Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria
Date: 2011-05-06
Institutions: European Commission, High Representative of the Union
Subjects: Syria, common foreign and security policy, economic sanctions, human rights, international sanctions, restriction of liberty, trade restriction

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

HIGH REPRESENTATIVE OF THE
UNION FOR
FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND
SECURITY POLICY

Brussels, 6.5.2011 
COM(2011) 266 final 

2011/0113 (NLE) 

Joint Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria 

 
 
  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

Council  Decision  2011/[…]/CFSP  of  […]  provides  for  the  adoption  of  restrictive 
measures  in  view  of  the  situation  in  Syria  in  consideration  of  the  seriousness  of  the 
situation in the country.  

These  measures  consist  of  an  arms  embargo,  a  ban  on  exports  of  internal  repression 
equipment, and restrictions on the admission to the EU, and the freezing of funds and 
economic  resources,  of  persons  and  entities  responsible  for  the  violent  repression 
against the civilian population in Syria.  

Further  action  at  Union  level  is  required  in  order  to  give  effect  to  some  of  these 
measures. The High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy 
and  the  Commission  propose  to  give  effect  to  these  measures  by  means  of  a 
Regulation based on Article 215(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European 
Union (TFEU). 

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2011/0113 (NLE) 

Joint Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 215(1) thereof,  

Having regard to Council Decision 2011/[…]/CFSP of […] concerning restrictive measures in 
view of the situation in Syria, 

Having  regard  to  the  joint  proposal  from  the  High  Representative  of  the  Union  for  Foreign 
Affairs and Security Policy and the Commission, 

After consulting the European Data Protection Supervisor, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

Council  Decision  2011/[…]/CFSP  of  […]  provides  for  an  arms  embargo,  a  ban  on 
internal  repression  equipment,  and  restrictions  on  the  admission  to  the  EU,  and  the 
freezing of funds and economic resources, of certain persons and entities responsible 
for  the  violent  repression  against  the  civilian  population  in  Syria.  These  persons, 
entities and bodies are listed in the Annex to the Decision. 

Some of these measures fall within the scope of the Treaty on the Functioning of the 
European  Union  and,  therefore,  notably  with  a  view  to  ensuring  their  uniform 
application by economic operators in all Member States, regulatory action at the level 
of the Union is necessary in order to implement them. 

This Regulation respects the fundamental rights and observes the principles recognised 
in particular by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and notably 
the  right  to  an  effective  remedy  and  to  a  fair  trial  and  the  right  to  the  protection  of 
personal data. This Regulation should be applied in accordance with those rights.  

Article  291(2)  TFEU  provides  that,  where  uniform  conditions  for  implementing 
legally  binding  Union  acts  such  as  Regulations  based  on  Article  215  TFEU  are 
needed, those acts shall confer implementing powers on the Commission. 

For  the  implementation  of  this  Regulation,  and  in  order  to  create  maximum  legal 
certainty within the Union, the names and other relevant data concerning natural and 
legal persons, entities and bodies whose funds and economic resources must be frozen 
in accordance with this Regulation, must be made public. Any processing of personal 
data  should  respect  Regulation  (EC)  No  45/2001  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of 

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the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the 
processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free 
movement  of  such  data1  and  Directive  95/46/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of 
the  Council  of  24  October  1995  on  the  protection  of  individuals  with  regard  to  the 
processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data2. 

(6) 

In order to ensure that the measures provided for in this Regulation are effective, this 
Regulation must enter into force immediately, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

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

(a) 

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

(i) 

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

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

and debt obligations; 

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

(iv) 

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

(v) 

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

(vi) 

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

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

(b) 

(c) 

‘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 may be used to obtain funds, goods 
or services; 

1 
2 

OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1. 
OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31. 

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(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

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

'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; including verbal forms of assistance; 

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

It shall be prohibited: 

Article 2 

(a) 

to sell, supply, transfer or export, directly or indirectly, equipment which might 
be used for internal repression as listed in Annex I, whether or not originating 
in  the Union,  to  any  person,  entity  or  body  in  Syria  or  to  any  other  person, 
entity or body for use in Syria; 

(b) 

to participate, knowingly and intentionally, in activities the object or effect of 
which is to circumvent the prohibitions referred to in point (a). 

1. 

It shall be prohibited: 

Article 3 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

to provide, directly or indirectly, technical assistance related to the goods and 
technology  listed  in  the  Common  Military  List  of  the  European  Union 
(‘Common  Military  List’)3,  or  related 
the  provision,  manufacture, 
maintenance  and  use  of  goods  included  in  that  list,  to  any  person,  entity  or 
body in Syria or for use in Syria; 

to 

to  provide,  directly  or  indirectly,  technical  assistance  or  brokering  services 
related  to  equipment  which  might  be  used  for  internal  repression  as  listed  in 
Annex I, to any person, entity or body in Syria or for use in Syria; 

to provide, directly or indirectly, financing or financial assistance related to the 
goods  and  technology  listed  in  the  Common  Military  List  or  in  Annex I, 
including  in  particular  grants,  loans  and  export  credit  insurance,  for  any  sale, 
supply,  transfer  or  export  of  such  items,  or  for  any  provision  of  related 
technical assistance to any person, entity or body in Syria or for use in Syria; 

(d) 

to participate, knowingly and intentionally, in activities the object or effect of 
which is to circumvent the prohibitions referred to in points (a) to (c). 

