COUNCIL DECISION 2011/18/CFSP
of 14 January 2011
amending Council Decision 2010/656/CFSP renewing the restrictive measures against Côte d'Ivoire
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 29 thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
On 29 October 2010, the Council adopted Decision 2010/656/CFSP renewing the restrictive measures against Côte d'Ivoire (1).
(2)
On 13 December 2010, the Council emphasised the importance of the Presidential election held on 31 October and 28 November 2010 for the return of peace and stability in Côte d'Ivoire and declared it to be imperative that the sovereign wish expressed by the Ivorian people be respected.
(3)
On 17 December 2010, the European Council called on all Ivorian leaders, both civilian and military, who have not yet done so, to place themselves under the authority of the democratically elected President, Mr Alassan Ouattara.
(4)
On 22 December 2010, the Council adopted Decision 2010/801/CFSP (2) amending Decision 2010/656/CFSP in order to impose travel restrictions against those who are obstructing the process of peace and national reconciliation, and in particular those who are jeopardising the proper outcome of the electoral process.
(5)
On 14 January 2011, the Council adopted Decision 2011/17/CFSP (3) amending Decision 2010/656/CFSP in order to include additional persons in the list of persons subject to travel restrictions.
(6)
In view of the seriousness of the situation in Côte d'Ivoire, additional restrictive measures should be imposed against those persons.
(7)
Moreover, the list of persons subject to the restrictive measures set out in Annex II to Decision 2010/656/CFSP should be amended and the information relating to certain persons on the list should be updated,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
Decision 2010/656/CFSP is hereby amended as follows:
1.
Article 5 is replaced by the following:
‘Article 5
1. All funds and economic resources owned or controlled directly or indirectly by:
(a)
the persons referred to in Annex I designated by the Sanctions Committee and referred to in Article 4(1)(a), or held by entities owned or controlled directly or indirectly by them or by any persons acting on their behalf or at their direction, as designated by the Sanctions Committee;
(b)
the persons or entities referred to in Annex II who are not included in the list in Annex I and who are obstructing the process of peace and national reconciliation, and in particular who are jeopardising the proper outcome of the electoral process, or held by entities owned or controlled directly or indirectly by them or by any persons acting on their behalf or at their direction,
shall be frozen.
2. No funds, financial assets or economic resources shall be made available, directly or indirectly, to or for the benefit of persons or entities referred to in paragraph 1.
3. Member States may allow for exemptions from the measures referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 in respect of funds and economic resources which are:
(a)
necessary for basic expenses, including payments for foodstuffs, rent or mortgage, medicines and medical treatment, taxes, insurance premiums, and public utility charges;
(b)
intended exclusively for the payment of reasonable professional fees and the reimbursement of incurred expenses associated with the provision of legal services;
(c)
intended exclusively for the payment of fees or service charges, in accordance with national laws, for the routine holding or maintenance of frozen funds and economic resources;
(d)
necessary for extraordinary expenses;
(e)
the subject of a judicial, administrative or arbitral lien or judgment, in which case the funds and economic resources may be used to satisfy that lien or judgment provided that the lien or judgment was entered before designation by the Sanctions Committee or by the Council of the person or entity concerned, and is not for the benefit of a person or entity referred to in this Article.
With regard to persons and entities listed in Annex I:
-
the exemptions referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph may be made by the Member State concerned after notification to the Sanctions Committee of its intention to authorise, where appropriate and in the absence of a negative decision by the Sanctions Committee within two working days of such notification, access to such funds and economic resources;
-
the exemption referred to in point (d) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph may be made by the Member State concerned after notification to the Sanctions Committee and approval by the latter;
-
the exemption referred to in point (e) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph may be made by the Member State concerned after notification to the Sanctions Committee.
4. 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 before the date on which those accounts became subject to restrictive measures under Common Position 2004/852/CFSP or this Decision,
provided that any such interest, other earnings and payments continue to be subject to paragraph 1.’;
2.
Article 10 is replaced by the following:
‘Article 10
1. This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.
2. It shall be reviewed, amended or repealed as appropriate, in accordance with relevant decisions of the United Nations Security Council.
3. The measures referred to in Article 4(1)(b) and 5(1)(b) shall be reviewed at regular intervals and at least every 12 months. They shall cease to apply to the persons or entities concerned if the Council establishes, in accordance with the procedure in Article 6(2), that the conditions necessary for their application are no longer met.’.
Article 2
Annex II to Decision 2010/656/CFSP is replaced by the Annex to this Decision.
Article 3
This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.
Done at Brussels, 14 January 2011.