# Regulation (EU) No 599/2014 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Regulation (EU) No 599/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 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         

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U.K.

# Regulation (EU) No 599/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council

# of 16 April 2014

# 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                     

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 207 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure(1),                        

Whereas:

(1)Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009(2) requires dual-use items to be subject to effective control when they are exported from or transit through the Union, or are                              delivered to a third country as a result of brokering services provided by a broker resident or established in the Union.

(2)In order to enable Member States and the Union to comply with their international commitments, Annex I to Regulation (EC)                              No 428/2009 establishes the common list of dual-use items that are subject to controls in the Union. Decisions on the items                              subject to controls are taken within the framework of the Australia Group, the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Nuclear                              Suppliers Group, the Wassenaar Arrangement and the Chemical Weapons Convention.

(3)Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 provides for the list of dual-use items set out in Annex I to that Regulation to be updated in                              conformity with the relevant obligations and commitments, and any modifications thereto, that Member States have accepted                              as members of the international non-proliferation regimes and export control arrangements, or by ratification of relevant                              international treaties.

(4)The list of dual-use items set out in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 needs to be updated regularly so as to ensure                              full compliance with international security obligations, to guarantee transparency, and to maintain competitiveness of exporters.                              Delays with regard to the updating of that list of dual-use items may have negative effects on security and international                              non-proliferation efforts, as well as on the performance of economic activities by exporters in the Union. At the same time,                              the technical nature of the amendments and the fact that those amendments are to be in conformity with decisions taken in                              the international export control regimes means that an accelerated procedure should be used to bring the necessary updates                              into force in the Union.

(5)Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 introduces Union General Export Authorisations as one of the four types of export authorisations                              available under that Regulation. Union General Export Authorisations allow exporters established in the Union to export certain                              specified items to certain specified destinations subject to the conditions of those authorisations.

(6)Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 sets out the Union General Export Authorisations currently in force in the Union.                              Given the nature of such Union General Export Authorisations, there may be a need to remove certain destinations from the                              scope of those authorisations, in particular if changing circumstances show that facilitated export transactions should no                              longer be authorised under a Union General Export Authorisation for a particular destination. Such removal of a destination                              from the scope of a Union General Export Authorisation should not preclude an exporter from applying for another type of export                              authorisation under the relevant provisions of Regulation (EC) No 428/2009.

(7)In order to ensure regular and timely updates of the common list of dual-use items in conformity with the obligations and                              commitments taken by Member States within the international export control regimes, the power to adopt acts in accordance                              with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) should be delegated to the Commission in respect                              of amending Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 within the scope of Article 15 of that Regulation. It is of particular                              importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level.

(8)In order to allow for a swift Union response to changing circumstances as regards the assessment of the sensitivity of exports                              under Union General Export Authorisations, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated                              to the Commission in respect of amending Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 as regards the removal of destinations from                              the scope of the Union General Export Authorisations. Given that such modifications should only be made in response to an                              increase in the assessment of the risk of the relevant exports, and that the continued use of Union General Export Authorisations                              for those exports could have an imminent adverse effect on the security of the Union and its Member States, an urgency procedure                              may be used by the Commission.

(9)The Commission, when preparing and drawing up delegated acts, should ensure a simultaneous, timely and appropriate transmission                              of relevant documents to the European Parliament and to the Council.

(10)Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 should therefore be amended accordingly,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

# Article 1U.K.

Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 is amended as follows:

in Article 9(1), the following subparagraphs are added:

‘In order to ensure that only low-risk transactions are covered by the Union General Export Authorisations included in Annexes                                 IIa to IIf, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 23a to remove destinations                                 from the scope of those Union General Export Authorisations, if such destinations become subject to an arms embargo as referred                                 to in Article 4(2).                           

Where, in cases of such arms embargoes, imperative grounds of urgency require a removal of particular destinations from the                                 scope of a Union General Export Authorisation, the procedure provided for in Article 23b shall apply to delegated acts adopted                                 pursuant to this paragraph’;                           

in Article 15, the following paragraph is added:

‘3.The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 23a concerning updating the list of dual-use                                    items set out in Annex I. The updating of Annex I shall be performed within the scope set out in paragraph 1 of this Article.                                    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 following Articles are inserted:

# ‘Article 23a

1.The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.                           

