AGREEMENT
between the European Community and the Government of the People ’s Republic of China on drug
precursors and substances frequently used in the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs or
psychotropic substances
THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY,
hereinafter referred to as ‘the Community ’,
on the one part, and
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE ’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA,
hereinafter referred to as ‘the Chinese Government ’,
on the other part,hereinafter referred to as the ‘the Parties ’,
WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK of the United Nations Convention of 1988 against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances, signed on 20 December 1988 in Vienna, hereinafter referred to as the ‘1988 Convention ’and in
accordance with legal provision in force in the People ’s Republic of China and in the Member States of the Community;
DETERMINED to prevent and to combat the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances by
preventing the diversion of drug precursors and substances frequently used for such purposes (hereinafter referred toas drug precursors);
ACKNOWLEDGING Article 12 of the 1988 Convention;CONVINCED that international trade may be used for the diversion of drug precursors, and that it is necessary to
conclude and implement agreements between the regions concerned, establishing wide cooperation and, in particularlinking export and import controls;
RECOGNISING that drug precursors are also mainly and widely used for legitimate purposes and that international trade
must not be hindered by excessive monitoring procedures;
HAVE DECIDED to conclude an Agreement on the prevention of diversion of drug precursors and substances frequently
used in the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances,
HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
Article 1
Scope of the Agreement
1. This Agreement sets out measures to strengthen adminis­
trative cooperation between the Parties to prevent the diversionof drug precursors and substances frequently used in the illicitmanufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances,without prejudice to the normal activities of trade and thedue recognition of the legitimate interests of industry.
2. For this purpose, the Parties shall assist each other, as set
out in this Agreement, in particular by:—monitoring the trade between them in the drug precursors
referred to in paragraph 3, with the aim of preventing theirdiversion to illicit purposes,
—providing mutual administrative assistance ensuring that
their respective drug precursors trade control legislation iscorrectly applied.
3. Without prejudice to possible amendments which might
be made pursuant to Article 10, this Agreement applies to thesubstances listed in the Annexes to this Agreement.EN L 56/8 Official Journal of the European Union 28.2.2009
Article 2
Trade monitoring
1. The Parties shall consult and inform each other on their
own initiative whenever they have reasonable grounds to believethat drug precursors may be diverted to the illicit manufactureof narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances, in particular whenan import or export shipment occurs in unusual quantities orunder unusual circumstances.
2. With regard to the drug precursors listed in Annex A to
this Agreement, the competent authority of the exporting Partyshall forward a pre-export notification to the competentauthority of the importing Party. The reply in writing by theimporting Party shall be provided within 15 working days afterthe receipt of the message from the exporting Party. Theabsence of a reply within this period shall be consideredequivalent to a non-objection to sending the shipment. Anobjection shall be notified in writing to the exporting Partywithin this period, giving the reasons for refusal.
3. With regard to the drug precursors listed in Annex B to
this Agreement, the competent authority of the exporting Partyshall determine whether to conduct international checksaccording to its domestic legislation.
4. The Parties undertake to reply in writing as soon as
possible, in respect of any information provided or measurerequested under this Article.
Article 3
Suspension of shipment
1. Without prejudice to any possible implementation of
technical enforcement measures, shipments shall be suspendedif, in the opinion of either Party, there are reasonable groundsto believe that drug precursors may be diverted to the illicitmanufacture of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances, orwhere, in the cases described in Article 2(2), the importing Partyrequests in writing the suspension, and where appropriate,provides documents of evidence and ensuring measures to betaken within five working days.
2. The Parties shall cooperate in supplying each other with
any information relating to suspected diversion operations ifbased upon a request for mutual administrative assistance.
Article 4
Mutual administrative assistance
1. The Parties shall provide each other upon request for
mutual administrative assistance with any information toprevent the diversion of drug precursors to the illicitmanufacture of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances and
shall investigate cases of suspected diversion. Where necessarythey shall adopt appropriate precautionary measures to preventdiversion.
