# EUR-Lex - 52011PC0542 - EN

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# 52011PC0542

**Joint Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION amending Regulation (EU) No 442/2011 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria /* COM/2011/0542 final - 2011/0233 (NLE) */**

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

(1)
On 9 May 2011, the Council adopted Regulation
(EU) No 442/2011 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in
Syria.

(2)
On 18 August 2011, the High Representative /
Vice President issued a statement indicating that the EU was proceeding with
further action. On 26 August 2011, the Council reached political agreement on a
package of further measures to be adopted including an expansion of the
designation criteria for the freezing of funds, and a prohibition on the
purchase, import or transportation from Syria of crude oil and petroleum
products. The additional persons, entities and bodies to whom the freezing of
funds and economic resources is to apply are listed in the Annex to the
Decision.

(3)
Some of these measures fall within the scope of
the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and, therefore, notably
with a view to ensuring their uniform application by economic operators in all
Member States, regulatory action at the level of the Union is necessary in
order to implement them.

2011/0233 (NLE)

Joint Proposal for a

COUNCIL REGULATION

amending Regulation (EU) No 442/2011
concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning
of the European Union, and in particular Article 215 thereof,

Having regard to Council Decision 2011/273/CFSP
concerning restrictive measures in view of the
situation in Syria[1],

Having regard to the joint proposal from
the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
and the European Commission,

Whereas:

(1)
On 9 May 2011, the Council adopted Regulation
(EU) No 442/2011 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in
Syria[2].

(2)
Council Decision 2011/[...]/CFSP of [...][3] provides for further measures
to be adopted including a prohibition on the purchase, import or transportation
from Syria of crude oil and petroleum products, and the freezing of funds and
economic resources to further persons and entities who benefit from or support
Bashar al-Assad and his regime. The additional persons, entities and bodies to
whom the freezing of funds and economic resources is to apply are listed in the
Annex to the Decision.

(3)
Some of those measures fall within the scope of
the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and, therefore, in
particular with a view to ensuring their uniform application by economic
operators in all Member States, regulatory action at the level of the Union is
necessary in order to implement them.

(4)
A partial suspension of
the Cooperation Agreement Syria[4] has been effected by Council Decision [...][5].

(5)
In order to ensure that the measures provided
for in this Regulation are effective, this Regulation must enter into force
immediately,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EU) No 442/2011 is amended as
follows:

(1)
In Article 1, the following paragraphs are
inserted:

“(g) ‘insurance’ means an undertaking or
commitment whereby one or more natural or legal persons is or are obliged, in
return for a payment, to provide one or more other persons, in the event of
materialisation of a risk, with an indemnity or a benefit as determined by the
undertaking or commitment;

(h) ‘reinsurance’ means the activity consisting
in accepting risks ceded by an insurance undertaking or by another reinsurance
undertaking or, in the case of the association of underwriters known as
Lloyd's, the activity consisting in accepting risks, ceded by any member of
Lloyd's, by an insurance or reinsurance undertaking other than the association
of underwriters known as Lloyd's;

(i) ‘petroleum products’ means the products
listed in Annex IV.”

(2)
the following Articles 3a and 3b are inserted:

“Article 3a

It shall be prohibited:

(a)
to import crude oil or petroleum products into
the Union if they

(i) originate in Syria; or

(ii) have been exported from Syria;

(b)
to purchase crude oil or petroleum products which
are located in or which originated in Syria;

(c)
to transport crude oil or petroleum products if they
originate in Syria, or are being exported from Syria to any other country;

(d)
to provide, directly or indirectly, financing or
financial assistance, including financial derivatives and future products, as
well as insurance and re-insurance, related to the provisions in paragraphs
(a), (b) and (c); and

(e)
to participate, knowingly and intentionally, in
activities whose object or effect is, directly or indirectly, to circumvent the
prohibitions in points (a), (b), (c) or (d).

