EN Official Journal of the European Union L 146/1

DIRECTIVE 2009/43/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 6 May 2009

simplifying terms and conditions of transfers of defence-related products within the Community

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 95 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (2),

Whereas:

(1) The Treaty provides for the establishment of an internal market, including the abolition between Member States of obstacles to the free movement of goods and services, and for the institution of a system ensuring that competition in the internal market is not distorted.

(2) The Treaty provisions establishing the internal market apply to all goods and services provided in return for remuneration, including defence-related products, but do not preclude Member States under certain conditions from taking other measures in individual cases where they consider it necessary for the protection of their essential security interests.

(3) The laws, regulations and administrative provisions in Member States concerning the transfer of defence-related products within the Community contain disparities which may impede the movement of such products and which may distort competition within the internal market, thereby hampering innovation, industrial cooperation and the competitiveness of the defence industry in the European Union.

(4) The objectives pursued generally by the laws and regulations of Member States include the preservation of human rights, peace, security and stability through systems of strict control and restriction of the exportation and proliferation of defence-related products to third countries as well as to other Member States.

(5) Such restrictions on the movement of defence-related products within the Community cannot be abolished generally through direct application of the principles of the free movement of goods and services provided for by the Treaty, as those restrictions may be justified on a case-by-case basis in accordance with Articles 30 or 296 of the Treaty, which continue to be applicable by Member States, provided that their conditions are met.

(6) The relevant laws and regulations of Member States therefore need to be harmonised in such a way as to simplify the intra-Community transfer of defence-related products in order to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market. This Directive only deals with rules and procedures as far as defence-related products are concerned, and, consequently, does not affect the policies of the Member States regarding the transfer of defence-related products.

(7) Harmonisation of the relevant laws and regulations of Member States should not prejudice the international obligations and commitments of the Member States nor their discretion as regards their policy on the export of defence-related products.

(8) Member States should remain entitled to pursue and further develop intergovernmental cooperation, whilst complying with the provisions of this Directive.

(9) This Directive should not apply to defence-related products which only pass through the territory of the Community, namely to those products which are not assigned a customs-approved treatment or use other than the external transit procedure or which are merely placed in a free zone or free warehouse and where no record of them has to be kept in an approved stock record.

(10) This Directive should cover all the defence-related products which correspond to those listed in the Common Military List of the European Union (3), including their components and technologies.

(11) This Directive should not prejudice the implementation of Joint Action 97/817/CFSP of 28 November 1997 adopted by the Council on the basis of Article J.3 of the Treaty of the European Union on anti-personnel landmines (4), nor should it prejudice the ratification and implementation by the Member States of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, signed in Oslo on 3 December 2008.

(12) The objectives of the preservation of human rights, peace, security and stability pursued generally by laws and regulations of Member States restricting the transfer of defence-related products require that the transfer of those products within the Community remain subject to authorisation by originating Member States and guarantees in the receiving Member States.

(13) In view of the safeguards provided by this Directive for the protection of those objectives, Member States would no longer need to introduce or maintain other restrictions for their achievement, subject to Articles 30 and 296 of the Treaty.

(14) This Directive should not prejudice the application of provisions necessary on grounds of public policy or public security. In the light of the nature and features of defence-related products, grounds of public policy, such as the safety of transport, the safety of storage, the risk of diversion and the prevention of crime, are of particular relevance for the purposes of this Directive.

(15) This Directive is without prejudice to the application of Council Directive 91/477/EEC of 18 June 1991 on control of the acquisition and possession of weapons (5), and in particular the formalities for the movement of weapons within the Community. This Directive is also without prejudice to the application of Council Directive 93/15/EEC of 5 April 1993 on the harmonization of the provisions relating to the placing on the market and supervision of explosives for civil uses (6), and in particular the provisions regarding the transfer of ammunitions.

(16) Any transfer of defence-related products within the Community should be subject to prior authorisation through general, global or individual transfer licences granted or published by the Member State from whose territory the supplier wishes to transfer defence-related products. Member States should be able to exempt transfers of defence-related products from the obligation of prior authorisation in specific cases listed in this Directive.

(17) Member States should be free to deny or grant prior authorisation. In line with the principles establishing the internal market, such authorisation should be valid throughout the Community and no further authorisation for passage through other Member States or entrance onto the territory of other Member States should be required.