2.The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 9(1) and Article 15(3) shall be conferred on the Commission for a                                    period of five years from 2 July 2014. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power not later                                    than nine months before the end of the five-year period. The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for periods of                                    an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before                                    the end of each period.                           

3.The delegation of power referred to in Article 9(1) and Article 15(3) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament                                    or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall                                    take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the *Official Journal of the European Union* or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.                           

4.As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the                                    Council.                           

5.A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 9(1) and Article 15(3) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed                                    either by the European Parliament or the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European                                    Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed                                    the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament                                    or of the Council.                           

# Article 23b

1.Delegated acts adopted under this Article shall enter into force without delay and shall apply as long as no objection is                                    expressed in accordance with paragraph 2. The notification of a delegated act to the European Parliament and to the Council                                    shall state the reasons for the use of the urgency procedure.                           

2.Either the European Parliament or the Council may object to a delegated act in accordance with the procedure referred to in                                    Article 23a(5). In such a case, the Commission shall repeal the act without delay following the notification of the decision                                    to object by the European Parliament or by the Council.’.                           

# Article 2U.K.

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the *Official Journal of the European Union*.                  

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Strasbourg, 16 April 2014.

*For the European Parliament*                            

*The President*                            

M. Schulz                            

*For the Council*                            

*The President*                            

D. Kourkoulas                            

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# Joint Statement by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on the review of the dual-use export control system

The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission recognise the importance of continuously enhancing the effectiveness                           and coherence of the EU’s strategic export controls regime, ensuring a high level of security and adequate transparency without                           impeding competitiveness and legitimate trade in dual-use items.                        

The three institutions consider that modernisation and further convergence of the system is needed in order to keep up with                           new threats and rapid technological changes, to reduce distortions, create a genuine common market for dual-use items (uniform                           level playing field for exporters) and continue serving as an export control model for third countries.                        

To this end, it is essential to streamline the process for updating the control lists (Annexes to the Regulation); strengthen                           risk assessment and exchange of information, develop improved industry standards, and reduce disparities in implementation.                        

The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission acknowledge the issues regarding the export of certain information                           and communication technologies (ICT) that can be used in connection with human rights violations as well as to undermine the                           EU’s security, particularly for technologies used for mass-surveillance, monitoring, tracking, tracing and censoring, as well                           as for software vulnerabilities.                        

Technical consultations have been initiated in this respect, including in the framework of EU Dual Use Peer Visit, the Dual                           Use Coordination Group, and the export control regimes, and actions continue to be taken to address situations of urgency                           through sanctions (pursuant to Article 215 TFEU), or national measures. Efforts will also be intensified to promote multilateral                           agreements in the context of export control regimes, and options will be explored to address this issue in the context of                           the on-going review of EU dual-use export control policy, and the preparation of a Commission Communication. In this context                           the three institutions took note of the agreement on 4 December 2013 by the Participating States of the Wassenaar Arrangement                           to adopt controls on complex surveillance tools that enable unauthorised access to computer systems, and on IP-network surveillance                           systems.                        

The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission also commit to further development of the existing ‘catch-all’ mechanism                           for dual-use items falling outside the Annex I of the Regulation, in order to further enhance the export control system and                           its application within the European single market.                        

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# Commission Statement on delegated acts

In the context of this Regulation, the Commission recalls the commitment it has taken in paragraph 15 of the Framework Agreement                           on relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission to provide to the Parliament full information and                           documentation on its meetings with national experts within the framework of its work on the preparation of delegated acts.                        

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# Commission Statement on updating the Regulation

In order to ensure a more integrated, efficient and coherent European approach to the movement (exports, transfer, brokering                           and transit) of strategic items, the Commission will put forward a new proposal for updating the Regulation as expeditiously                           as possible.                        

1

Position of the European Parliament of 23 October 2012 (OJ C 68 E, 7.3.2014, p. 112) and position of the Council at first reading of 3 March 2014 (OJ C 100, 4.4.2014, p. 6). Position of the European Parliament of 3 April 2014 (not yet published in the Official Journal).                           

2

Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 of 5 May 2009 setting up a Community regime for the control of exports, transfer, brokering                              and transit of dual-use items (OJ L 134, 29.5.2009, p. 1).