2. Any request for information or precautionary measures
shall be complied with in time.
3. Requests for administrative assistance shall be executed in
accordance with the legal or regulatory provisions of therequested Party.
4. Duly authorised officials of a Party may, with the
agreement of the other Party and subject to the conditionslaid down by the latter, be present at the inquiries carried outin the territory of the other Party.
5. The Parties shall assist each other to facilitate the
provision of evidence if based upon a request for mutualadministrative assistance.
6. Administrative assistance provided under this Article shall
not prejudice the rules governing mutual assistance in criminalmatters, nor shall it apply to information obtained underpowers exercised at the request of a judicial authority, exceptwhere communication of such information is authorised by thatauthority.
7. One Party may, on a case-by-case basis and through
consultation, provide, on request by the other Party, infor­mation in respect of substances which are frequently used inthe illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs or psychotropicsubstances but which are not included in the scope of this
Agreement.
Article 5
Information exchange and confidentiality
1. Any information communicated in whatsoever form
pursuant to this Agreement shall be of a confidential orrestricted nature, depending on the rules applicable in each of
the Parties and shall be covered by the obligation of official
secrecy.
2. Personal data may be exchanged only where the Party
which may receive it undertakes to protect such data in atleast an equivalent way to the one applicable to that particularcase in the Party that may supply it. To this end, Partiescommunicate each other information on their applicable rules,including legal provisions in force in the Member States of theCommunity.EN 28.2.2009 Official Journal of the European Union L 56/9
3. Information obtained under this Agreement shall be used
solely for the purposes of this Agreement. Where one of theParties wishes to use such information for other purposes, itshall obtain the prior written consent of the authority whichprovided the information. Such use shall then be subject to anyrestrictions laid down by that authority.
4. The use in proceedings instituted for failure to comply
with legislation on drug precursors referred to in Article 3, ofinformation obtained under this Agreement, is considered to besolely for the purposes of this Agreement. Therefore, the Partiesmay in proceedings use as evidence information obtained anddocuments consulted in accordance with the provisions of thisAgreement. The use of evidence is subject to the priorpermission of the competent authority which supplied thatinformation or gave access to those documents.
Article 6
Exceptions to the obligation to provide assistance
1. Assistance may be refused or may be subject to the satis­
faction of certain conditions or requirements, in cases where aParty is of the opinion that assistance under this Agreementwould:
(a) be likely to prejudice the sovereignty of the People ’s
Republic of China or that of a Member State of the
Community which has been requested to provide assistance
under this Agreement; or
(b) be likely to prejudice public policy, security or other
essential interests, in particular in the cases referred tounder Article 5(2); or
(c) violate an industrial, commercial or professional secret.
2. Assistance may be postponed by the requested authority
on the ground that it will interfere with an ongoing investi­gation, prosecution or proceeding. In such a case, the requestedauthority shall consult with the applicant authority to determine
if assistance can be given subject to such terms or conditions as
the requested authority may require.
3. Where the applicant authority seeks assistance which it
would itself be unable to provide if so requested, it shalldraw attention to that fact in its request. It shall then be forthe requested authority to decide how to respond to such arequest.
4. For the cases referred to in this Article, the decision of the
requested authority and the reasons therefore must be commu­nicated to the applicant authority as promptly as possible.Article 7
Technical and scientific cooperation
The Parties shall cooperate in the identification of new diversion
methods as well as appropriate countermeasures, includingtechnical cooperation and in particular, training and exchangeprogrammes for the officials concerned, to strengthen adminis­trative and enforcement structures in this field and to promotecooperation with trade and industry.
Article 8
Implementation measures
1. The Chinese side, the European Commission and each
Member State of the Community shall appoint respectively acompetent authority to coordinate the implementation of thisAgreement. These authorities shall communicate directly withone another for the purposes of this Agreement.