(18) Member States should determine the suitable type of transfer licence for defence-related products or categories of defence-related products for each type of transfer, and which terms and conditions should be attached to each transfer licence, taking into account the sensitivity of the transfer.

(19) As regards components, Member States should refrain from imposing export limitations as far as possible by accepting the recipient’s declaration of use, taking into account the degree of integration of such components into the recipient’s own products.

(20) Member States should determine the recipients of transfer licences in a non-discriminatory way, unless necessary for the protection of their essential security interests.

(21) In order to facilitate transfers of defence-related products, general transfer licences should be published by Member States granting authorisation to transfer defence-related products to any undertaking fulfilling the terms and conditions defined in each general transfer licence.

(22) A general transfer licence should be published for transfers of defence-related products to armed forces in order to greatly increase security of supply for all Member States which choose to procure such products within the Community.

(23) A general transfer licence should be published for transfers of components to certified European defence undertakings in order to foster cooperation between, and the integration of, those undertakings, in particular by facilitating optimisation of supply chains and economies of scale.

(24) Member States participating in an intergovernmental cooperation programme should be able to publish a general transfer licence for such transfers of defence-related products to recipients in other participating Member States as are necessary for the execution of that programme. This would improve conditions for the participation in intergovernmental cooperation programmes by undertakings established in participating Member States.

(25) Member States should be able to publish further general transfer licences to cover cases where the risk for the preservation of human rights, peace, security and stability is very low in view of the nature of the products and the recipients.

(26) Where a general transfer licence cannot be published, Member States should, upon request, grant a global transfer licence to individual undertakings, except in the cases set out in this Directive. Member States should be able to grant renewable global transfer licences.

(27) Undertakings should inform the competent authorities of the use of general transfer licences with a view to the preservation of human rights, peace, security and stability and in order to allow transparent reporting of transfers of defence-related products with a view to democratic control.

(28) The degree of latitude of Member States in determining the terms and conditions of general, global and individual transfer licences should be flexible enough to allow on-going cooperation under the existing international framework on export control. As the decision to authorise or deny an export is, and should remain, at the discretion of each Member State, such cooperation should only stem from the voluntary coordination of export policies.

(29) In order to compensate for the progressive replacement of individual ex-ante control by general ex-post control in the Member State of origin of the defence-related products, conditions for mutual confidence and trust should be created by including guarantees which ensure that defence-related products are not exported in violation of export limitations to third countries. This principle should also be observed in instances where defence-related products are transferred several times between Member States before being exported to a third country.

(30) Member States cooperate in the framework of Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP of 8 December 2008 defining common rules governing control of exports of military technology and equipment (7) through application of common criteria as well as denial notification and consultation mechanisms with a view to increasing convergence in the application of their export policies of defence-related products to third countries. This Directive should not prevent Member States from determining the terms and conditions of transfer licences of defence-related products, including possible export limitations, in particular where this is necessary for the purposes of cooperation in the framework of that Common Position.

(31) Suppliers should inform recipients of any limitations attached to transfer licences in order to allow the building of mutual trust in the ability of recipients to comply with such limitations after the transfer, in particular in the case of a request for export to third countries.

(32) It should be for undertakings to decide whether the benefits flowing from the possibility of receiving defence-related products under a general transfer licence justify the request for certification. Transfers within a group of undertakings should benefit from a general transfer licence in cases where the members of the group are certified in their respective Member States of establishment.

(33) Common criteria for certification are necessary in order to allow the building of mutual trust, in particular in the ability of recipients to comply with export limitations of defence-related products received under a transfer licence from another Member State.

(34) In order to facilitate mutual confidence, recipients of transferred defence-related products should refrain from exporting those products where the transfer licence contains export limitations.

(35) Undertakings should declare to their competent authorities, at the time of requesting an export licence to third countries, whether they have abided by any export limitations attached to the transfer of the defence-related product by the Member State which issued the transfer licence. In this context, it is recalled that the consultation mechanism between Member States, as provided for in Common Position 2008/944/CFSP, is of particular relevance.

(36) Undertakings should furnish proof of the export licence at the common external frontier of the Community to the competent customs authority at the moment of the export to a third country of a defence-related product received under a transfer licence.