Article 3b

The prohibitions in Article 3a shall not apply
to:

(a)      the execution, on or prior to 31
October 2011, of an obligation arising from a contract concluded before [insert
the date of adoption of this Article], provided that the natural or legal
person, entity or body seeking to perform the obligation concerned has
notified, at least 3 working days in advance, the activity or transaction to
the competent authority of the Member State in which it is established, as
identified on the websites listed in Annex III; or

(b)     the purchase of crude oil or petroleum
products which had been exported from Syria prior to [insert date of
adoption of this Article], or, where the export was made pursuant to
paragraph (a), on or prior to 31 October 2011.”

(3)
Article 5(1) is replaced by the following:

“1. Annex II shall consist of a list of natural
or legal persons, entities and bodies who, in accordance with Article 4(1) of
Decision 2011/273/CFSP, have been identified by the Council as being persons
responsible for the violent repression against the civilian population in
Syria, persons and entities benefitting from or supporting Bashar al-Assad and
his regime, or persons and entities associated with them.”

(4)
In the first paragraph of Article 6, points (c)
and (d) are replaced by the following:

"(c) intended exclusively for the payment
of fees or service charges for routine holding or maintenance of frozen funds
or economic resources;

(d) necessary for extraordinary expenses,
provided that the relevant competent authority has notified to the competent
authorities of the other Member States and to the Commission at least two weeks
before the authorisation the grounds on which it considers that a specific
authorisation should be granted;”

and the following additional subparagraphs are
inserted:

“(e) to be paid into or from an account of a
diplomatic or consular mission or an international organisation enjoying
immunities in accordance with international law, insofar as such payments are
intended to be used for official purposes of the diplomatic or consular mission
or international organisation; or

(f) necessary for humanitarian purposes, such
as delivering or facilitating the delivery of assistance, including medical
supplies, food, the provision of electricity, humanitarian workers and related
assistance, or evacuations from Syria.”

(5)
The following Article 10a is inserted:

“No claims, including for compensation or any
other claim of this kind, such as a claim of set-off or a claim under a
guarantee, in connection with any contract or transaction the performance of
which was affected, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, by the
measures imposed by this Regulation, should be granted to the Government of
Syria, or to any person or entity claiming through it or for its benefit.”

Article 2

Annex II to Regulation (EU) No 442/2011 is
hereby amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation

Article 3

Annex II to this Regulation is hereby
inserted as Annex IV to Regulation (EU) No 442/2011.

Article 4

This
Regulation shall enter into force on the day 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 Brussels, [...]

For
the Council

The
President
                                                                       [...]

ANNEX

The following shall be added to list of
natural and legal persons, entities or bodies in Annex II to Regulation (EU) No
442/2011

[additional names to be proposed by
Council]

ANNEX
II

“ANNEX
IV”

List
of Petroleum Products and HS Code

HS Code         Description

2709 00           Petroleum oils and oils
obtained from bituminous minerals, crude:

2710    Petroleum
oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, other than crude; preparations
not elsewhere specified or included, containing by weight 70 % or more of
petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being
the basic constituents of the preparations; waste oils:

2711    Petroleum
gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons:

2712    Petroleum
jelly; paraffin wax, microcrystalline petroleum wax, slack wax, ozokerite,
lignite wax, peat wax, other mineral waxes, and similar products obtained by
synthesis or by other processes, whether or not coloured:

2713    Petroleum
coke, petroleum bitumen and other residues of petroleum oils or of oils
obtained from bituminous minerals:

2714    Bitumen
and asphalt, natural; bituminous or oil-shale and tar sands; asphaltites and
asphaltic rocks:

2715 00
00      Bituminous mixtures based on natural asphalt, on natural bitumen, on
petroleum bitumen, on mineral tar or on mineral tar pitch (for example,
bituminous mastics, cut-backs)

[1]               OJ L 121, 10.5.2011, p. 11.

[2]               OJ L 121, 10.5.2011, p. 11.

[3]               OJ L [...]

[4]               OJ L 269, 27.9.1978, p. 2.

[5]               OJ L [...]