Proposal for a Council Regulation imposing certain specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Côte d’Ivoire
Date: 2004-12-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Côte d'Ivoire, common foreign and security policy, economic sanctions, foreign capital, international sanctions, restriction of liberty

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 23.12.2004 
COM(2004) 842 final 

2004/0286 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

imposing certain specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and 
entities in view of the situation in Côte d’Ivoire 

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

In  view  of  recent  developments  in  Côte  d’Ivoire,  and  notably  the  resumption  of 
hostilities  and  repeated  violations  of  the  ceasefire  agreement  of  3  May  2003,  the 
United  Nations  Security  Council  decided  on  15  November  2004  to  impose  certain 
restrictive measures against Côte d’Ivoire.  

The  restrictive  measures  decided  by  the  Security  Council  in  its  Resolution  1572 
(2004) include, inter alia, the application as of 15 December 2004 of the freezing of 
funds  and  economic  resources  of  persons  designated  by  the  United  Nations  as 
constituting a threat to the peace and national reconciliation process in Côte d’Ivoire. 

The freezing of funds and economic resources of designated persons falls within the 
scope  of  the  Treaty.  The  Commission  proposes  to  implement  it  by  means  of  a 
Council Regulation. 

The  proposed  measures  are  similar  to  those  imposed  by  means  of  Regulation  (EC) 
No  881/2002  imposing  certain  specific  restrictive  measures  directed  against  certain 
persons and entities associated with Usama bin Laden, the Al-Qaida network and the 
Taliban, and by Regulation (EC) No 1763/2004 imposing certain restrictive measures 
in support of effective implementation of the mandate of the International Criminal 
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). 

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2004/0286 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

imposing certain specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and 
entities in view of the situation in Côte d’Ivoire 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Articles 
60, 301 and 308 thereof, 

Having  regard  to  Council  Common  Position  2004/xxx/CFSP  of  xx  December  2004 
concerning restrictive measures against Côte d’Ivoire,1 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission2, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament3, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

In its Resolution 1572 (2004) of 15 November 2004, the UN Security Council, acting 
under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, and noting the resumption of 
hostilities in Côte d’Ivoire and the repeated violations of the ceasefire agreement of 3 
May 2003, decided to impose certain restrictive measures against Côte d’Ivoire. 

Common Position 2004/XXX/CFSP provides for implementation of the measures set 
out in UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1572 (2004), including the freezing 
of  funds  and  economic  resources  of  persons  designated  by  the  competent  United 
Nations  Sanctions  Committee  who  constitute  a  threat  to  the  peace  and  national 
reconciliation process in Côte d’Ivoire, in particular those who block implementation 
of  the  Linas-Marcoussis  and  Accra  III  Agreements,  any  other  person  determined  as 
responsible for serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law 
in  Côte  d’Ivoire  on  the  basis  of  relevant  information,  any  other  person  who  incites 
publicly hatred and violence, and any other person determined by the Committee to be 
in violation of the arms embargo also imposed by Resolution 1572 (2004).of funds and 
economic  resources  of  persons  who  constitute  a  threat  to  the  peace  and  national 
reconciliation process in Côte d’Ivoire, as designated by the Committee established by 
UNSCR 1572 (2004). 

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OJ L  
OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 

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(3) 

These measures fall within the scope of the Treaty and, therefore, in order to avoid any 
distortion  of  competition,  Community  legislation  is  necessary  to  implement  them  as 
far as the Community is concerned. For the purpose of this Regulation, the territory of 
the Community is deemed to encompass the territories of the Member States to which 
the Treaty is applicable, under the conditions laid down in that Treaty. 