(37) The list of defence-related products set out in the Annex should be updated in strict conformity with the Common Military List of the European Union.

(38) It is necessary for the progressive building of mutual trust and confidence that Member States determine effective measures, including penalties, sufficient to ensure enforcement of the provisions of this Directive, and in particular those providing that undertakings comply with the common criteria for certification and with limitations of further use of defence-related products following a transfer.

(39) Where a Member State of origin has a reasonable doubt as to whether a certified recipient will comply with a condition attached to its general transfer licence, or where a licensing Member State considers that public policy, public security or its essential security interests could be affected, it should not only inform the other Member States and the Commission, but should also be able to provisionally suspend the effect of any transfer licence with regard to that recipient, having regard to its responsibility for the preservation of human rights, peace, security and stability.

(40) To foster mutual trust, the application of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions adopted to ensure compliance with this Directive should be deferred. That would allow, before application of those provisions, an evaluation of progress made on the basis of a report prepared by the Commission based on the information submitted by the Member States on the measures taken.

(41) The Commission should regularly publish a report on the implementation of this Directive, which may be accompanied by legislative proposals where appropriate.

(42) This Directive does not affect the existence or completion of regional unions between Belgium and Luxembourg, or between Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, as provided for in Article 306 of the Treaty.

(43) Since the objective of this Directive, namely the simplification of the rules and procedures applicable to the intra-Community transfer of defence-related products in order to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States in view of the divergence of present licensing procedures and the cross-border nature of transfers, and can therefore be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.

(44) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Directive should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers of the Commission (8).

(45) In particular, the Commission should be empowered to amend the Annex. Since those measures are of general scope and are designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive, they must be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny provided for in Article 5a of Decision 1999/468/EC.

(46) In accordance with point 34 of the Interinstitutional Agreement on better law-making (9), Member States are encouraged to draw up, for themselves and in the interests of the Community, their own tables illustrating, as far as possible, the correlation between this Directive and the transposition measures, and to make them public,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

CHAPTER I

SUBJECT MATTER, SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS

Article 1

Subject matter

1. The aim of this Directive is to simplify the rules and procedures applicable to the intra-Community transfer of defence-related products in order to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market.

2. This Directive does not affect the discretion of Member States as regards policy on the export of defence-related products.

3. The application of this Directive is subject to Articles 30 and 296 of the Treaty.

4. This Directive does not affect the possibility for Member States to pursue and further develop intergovernmental cooperation, whilst complying with the provisions of this Directive.

Article 2

Scope

This Directive applies to defence-related products as set out in the Annex.

Article 3

Definitions

For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions shall apply:

1. ‘defence-related product’ means any product listed in the Annex;

2. ‘transfer’ means any transmission or movement of a defence-related product from a supplier to a recipient in another Member State;

3. ‘supplier’ means the legal or natural person established within the Community who is legally responsible for a transfer;

4. ‘recipient’ means the legal or natural person established within the Community who is legally responsible for the receipt of a transfer;

5. ‘transfer licence’ means an authorisation by a national authority of a Member State for suppliers to transfer defence-related products to a recipient in another Member State;

6. ‘export licence’ means an authorisation to supply defence-related products to a legal or natural person in any third country;

7. ‘passage through’ means the transport of defence-related products through one or more Member States other than the originating and receiving Member States.

CHAPTER II

TRANSFER LICENCES

Article 4

General provisions

1. The transfer of defence-related products between Member States shall be subject to prior authorisation. No further authorisation by other Member States shall be required for passage through Member States or for entrance onto the territory of the Member State where the recipient of defence-related products is located, without prejudice to the application of provisions necessary on grounds of public security or public policy such as, inter alia, the safety of transport.

2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, Member States may exempt transfers of defence-related products from the obligation of prior authorisation set out in that paragraph where:

(a) the supplier or the recipient is a governmental body or part of the armed forces;

(b) supplies are made by the European Union, NATO, IAEA or other intergovernmental organisations for the performance of their tasks;

(c) the transfer is necessary for the implementation of a cooperative armament programme between Member States;

(d) the transfer is linked to humanitarian aid in the case of disaster or as a donation in an emergency; or

(e) the transfer is necessary for or after repair, maintenance, exhibition or demonstration.