2. The Parties shall consult each other and subsequently keep
each other informed of the detailed rules of implementation
which are adopted in accordance with the provisions of this
Agreement.
Article 9
Joint Follow-Up Group
1. A Joint Follow-Up Group is hereby established, hereinafter
referred to as ‘the Joint Follow-Up Group ’, in which the Parties
shall be represented.
2. The Joint Follow-Up Group shall act by mutual agreement.
3. If necessary, the Joint Follow-Up Group shall meet, with
the date, place and programme being fixed by mutualagreement.
Extraordinary meetings of the Joint Follow-Up Group may be
convened by mutual agreement of the Parties.
Article 10
Role of the Joint Follow-Up Group
1. The Joint Follow-Up Group shall administer this
Agreement and ensure its proper implementation. For thispurpose:
—it shall be informed by the Parties of their experience in
applying this Agreement,
—in cases provided for in paragraph 2, it shall take decisions,EN L 56/10 Official Journal of the European Union 28.2.2009
—it shall study and develop technical cooperation measures,
—it shall study and develop other possible forms of
cooperation.
2. The Joint Follow-Up Group may adopt by mutual consent
decisions to amend Annexes A and B. Such decisions shall beimplemented by the Parties in accordance with their own legis­lation.
3. The Joint Follow-Up Group may recommend to the
Parties:
(a) other amendments to this Agreement;
(b) measures required for the application of this Agreement.
Article 11
Other obligations imposed under other agreements
1. Taking into account the respective competencies of the
Community and its Member States, the provisions of thisAgreement shall:
—not affect the obligations of the Parties under any other
international agreement or convention,
—not affect the communication between the competent
services of the European Commission and the relevantservices of the Member States of the Community of anyinformation obtained under this Agreement which couldbe of interest to the Community.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, the
provisions of this Agreement shall take precedence over theprovisions of any bilateral agreement on drug precursors andother substances frequently used in the illicit manufacture ofnarcotic drugs and psychotropic substances which have been ormay be concluded between individual Member States and the
People ’s Republic of China insofar as the provisions of the latter
are incompatible with those of this Agreement.
3. In respect of questions relating to the applicability of this
Agreement, the Parties shall consult each other to resolve thematter in the framework of the Joint Follow-Up Group.
4. The Parties shall also notify each other of any measures
on controlled substances taken with other countries.
Article 12
Entry into force
Each Party shall give written notification that it has completed
its internal legal procedures for the entry into force of thisAgreement to the other Party. This Agreement shall enter intoforce 60 days from the date on which the last written notifi­cation is received.
Article 13
Duration and denunciation
1. This Agreement shall be concluded for five years and,
unless a Party notifies in writing the other Party of itsintention to terminate the Agreement at least six monthsbefore the expiration of that period, it will be tacitlyrenewable for successive periods of five years.
2. This Agreement may be amended by mutual consent of
the Parties.
Done in duplicate in the Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch,
Estonian, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian,Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese,Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish and Chineselanguages, all these texts being equally authentic. In case thereis any divergence of interpretation of this Agreement, theEnglish and the Chinese texts shall be determinative.EN 28.2.2009 Official Journal of the European Union L 56/11
Съставено в Брюксел на тридесети януари две хиляди и девета година .
Hecho en Bruselas, el treinta de enero de dos mil nueve.
V Bruselu dne t řicátého ledna dva tisíce dev ět.
Udfærdiget i Bruxelles den tredivte januar to tusind og ni.Geschehen zu Brüssel am dreißigsten Januar zweitausendneunKahe tuhande üheksanda aasta jaanuarikuu kolmekümnendal päeval Brüsselis.Εγινε στις Βρυξέλλες ,στις τριάντα Ιανουαρίου δύο χιλιάδες εννιά .
Done at Brussels on the thirtieth day of January in the year two thousand and nine.Fait à Bruxelles, le trente janvier deux mille neuf.
Fatto a Bruxelles, addì trenta gennaio duemilanove.
