Proposal for a Council Regulation concerning certain restrictive measures in respect of Lebanon
Date: 2006-09-05
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU relations, Lebanon, arms trade, common foreign and security policy, export restriction, international sanctions, military cooperation, military equipment, multinational force

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 5.9.2006 
COM(2006) 488 final 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

concerning certain restrictive measures in respect of Lebanon 

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

On  11  August  2006,  the  UN  Security  Council  adopted  Resolution  1701  (2006) 
concerning  Lebanon.  The  UN  Security  Council  decided  that  all  UN  members  shall 
apply an arms embargo and related measures in relation to Lebanon, in order to enable 
the Government of Lebanon to exercise its full sovereignty over all Lebanese territory. 

In  order  to  implement  the  arms  embargo  set  out  in  UN  Security  Council  Resolution 
1701  (2006),  the  Council  is  preparing  Common  Position  2006/…/CFSP,  which 
provides  for  action  by  the  Community  in  order  to  implement  certain  restrictive 
measures. 

The  prohibition  to  provide  technical  and  financial  assistance  related  to  military 
activities and to the provision, manufacture, maintenance and use of arms and related 
materiel to or for use in Lebanon, foreseen by Common Position 2006/…/CFSP, falls 
within  the  scope  of  the  Treaty  and  cannot  be  enforced  on  the  basis  of  existing 
Community legislation. 

(4) 

The Commission proposes to implement these measures in the Community by means 
of a new Council Regulation. 

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Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

concerning certain restrictive measures in respect of Lebanon 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

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

Having  regard  to  Common  Position  2006/…/CFSP  concerning  a  prohibition  on  the  sale  or 
supply  of  arms  and  related  materiel  and  on  the  provision  of  related  services  to  entities  or 
individuals in Lebanon 1, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission2, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

On  ..  September  2006,  the  Council  adopted  Common  Position  2006/…/CFSP 
concerning a prohibition on the sale or supply of arms and related materiel and on the 
provision  of  related  services  to  entities  or  individuals  in  Lebanon,  in  order  to 
implement the arms embargo and related measures imposed by UN Security Council 
Resolution 1701(2006) concerning Lebanon. 

The  Common  Position  provides,  inter  alia,  for  a  ban  on  the  provision  of  technical 
assistance and of financing and financial assistance related to military activities and to 
the  provision,  manufacture,  maintenance  and  use  of  arms  and  related  materiel  of  all 
types. 

These measures fall within the scope of the Treaty and, therefore, notably with a view 
to  ensuring  their  uniform  application  by  economic  operators  in  all  Member  States, 
Community  legislation  is  necessary  to  implement  them  as  far  as  the  Community  is 
concerned. 

It  is  appropriate  to  allow  the  competent  authorities  to  grant  authorisations  for  the 
provision of assistance to the armed forces that are part of the United Nations Interim 
Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and, after notification to the Government of Lebanon of 
the intention to grant an authorisation, to the armed forces of the Lebanese Republic. 

1 
2 

OJ L […], […9.2006], p. […]. 
OJ C […], […], p. […]. 

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(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

On  a  case  by  case  basis,  the  competent  authorities  should  also  be  allowed  to  grant 
authorisations for the provision of assistance where such provision was authorised by 
the Government of Lebanon, and taking into account UN Security Council Resolutions 
1559(2004) and 1680(2006) and any other relevant facts and circumstances. 

For  reasons  of  expediency,  the  Commission  should  be  empowered  to  amend  the 
Annex to this Regulation. 

This  Regulation  should  enter  into  force  on  the  day  of  its  publication  so  as  to  ensure 
that the measures provided for in it are effective, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

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

1. 

2. 

‘technical  assistance’  means  any  technical  support  related  to  repairs,  development, 
manufacture, assembly, testing, maintenance, or any other technical service, and may 
take forms such as instruction, advice, training, transmission of working knowledge 
or  skills  or  consulting  services;  technical  assistance  shall  include  verbal  forms  of 
assistance; 

‘territory of the Community’ means the territories of the Member States to which the 
Treaty is applicable, under the conditions laid down in the Treaty. 

It shall be prohibited: 

Article 2 

(a) 

(b) 

to  provide  technical  assistance  related  to  military  activities  and  to  the  provision, 
manufacture,  maintenance  and  use  of  arms  and  related  materiel  of  all  types, 
including  weapons  and  ammunition,  military  vehicles  and  equipment,  paramilitary 
equipment,  and  spare  parts  for  the  aforementioned,  directly  or  indirectly  to  any 
natural or legal person, entity or body in, or for use in, Lebanon; 

to provide financing or financial assistance related to military activities, including in 
particular grants, loans and export credit insurance, for any sale, supply, transfer or 
export  of  arms  and  related  materiel,  or  for  any  provision  of  related  technical 
assistance,  directly  or  indirectly  to  any  person,  entity  or  body  in,  or  for  use  in, 
Lebanon; 

(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). 