3. At the request of a Member State or on its own initiative, the Commission may amend paragraph 2 in order to include cases where:

(a) the transfer takes place under conditions which do not affect public policy or public security;

(b) the obligation of prior authorisation has become incompatible with international commitments of the Member States subsequent to the adoption of this Directive; or

(c) it is necessary for intergovernmental cooperation, as referred to in Article 1(4).

Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 14(2).

4. Member States shall ensure that suppliers wishing to transfer defence-related products from their territory may use general transfer licences or apply for global or individual transfer licences in accordance with Articles 5, 6 and 7.

5. Member States shall determine the type of transfer licence for defence-related products or categories of defence-related products concerned in accordance with the provisions of this Article and Articles 5, 6 and 7.

6. Member States shall determine all the terms and conditions of transfer licences, including any limitations on the export of defence-related products to legal or natural persons in third countries, having regard, inter alia, to the risk for the preservation of human rights, peace, security and stability created by the transfer. Member States may, whilst complying with Community law, avail themselves of the possibility to request end-use assurances, including end-user certificates.

7. Member States shall determine the terms and conditions of transfer licences for components on the basis of an assessment of the sensitivity of the transfer according, inter alia, to the following criteria:

(a) the nature of the components in relation to the products in which they are to be incorporated and any end-use of the finished products which might give rise to concern;

(b) the significance of the components in relation to the products in which they are to be incorporated.

8. Except where they consider that the transfer of components is sensitive, Member States shall refrain from imposing any export limitations for components where the recipient provides a declaration of use in which it declares that the components subject to that transfer licence are integrated or are to be integrated into its own products and cannot at a later stage be transferred or exported as such, unless for the purposes of maintenance or repair.

9. Member States may withdraw, suspend or limit the use of transfer licences they have issued at any time for reasons of protection of their essential security interests, on grounds of public policy or public security, or as a result of non-compliance with the terms and conditions attached to the transfer licence.

Article 5

General transfer licences

1. Member States shall publish general transfer licences directly granting authorisation to suppliers established on their territory, which fulfil the terms and conditions attached to the general transfer licence, to perform transfers of defence-related products, to be specified in the general transfer licence, to a category or categories of recipients located in another Member State.

2. Without prejudice to Article 4(2), general transfer licences shall be published at least where:

(a) the recipient is part of the armed forces of a Member State or a contracting authority in the field of defence, purchasing for the exclusive use by the armed forces of a Member State;

(b) the recipient is an undertaking certified in accordance with Article 9;

(c) the transfer is made for the purposes of demonstration, evaluation or exhibition;

(d) the transfer is made for the purposes of maintenance and repair, if the recipient is the originating supplier of the defence-related products.

3. Member States participating in an intergovernmental cooperation programme concerning the development, production and use of one or more defence-related products may publish a general transfer licence for such transfers to other Member States which participate in that programme as are necessary for the execution of that programme.

4. Without prejudice to the other provisions of this Directive, Member States may lay down the conditions for registration prior to first use of a general transfer licence.

Article 6

Global transfer licences

1. Member States shall decide to grant global transfer licences to an individual supplier, at its request, authorising transfers of defence-related products to recipients in one or more other Member States.

2. Member States shall determine in each global transfer licence the defence-related products or categories of products covered by the global transfer licence and the authorised recipients or category of recipients.

A global transfer licence shall be granted for a period of three years, which may be renewed by the Member State.

Article 7

Individual transfer licences

Member States shall decide to grant individual transfer licences to an individual supplier at its request authorising one transfer of a specified quantity of specified defence-related products to be transmitted in one or several shipments to one recipient where:

(a) the request for a transfer licence is limited to one transfer;

(b) it is necessary for the protection of the essential security interests of the Member State or on grounds of public policy;

(c) it is necessary for compliance with international obligations and commitments of Member States; or

(d) a Member State has serious reason to believe that the supplier will not be able to comply with all the terms and conditions necessary to grant it a global transfer licence.

CHAPTER III

INFORMATION, CERTIFICATION AND EXPORT AFTER TRANSFER

Article 8

Information to be provided by suppliers

1. Member States shall ensure that suppliers of defence-related products inform recipients of the terms and conditions of the transfer licence, including limitations, relating to the end-use or export of the defence-related products.