(4) 

In order to ensure that the measures provided for in this Regulation are effective, this 
Regulation should enter into force on the day of its publication, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

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

Article 1 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

‘Sanctions Committee’ means the Committee of the Security Council of the United 
Nations which was established pursuant to paragraph 14 of UNSCR 1572 (2004); 

‘funds’ means financial assets and benefits of every kind, including but not limited 
to: 

(a) 

cash,  cheques,  claims  on  money,  drafts,  money  orders  and  other  payment 
instruments; 

(b)  deposits with financial institutions or other entities, balances on accounts, debts 

and debt obligations; 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

publicly and privately traded securities and debt instruments, including stocks 
and  shares,  certificates  representing  securities,  bonds,  notes,  warrants, 
debentures and derivatives contracts; 

interest, dividends or other income on or value accruing from or generated by 
assets; 

credit,  right  of  set-off,  guarantees,  performance  bonds  or  other  financial 
commitments; 

(f) 

letters of credit, bills of lading, bills of sale; 

(g)  documents evidencing an interest in funds or financial resources; 

(h) 

any other instrument of export-financing; 

‘freezing of funds’ means preventing any move, transfer, alteration, use of, access to, 
or  dealing  with  funds  in  any  way  that  would  result  in  any  change  in  their  volume, 
amount, location, ownership, possession, character, destination or other change that 
would enable the funds to be used, including portfolio management; 

‘economic  resources’  means  assets  of  every  kind,  whether  tangible  or  intangible, 
movable or immovable, which are not funds but can be used to obtain funds, goods 
or services; 

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5. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

‘freezing of economic resources’ means preventing their use to obtain funds, goods 
or services in any way, including, but not limited to, the selling, hiring or mortgaging 
of them. 

Article 2 

All funds and economic resources owned, or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the 
natural or legal persons, entities or bodies listed in Annex I shall be frozen. 

No funds or economic resources shall be made available, directly or indirectly, to or 
for the benefit of the natural or legal persons, entities or bodies listed in Annex I. 

The  participation,  knowingly  and  intentionally,  in  activities  the  object  or  effect  of 
which is, directly or indirectly, to circumvent the measures referred to in paragraphs 
1 and 2 shall be prohibited. 

Article 3 

By way of derogation from Article 2, and provided they have notified the intention to 
authorise access to such funds and economic resources to the Sanctions Committee 
and  have  not  received  a  negative  decision  by  the  Sanctions  Committee  within  two 
working days of such notification, the competent authorities of the Member States, as 
listed  in  Annex  II,  may  authorise  the  release  of  certain  frozen  funds  or  economic 
resources  or  the  making  available  of  certain  frozen  funds  or  economic  resources, 
under  such  conditions  as  they  deem  appropriate,  after  having  determined  that  the 
funds or economic resources concerned are:  

(a) 

(b) 

necessary  for  basic  expenses,  including  payments  for  foodstuffs,  rent  or 
mortgage,  medicines  and  medical  treatment,  taxes,  insurance  premiums,  and 
public utility charges; 

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. 

By  way  of  derogation  from  Article  2,  the  competent  authorities  of  the  Member 
States,  as  listed  in  Annex  II,  may  authorise  the  release  of  certain  frozen  funds  or 
economic  resources  or  the  making  available  of  certain  frozen  funds  or  economic 
resources,  after  having  determined  that  the  funds  or  economic  resources  are 
necessary  for  extraordinary  expenses,  and  provided  they  have  notified  that 
determination  to  the  Sanctions  Committee  and  that  the  determination  has  been 
approved by that Committee. 

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By  way  of  derogation  from  Article  2,  the  competent  authorities  of  the  Member  States,  as 
listed in Annex II, may authorise the release of certain frozen funds or economic resources, if 
the following conditions are met: 

Article 4 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

the  funds  or  economic  resources  are  subject  of  a  judicial,  administrative  or  arbitral 
lien established prior to 15 November 2004 or of a judicial, administrative or arbitral 
judgment rendered prior to that date; 

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; 

the lien or judgment is not for the benefit of a person, entity or body listed in Annex 
I; 

recognising the lien or judgment is not contrary to public policy in the Member State 
concerned; 

the  competent  authorities  have  notified  the  lien  or  judgement  to  the  Sanctions 
Committee. 

The relevant competent authority shall inform the competent authorities of the other Member 
States and the Commission of any authorisation granted under Articles 3 and 4. 

