (Jan 26, 2009).

A third candidate for trouble is NJSC NaftoGaz Ukrainy."It has liabilities worth UAH 26 billion – these are foreign and domestic loans… I'm sure Naftogaz has no extra resources today to settle these debts. Most likely, the point at issue will be refinancing," he said.

In this connection, Shlapak said that this year the budget is facing difficulties even with the payment of wages and pensions, and this is when it's nearly impossible to raise funds on the foreign market.

OSCE finally looks into the air

The OSCE is about to investigate one of the crucial channels of illicit arms trade: the air. Some airports in central and eastern Europe, e.g. Bratislava, but also in the Arabian hemisphere, e.g. Sharjah, have formerly been well-known hubs for armstraders, particularly from Russia.

Today (December 4th, 2006), the Chairman-in-Office, Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht, has called for a wide range of organizations and companies to attend a special meeting, early next year, to work on ways to fight the illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons by air.

"Certain progress has been made on some subjects such as small arms and light weapons," Minister De Gucht said according to an OSCE press release, referring to military aspects of security. But still, the proliferation of small arms poses a serious threat to human security. According to the OSCE small arms kill more than half a million people a year, or 1,400 each day.

Near some of the airports in the regions, small specialized airlines have settled, using lax regulation for air cargo shipment, particularly concerning transit routes. Secret services of smaller central European countries do not see themselves capable of controlling the routes of these smaller air companies. And air control authorities in some of the target countries lack finances to efficiently control where the cargo is finally going to.

Ukrainian DELO Makes Arms Exports Public

Ющенко выстрелил по Кабмину Напечатано в газете "ДЕЛО" № 239 от 17 Октября 2006г. Президент оставил за собой контроль над экспортом оружия. Виктор Ющенко вчера приостановил постановление Кабмина от 20 сентября этого года, которым предполагалось изменить действующие правила работы государственной компании по экспорту и импорту продукции и услуг военного и специального назначения «Укрспецэкспорт». По оценкам экспертов, годовой объем оружейного экспорта из Украины составляет от $600 до $700 млн. ...

Заместитель главы Секретариата президента Виктор Бондарь утверждает, что результатом этих инициатив правительства стало бы отстранение президента Украины и СНБО от решения вопросов деятельности «Укрспецэкспорта». Как констатируют в Центре исследований армии, конверсии и разоружения (ЦИАКР), если подходить формально — чисто с экономической точки зрения — к вопросу торговли вооружениями и военной техникой, то «Укрспецэкспорт» как государственный посредник должен находиться в системе Кабинета Министров (кстати, «Укрспецэкспорт» находился и находится именно в структуре правительства). Однако сфера оружейной торговли, кроме экономического аспекта, имеет аспект политический. Причем именно политика в этой области часто является первичной. Принимая решение на продажу оружия за рубеж, Украина задействует целый комплекс обязательств, которые были взяты нашим государством перед международным сообществом и режимами экспортного контроля, членами которых Украина является. Если решение о продаже ракет, танков или «Кольчуг» будет приниматься без участия президента и СНБО, а исключительно исходя из экономической привлекательности, то Украина очень скоро встанет в один ряд с Северной Кореей и Ираном как «страна-изгой». Другое дело, что существующая система военно-технического сотрудничества и роль в ней президента, СНБО, Кабмина, «Укрспецэкспорта» требует уточнений и нормативно-правового закрепления. Ключевой проблемой в этой связи является отсутствие специального закона о военно-техническом сотрудничестве. Экспорт вооружений и военной техники Украины за 2005 год Вид оружия Страна – конечный импортер Количество единиц Названия единиц Боевые танки Азербайджан 25 T-72 Алжир 21 T-72 Грузия 16 T-72 Бронетехника Азербайджан 2 БМП-1 Казахстан 2 БТР-3E Грузия 12 БМП-2 10 БТР-80 Уганда 12 БМП-2 Артиллерийские системы больших калибров Азербайджан 11 RС3V 9A52 72 PM-38 Грузия 6 2С3 Боевые самолеты Беларусь 4 Л-39С Вьетнам 3 Су-22 Эстония 1 Л-39С 1 Су-24 1 МиГ-23МЛД Йемен 12 Л-39С Великобритания 3 Л-39С Словакия 2 Л-39С Чехия 1 Л-39 Боевые вертолеты Грузия 6 Ми-24 2 Ми-8MT Республика Конго 1 Ми-24 Латвия 2 Ми-8MT Литва 1 Ми-8МТВ-1 Ракеты и пусковые комплексы Переносные зенитно- ракетные комплексы Алжир 2 Р-40 Казахстан 12 Р-27 Китай 363 Р-27 Словакия 3 Р-27 США 1 9K52 4 9P117M1 США 29 9M39 "Игла" 6 9P516 Источник: Данные предоставленные Украиной в ООН, Центр исследования армии, конверсии и разоружения