2. Member States shall ensure that suppliers inform, within a reasonable time, the competent authorities of the Member State from whose territory they wish to transfer defence-related products of their intention to use a general transfer licence for the first time. Member States may determine the additional information that may be required regarding defence-related products transferred under a general transfer licence.

3. Member States shall ensure and regularly check that suppliers keep detailed and complete records of their transfers, in accordance with the legislation in force in that Member State, and shall determine the reporting requirements attached to the use of a general, global or individual transfer licence. Such records shall include commercial documents containing the following information:

(a) a description of the defence-related product and its reference under the Annex;

(b) the quantity and value of the defence-related product;

(c) the dates of transfer;

(d) the name and address of the supplier and of the recipient;

(e) where known, the end-use and end-user of the defence-related product; and

(f) proof that the information on an export limitation attached to a transfer licence has been transmitted to the recipient of the defence-related products.

4. Member States shall ensure that suppliers keep the records referred to in paragraph 3 for a period at least equal to that provided for in relevant national legislation relating to record-keeping requirements for economic operators in force in that Member State, and in any event for not less than three years from the end of the calendar year in which the transfer took place. They shall be provided at the request of the competent authorities of the Member State from whose territory the supplier transferred the defence-related products.

Article 9

Certification

1. Member States shall designate competent authorities to carry out the certification of recipients established on their territory of defence-related products under transfer licences published by other Member States in accordance with Article 5(2)(b).

2. The certification shall establish the reliability of the recipient undertaking, in particular as regards its capacity to observe export limitations of defence-related products received under a transfer licence from another Member State. Reliability shall be assessed according to the following criteria:

(a) proven experience in defence activities, taking into account in particular the undertaking’s record of compliance with export restrictions, any court decisions on this matter, any authorisation to produce or commercialise defence-related products and the employment of experienced management staff;

(b) relevant industrial activity in defence-related products within the Community, in particular capacity for system/sub-system integration;

(c) the appointment of a senior executive as the dedicated officer personally responsible for transfers and exports;

(d) a written commitment of the undertaking, signed by the senior executive referred to in point (c), that the undertaking will take all necessary steps to observe and enforce all specific conditions related to the end-use and export of any specific component or product received;

(e) a written commitment of the undertaking, signed by the senior executive referred to in point (c), to provide to the competent authorities, with due diligence, detailed information in response to requests and inquiries concerning the end-users or end-use of all products exported, transferred or received under a transfer licence from another Member State; and

(f) a description, countersigned by the senior executive referred to in point (c), of the internal compliance programme or transfer and export management system implemented in the undertaking. This description shall provide details of the organisational, human and technical resources allocated to the management of transfers and exports, the chain of responsibility within the undertaking, internal audit procedures, awareness-raising and staff training, physical and technical security arrangements, record-keeping and traceability of transfers and exports.

3. Certificates shall contain the following information:

(a) the competent authority issuing the certificate;

(b) the name and address of the recipient;

(c) a statement of the conformity of the recipient with the criteria referred to in paragraph 2; and

(d) the date of issue and period of validity of the certificate.

The period of validity of the certificate referred to in point (d) shall in any case not exceed five years.

4. Certificates may contain further conditions relating to the following:

(a) the provision of information required for the verification of compliance with the criteria referred to in paragraph 2;

(b) the suspension or revocation of the certificate.

5. Competent authorities shall monitor the compliance of the recipient with the criteria referred to in paragraph 2 at least every three years, and with any condition attached to the certificates referred to in paragraph 4.

6. Member States shall recognise any certificates issued in accordance with this Directive in another Member State.

7. If a competent authority finds that the holder of a certificate established on the territory of its Member State no longer satisfies the criteria referred to in paragraph 2 or any of the conditions referred to in paragraph 4, it shall take appropriate measures. Such measures may include revoking the certificate. The competent authority shall inform the Commission and the other Member States of its decision.

8. Member States shall publish and regularly update a list of certified recipients and inform the Commission, the European Parliament and the other Member States thereof.

The Commission shall make publicly available on its website a central register of recipients certified by Member States.

Article 10

Export limitations

Member States shall ensure that recipients of defence-related products, when applying for an export licence, declare to their competent authorities, in cases where such products received under a transfer licence from another Member State have export limitations attached to them, that they have complied with the terms of those limitations, including, as the case may be, by having obtained the required consent from the originating Member State.

