COUNCIL DECISION 2009/1003/CFSP
of 22 December 2009
amending Common Position 2009/788/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against the Republic of Guinea
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 29 thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
On 27 October 2009, the Council adopted Common Position 2009/788/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against the Republic of Guinea (1), in response to the violent crackdown by security forces on political demonstrators in Conakry on 28 September 2009.
(2)
In view of the seriousness of the situation in the Republic of Guinea, additional restrictive measures should be imposed against the individual members of the National Council for Democracy and Development (NCDD) and natural or legal persons, entities or bodies associated with them, responsible for the violent repression or the political stalemate in the country.
(3)
Moreover, additional natural or legal persons, entities or bodies associated with the NCDD, should be included on the list of persons subject to the restrictive measures set out in the Annex to Common Position 2009/788/CFSP.
(4)
Further action by the Union is needed to implement certain measures,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
Common Position 2009/788/CFSP is hereby amended as follows:
1.
Article 1 shall be replaced by the following:
‘Article 1
1. The sale, supply, transfer or export of arms and related material of all types, including weapons and ammunition, military vehicles and equipment, paramilitary equipment and spare parts for the aforementioned, as well as equipment which might be used for internal repression, to the Republic of Guinea by nationals of Member States or from the territories of Member States or using their flag vessels or aircraft, shall be prohibited whether originating or not in their territories.
2. It shall be prohibited:
(a)
to provide, directly or indirectly, technical assistance, brokering services or other services related to the items referred to in paragraph 1 or related to the provision, manufacture, maintenance and use of such items, to any natural or legal person, entity or body in, or for use in, the Republic of Guinea;
(b)
to provide, directly or indirectly, financing or financial assistance related to the items referred to in paragraph 1, including in particular grants, loans and export credit insurance, for any sale, supply, transfer or export of such items, or for the provision of related technical assistance, brokering services or other services to any natural or legal person, entity or body in, or for use in, the Republic of Guinea;
(c)
to participate, knowingly and intentionally, in activities, the object or effect of which is to circumvent the prohibitions referred to in points (a) or (b).’;
2.
Article 2 shall be replaced by the following:
‘Article 2
1. Article 1 shall not apply to:
(a)
the sale, supply, transfer or export of non-lethal military equipment or of equipment which might be used for internal repression, intended solely for humanitarian or protective use, or for institution building programmes of the United Nations(UN) and the EU, or for EU and UN crisis management operations;
(b)
the sale, supply, transfer or export of non-combat vehicles which have been manufactured or fitted with materials to provide ballistic protection, intended solely for protective use of personnel of the EU and its Member States in the Republic of Guinea;
(c)
the provision of technical assistance, brokering services and other services related to such equipment or to such programmes and operations;
(d)
the provision of financing and financial assistance related to such equipment or to such programmes and operations,
on condition that such exports and assistance have been approved in advance by the relevant competent authority.
2. Article 1 shall not apply to protective clothing, including flak jackets and military helmets, temporarily exported to the Republic of Guinea by UN personnel, personnel of the EU or its Member States, representatives of the media and humanitarian and development workers and associated personnel for their personal use only.’;
3.
Article 3, paragraph 1 shall be replaced by the following:
‘1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to prevent the entry into, or transit through, their territories of the individual members of the NCDD and persons associated with them, as listed in the Annex.’;
4.
The following article shall be inserted:
‘Article 3a
1. All funds and economic resources belonging to, owned, held or controlled by the individual members of the NCDD and natural or legal persons, entities or bodies associated with them, as listed in the Annex shall be frozen.
2. No funds or economic resources shall be made available, directly or indirectly, to or for the benefit of, natural or legal persons, entities or bodies listed in the Annex.
3. The competent authority of a Member State may authorise the release of certain frozen funds or economic resources or the making available of certain funds or economic resources, under such conditions as it deems appropriate, after having determined that the funds or economic resources concerned are:
(a)
necessary to satisfy the basic needs of persons listed in the Annex and their dependent family members, including payments for foodstuffs, rent or mortgage, medicines and medical treatment, taxes, insurance premiums, and public utility charges;
(b)
intended exclusively for payment of reasonable professional fees and reimbursement of incurred expenses associated with the provision of legal services;
(c)
intended exclusively for payment of fees or service charges for routine holding or maintenance of frozen funds or economic resources; or
(d)
necessary for extraordinary expenses, provided that the competent authority has notified the competent authority of the other Member States and the Commission of the grounds on which it considers that a specific authorisation should be granted, at least two weeks prior to the authorisation.
A Member State shall inform the other Member States and the Commission of any authorisation granted under this paragraph.
4. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the competent authorities of a Member State may authorise the release of certain frozen funds or economic resources, provided that the following conditions are met:
(a)
the funds or economic resources are subject of a judicial, administrative or arbitral lien established prior to the date on which the natural or legal person, entity or body referred to in Article 3a was included in the Annex or of a judicial, administrative or arbitral judgment rendered prior to that date;
(b)
the funds or economic resources will be used exclusively to satisfy claims secured by such a lien or recognised as valid in such a judgment, within the limits set by applicable laws and regulations governing the rights of persons having such claims;
(c)
the lien or judgment is not for the benefit of a natural or legal person, entity or body listed in the Annex; and
(d)
recognising the lien or judgement is not contrary to public policy in the Member State concerned.
A Member State shall inform the other Member States and the Commission of any authorisation granted under this paragraph.
5. Paragraph 2 shall not apply to the addition to frozen accounts of:
(a)
interest or other earnings on those accounts; or
(b)
payments due under contracts, agreements or obligations that were concluded or arose prior to the date on which those accounts became subject to this Common Position,
provided that any such interest, other earnings and payments remain subject to paragraph 1.’.
Article 2
The Annex to Common Position 2009/788/CFSP shall be replaced by the Annex to this Decision.
Article 3
This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.
Article 4
This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Done at Brussels, 22 December 2009.