Brisel ē, divt ūksto šdevītāgada tr īsdesmitaj ājanvārī.
Priimta du t ūkstan čiai devint ųmetųsausio trisde šimtądien ąBriuselyje.
Kelt Brüsszelben, a kétezer-kilencedik év január harmincadik napján.Mag ħmul fi Brussell, fit-tletin jum ta ’Jannar tas-sena elfejn u disg ħa.
Gedaan te Brussel, de dertigste januari tweeduizend negen.
Sporz ądzono w Brukseli, dnia trzydziestego stycznia roku dwa tysi ące dziewi ątego.
Feito em Bruxelas, em trinta de Janeiro de dois mil e nove.Încheiat la Bruxelles, la treizeci ianuarie dou ămii nou ă.
V Bruseli tridsiateho januára dvetisícdevä ť.
V Bruslju, dne tridesetega januarja leta dva tiso čdevet.
Tehty Brysselissä kolmantenakymmenentenä päivänä tammikuuta vuonna kaksituhattayhdeksän.Som skedde i Bryssel den trettionde januari tjugohundranio.
EN L 56/12 Official Journal of the European Union 28.2.2009
За Европейската общност
Por la Comunidad Europea
Za Evropské spole čenství
For Det Europæiske FællesskabFür die Europäische Gemeinschaft
Euroopa Ühenduse nimel
Για την Ευρωπαϊκή ΚοινότηταFor the European Community
Pour la Communauté européenne
Per la Comunità europeaEiropas Kopienas v ārdā
Europos bendrijos vardu
Az Európai Közösség részér ől
Għall-Komunitá Ewropea
Voor de Europese Gemeenschap
W imieniu Wspólnoty EuropejskiejPela Comunidade Europeia
Pentru Comunitatea European ă
Za Európske spolo čenstvo
Za Evropsko skupnost
Euroopan yhteisön puolesta
För Europeiska gemenskapen
От името на правителството на Ки tайската народна република
Por el Gobierno de la República Popular ChinaZa vládu Čínské lidové republiky
For Folkerepublikken Kinas regering
Im Namen der Regierung der Volksrepublik ChinaHiina Rahvavabariigi valitsuse nimel
Για την κυβέρνηση της Λαϊκής Δημοκρατίας της Κίνας
For the Government of the People ’s Republic of China
Pour le gouvernement de la République populaire de Chine
Per il governo della Repubblica popolare cinese
Ķīnas Tautas Republikas v ārdā
Kinijos Liaudies Respublikos Vyriausyb ės vardu
A Kínai Népköztársaság kormánya részér ől
Għall-Gvern tar-Repubblika Popolari ta ċ-Ċina
Voor de Regering van de Volksrepubliek China
W imieniu rz ądu Chi ńskiej Republiki Ludowej
Pelo Governo da República Popular da ChinaPentru Guvernul Republicii Populare Chineze
Za vládu Čínskej ľudovej republiky
Za Vlado Ljudske republike KitajskeKiinan kansantasavallan hallituksen puolestaPå Folkrepubliken Kinas regering vägnar
EN 28.2.2009 Official Journal of the European Union L 56/13
ANNEX A
Substances subject to the measures referred to in Article 2(2)
N-Acetylanthranilic Acid
Acetic AnhydrideAnthranilic AcidEphedrineEphedra extractErgometrineErgotamine
Isosafrole
Lysergic Acid3,4-Methylenedioxyphenyl-2-propanoneNorephedrinePhenylacetic Acid1-Phenyl-2-propanonePiperonalPotassium PermanganatePseudoephedrineSafroleSafrole rich oils
Note: The list of substances must always include a reference to their salts, where appropriate.
ANNEX B
Substances subject to the measures referred to in Article 2(3)
Acetone
Ethyl EtherHydrochloric Acid
Methyl Ethyl Ketone
PiperidineSulphuric AcidTolueneEN L 56/14 Official Journal of the European Union 28.2.2009