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Article 3 

1. 

By way of derogation from Article 2, the competent authorities of Member States as 
listed in the Annex may authorise, under such conditions as they deem appropriate: 

(a) 

the provision of technical assistance related to military activities and to arms or 
related materiel, provided that  

(i) 

the  goods  to  which  the  assistance  relates  are  in  use  or  will  be  used  by 
UNIFIL in the performance of its mission, and  

(ii) 

the  services  are  provided  to  armed  forces  that  are  or  will  be  part  of 
UNIFIL; 

(b) 

the provision of financing and financial assistance related to military activities, 
provided that: 

(i) 

(ii) 

the financing or financial assistance is provided to UNIFIL, to the armed 
forces of a State that provides troops to UNIFIL, or to a public authority 
in charge of procurement for the armed forces of such a State, and 

the  arms  or  related  materiel  are  procured  for  the  purpose  of  use  by 
UNIFIL  or  by  the  armed  forces  of  the  State  concerned  assigned  to 
UNIFIL. 

2. 

By way of derogation from Article 2 and after prior notification to the Government 
of Lebanon, the competent authorities of Member States as listed in the Annex may 
authorise, under such conditions as they deem appropriate: 

(a) 

(b) 

the  provision  to  the  armed  forces  of  the  Lebanese  Republic  of  technical 
assistance related to military activities and to arms or related materiel, and of 
financing  and  financial  assistance  related  to  military  activities,  unless  the 
Government of Lebanon raises any objection; 

the  provision  to  any  other  person,  entity  or  body  in  Lebanon  or  in  any  other 
country,  of  technical  assistance,  financing  and  financial  assistance  related  to 
arms  or  related  materiel  which  are  either  in  or  for  use  in  Lebanon,  provided 
that: 

(i) 

the  services  shall  not  be  provided,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  one  of  the 
militias for whose disarmament the UN Security Council has called in its 
Resolutions 1559(2004) and 1680(2006),  

(ii) 

the authorisations are granted on a case-by-case basis, and 

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(iii) 

the Government of Lebanon authorised in each case the provision to the 
person,  entity  or  body  concerned  of  the  services  concerned.  If  the 
Government  of  Lebanon  authorises  a  specific  supply  or  transfer  to  a 
person,  entity  or  body  of  specific  arms  or  related  materiel,  that 
authorisation  may  be  construed  as  authorising  the  provision  to  that 
person,  entity  or  body  of  technical  assistance  related  to  the  provision, 
manufacture, maintenance and use of the goods concerned. 

3. 

The  competent  authorities  of  Member  States  may  only  grant  the  authorisations 
referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 prior to the activity for which they are requested. 

Article 4 

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 judgements handed down by national courts. 

The Commission is empowered to amend the Annex on the basis of information supplied by 
Member States. 

Article 5 

Article 6 

1. 

2. 

Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of 
the provisions of this Regulation and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that 
they  are  implemented.  The  penalties  provided  for  must  be  effective,  proportionate 
and dissuasive. 

Member  States  shall  notify  the  Commission  of  those  rules  without  delay  after  the 
entry into force of this Regulation and shall notify it of any subsequent amendment. 

This Regulation shall apply: 

Article 7 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

within the territory of the Community, including its airspace; 

on board of 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, entity or body which is incorporated or constituted under the law 
of a Member State; 

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(e) 

to any legal person, entity or body in respect of any business done in whole or in part 
within the Community. 

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of 
the European Union. 

Article 8 

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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ANNEX  

List of competent authorities referred to in Article 3 

(to be completed by Member States) 

BELGIUM 

CZECH REPUBLIC 

DENMARK 

GERMANY 

ESTONIA 

GREECE 

SPAIN 

FRANCE 

IRELAND 

ITALY 

CYPRUS 

LATVIA 

LITHUANIA 

LUXEMBOURG 

HUNGARY 

MALTA 

NETHERLANDS 

AUSTRIA 

POLAND 

PORTUGAL 

SLOVENIA 

SLOVAKIA 

FINLAND 

SWEDEN 

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UNITED KINGDOM 

EUROPEAN COMMUNITY 

Commission of the European Communities 

Directorate-General for External Relations 

Directorate A. Crisis Platform and Policy Coordination in CFSP 

Unit A.2. Crisis Management and Conflict Prevention 

CHAR 12/45 

B-1049 Brussels 

Tel. (32-2) 299 11 76/295 55 85 

Fax (32-2) 299 08 73 

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