CHAPTER IV

CUSTOMS PROCEDURES AND ADMINISTRATIVE COOPERATION

Article 11

Customs procedures

1. Member States shall ensure that, when completing the formalities for the export of defence-related products at the customs office responsible for handling the export declaration, the exporter furnishes proof that any necessary export licence has been obtained.

2. Without prejudice to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code (10), a Member State may also, for a period not exceeding 30 working days, suspend the process of export from its territory of defence-related products received from another Member State under a transfer licence and incorporated in another defence-related product or, if necessary, prevent by other means such products from leaving the Community from its territory, where it considers that:

(a) relevant information was not taken into account when the export licence was granted; or

(b) circumstances have materially changed since the grant of the export licence.

3. Member States may provide that customs formalities for the export of defence-related products can be completed only at certain customs offices.

4. Member States availing themselves of the option set out in paragraph 3 shall inform the Commission of the relevant customs offices. The Commission shall publish that information in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 12

Exchange of information

Acting in liaison with the Commission, Member States shall take all appropriate measures to establish direct cooperation and exchange of information between their national competent authorities.

CHAPTER V

UPDATING OF THE LIST OF DEFENCE-RELATED PRODUCTS

Article 13

Adaptation of the Annex

1. The Commission shall update the list of defence-related products set out in the Annex, so that it strictly corresponds to the Common Military List of the European Union.

2. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 14(2).

Article 14

Committee procedure

1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5a(1) to (4) and Article 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

CHAPTER VI

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 15

Safeguard measures

1. Where a licensing Member State considers that there is a serious risk that a recipient certified in accordance with Article 9 in another Member State will not comply with a condition attached to a general transfer licence, or where a licensing Member State considers that public policy, public security or its essential security interests could be affected, it shall inform that other Member State and request verification of the situation.

2. Where the doubts referred to in paragraph 1 persist, the licensing Member State may provisionally suspend the effect of its general transfer licence with regard to such recipients. It shall inform the other Member States and the Commission of the reasons for that safeguard measure. The Member State which adopted that measure may decide to lift it where it considers that it is no longer justified.

Article 16

Penalties

Member States shall lay down rules on penalties applicable to infringements of the provisions adopted in implementation of this Directive, in particular in the event of false or incomplete information required under Article 8(1) or Article 10 being provided as regards compliance with export limitations attached to a transfer licence. The Member States shall take all measures necessary to ensure that those rules are implemented. The penalties provided for shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

Article 17

Review and reporting

1. By 30 June 2012, the Commission shall report on the measures taken by the Member States with a view to the transposition of this Directive, and in particular Articles 9 to 12 and Article 15 thereof.

2. By 30 June 2016, the Commission shall review the implementation of this Directive and report thereon to the European Parliament and the Council. It shall evaluate in particular whether, and to what extent, the objectives of this Directive have been achieved, with regard, inter alia, to the functioning of the internal market. In its report, the Commission shall review the application of Articles 9 to 12 and Article 15 of this Directive, and shall evaluate the impact of this Directive on the development of a European defence equipment market and a European defence technological and industrial base, having regard, inter alia, to the situation of small and medium-sized enterprises. If necessary, the report shall be accompanied by a legislative proposal.

Article 18

Transposition

1. Member States shall adopt and publish, no later than 30 June 2011, the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those measures.

They shall apply those measures from 30 June 2012.

When Member States adopt those measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by Member States.

2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

Article 19

Entry into force

This Directive shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 20

Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Strasbourg, 6 May 2009. For the European Parliament The President H.-G. PÖTTERING For the Council The President J. KOHOUT

(1) Opinion delivered on 23 October 2008 (not yet published in the Official Journal).

(2) Opinion of the European Parliament of 16 December 2008 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and Council Decision of 23 April 2009.

(3) OJ L 88, 29.3.2007, p. 58.

(4) OJ L 338, 9.12.1997, p. 1.

(5) OJ L 256, 13.9.1991, p. 51.

(6) OJ L 121, 15.5.1993, p. 20.

(7) OJ L 335, 13.12.2008, p. 99.

(8) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.

(9) OJ C 321, 31.12.2003, p. 1.

(10) OJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p. 1.