Article 5 

Article 6 

Article 2(2) shall not prevent the crediting of the frozen accounts by financial institutions that 
receive funds transferred by third parties to the account of the listed person or entity, provided 
that  any  such  additions  to  such  accounts  will  also  be  frozen.  The  financial  institution  shall 
inform the competent authorities about such transactions without delay. 

Article 7 

1. 

Without  prejudice  to  the  applicable  rules  concerning  reporting,  confidentiality  and 
professional secrecy and to the provisions of Article  284  of the Treaty, natural and 
legal persons, entities and bodies shall: 

(a) 

supply  immediately  any  information  which  would  facilitate  compliance  with 
this  Regulation,  such  as  accounts  and  amounts  frozen  in  accordance  with 
Article 2, to the competent authorities of the Member States listed in Annex II 
where they are resident or located, and shall transmit such information, directly 
or through these competent authorities, to the Commission; 

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(b) 

cooperate with the competent authorities listed in Annex II in any verification 
of this information. 

2. 

3. 

Any  additional  information  directly  received  by  the  Commission  shall  be  made 
available to the competent authorities of the Member State concerned. 

Any information provided or received in accordance with this Article shall be used 
only for the purposes for which it was provided or received. 

Article 8 

The  freezing  of  funds  and  economic  resources  or  the  refusal  to  make  funds  or  economic 
resources  available,  carried  out  in  good  faith  on  the  basis  that  such  action  is  in  accordance 
with this Regulation, shall not give rise to liability of any kind on the part of the natural or 
legal person or entity implementing it, or its directors or employees, unless it is proved that 
the funds and economic resources were frozen as result of negligence. 

Article 9 

The  Commission  and  Member  States  shall  immediately  inform  each  other  of  the  measures 
taken under this Regulation and shall supply each other with any other relevant information at 
their  disposal  in  connection  with  this  Regulation,  in  particular  information  in  respect  of 
violation and enforcement problems and judgments handed down by national courts. 

The Commission shall be empowered to: 

Article 10 

(a) 

amend  Annex  I  on  the  basis  of  determinations  made  by  either  the  United  Nations 
Security Council or the Sanctions Committee; and 

(b) 

amend Annex II on the basis of information supplied by Member States. 

Article 11 

The Member States shall lay down the rules on sanctions applicable to infringements of the 
provisions  of  this  Regulation  and  shall  take  all  measures  necessary  to  ensure  that  they  are 
implemented. The sanctions provided for must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. The 
Member States shall notify those rules to the Commission without delay after the entry into 
force of this Regulation and shall notify it of any subsequent amendment. 

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Article 12 

This Regulation shall apply: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

within the territory of the Community, including its airspace; 

on board any aircraft or any vessel under the jurisdiction of a Member State; 

to any person inside or outside the territory of the Community who is a national of a 
Member State; 

to  any  legal  person,  group  or  entity  which  is  incorporated  or  constituted  under  the 
law of a Member State; 

(e) 

to any legal person, group or entity doing business within the Community. 

Article 13 

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 

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List of natural and legal persons, bodies or entities referred to in Article 2 

ANNEX I 

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List of competent authorities referred to in Articles 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 

ANNEX II 

(to be completed by the Member States)  

BELGIUM 

CZECH REPUBLIC 

DENMARK 

GERMANY 

ESTONIA 

GREECE 

SPAIN 

FRANCE 

IRELAND 

ITALY 

CYPRUS 

LATVIA 

LITHUANIA 

LUXEMBOURG 

HUNGARY 

MALTA 

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NETHERLANDS 

AUSTRIA 

POLAND 

PORTUGAL 

SLOVENIA 

SLOVAKIA 

FINLAND 

SWEDEN 

UNITED KINGDOM 

EUROPEAN COMMUNITY 

Commission of the European Communities 

Directorate-General for External Relations 

Directorate CFSP 

Unit A.2: Legal and institutional matters for external relations - Sanctions 

CHAR 12/163 

B - 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel 

Tel. (32-2) 295 81 48, 296 25 56 

Fax (32-2) 296 75 63 

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