3 

OJ C 69, 18.3.2010, p. 19. 

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2. 

By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the prohibitions refered to therein shall not 
apply  to  the  provision  of  technical  assistance,  financing  and  financial  assistance 
related to  

• 

• 

• 

technical  assistance  intended  solely  for  the  support  of  the United  Nations 
Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF); 

non-lethal military equipment, or equipment which might be used for internal 
repression,  intended  solely  for  humanitarian  purposes  or  protective  use  or  for 
institution building programmes of the United Nations (“UN”) and the Union, 
or for Union or UN crisis management operations; or 

non-combat  vehicles  fitted  with  materials  to  provide  ballistic  protection, 
intended solely for the protective use of personnel of the Union and its Member 
States in Syria; 

provided  that  such  provision  shall  first  have  been  approved  by  the  competent 
authority of a Member State, as identified on the websites listed in Annex III. 

Paragraph 1 shall not apply to protective clothing, including flak jackets and military 
helmets, temporarily exported to Syria by UN personnel, personnel of the Union or 
its  Member  States,  representatives  of  the  media  or  humanitarian  and  development 
workers and associated persons exclusively for their personal use. 

Article 4 

All  funds  and  economic  resources  belonging  to,  owned,  held  or  controlled  by  the 
natural or legal persons, entities and bodies listed in Annex II 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 II. 

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 5 

Annex  II  shall  consist  of  natural  or  legal  persons,  entities  and  bodies  who,  in 
accordance with Article 4(1) of Council Decision 2011/[…]/CFSP of […], have been 
identified  by  the  Council  as  being  persons  and  entities  responsible  for  the  violent 
repression against the civilian population in Syria, and natural or legal persons and 
entities associated with them. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

Annex II shall include only the following information on listed natural persons: 

(a) 

for  identification  purposes:  surname  and  given  names  (including  alias  names 
and titles, if any); date and place of birth; nationality; passport and identity card 
numbers; tax and social security numbers; sex; address or other information on 
whereabouts; function held or profession;  

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(b) 

the date on which the natural or legal person, entity or body has been included 
in Annex; 

(c) 

the grounds for listing. 

3. 

Annex  II  may  also  include  information  on  family  members  of  the  persons  listed, 
provided  that  the  inclusion  of  this  information  is  considered  to  be  necessary  in  a 
specific case for the sole purpose of verifying the identity of the listed natural person 
in question. 

Article 6 

By  way  of  derogation  from  Article  4,  the  competent  authorities  in  the  Member  States  as 
identified on the websites listed in Annex III may authorise the release of certain frozen funds 
or economic resources, or the making available of certain funds or economic resources, under 
such conditions as they deem appropriate, after having determined that the funds or economic 
resources are: 

(a)  necessary  to  satisfy  the  basic  needs  of  persons  listed  in  Annex  II  and  their 
dependent  family  members,  including  payments  for  foodstuffs,  rent  or 
mortgage,  medicines  and  medical  treatment,  taxes,  insurance  premiums,  and 
public utility charges; 

(b) 

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; or 

(d)  necessary  for  extraordinary  expenses,  provided  that  the  relevant  competent 
authority  has  notified  the  grounds  on  which  it  considers  that  a  specific 
authorisation  should  be  granted  to  the  competent  authorities  of  the  other 
Member States  and  to  the  Commission  at  least  two  weeks  before  the 
authorisation. 

The Member State concerned  shall inform the other Member States and the Commission  of 
any authorisation granted under this paragraph. 

Article 7 

By way of derogation from Article 4, the competent authorities in the Member States as listed 
in Annex III may authorise the release of certain frozen funds or economic resources, if the 
following conditions are met: 

(a) 

the  funds  or  economic  resources  in  question  are  the  subject  of  a  judicial, 
administrative or arbitral lien established prior to the date on which the person, 
entity or body referred to in Article 4 was included in Annex II, or of a judicial, 
administrative or arbitral judgment rendered prior to that date; 

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(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

the funds or economic resources in question 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 II; and 

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

The relevant Member State shall inform the other Member States and the Commission of any 
authorisation granted under this Article. 

Article 8 

1. 

Article 4(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  the  account  became  subject  to  this 
Regulation, 

provided  that  any  such  interest,  other  earnings  and  payments  are  frozen  in 
accordance with Article 4(1). 

2. 

Article  4(2)  shall  not  prevent  financial  or  credit  institutions  in  the  Union  from 
crediting  frozen  accounts  where  they  receive  funds  transferred  to  the  account  of  a 
listed  natural  or  legal  person,  entity  or  body,  provided  that  any  additions  to  such 
accounts  will  also  be  frozen.  The  financial  or  credit  institution  shall  inform  the 
relevant competent authority about any such transaction without delay. 

Article 9 

By way of derogation from Article 4 and provided that a payment by a person, entity or body 
listed  in  Annex  II  is  due  under  a  contract  or  agreement  that  was  concluded  by,  or  an 
obligation that arose for the person, entity or body concerned before, the date on which that 
person, entity or body had been designated, the competent authorities of the Member States, 
as indicated on the websites listed in Annex III, may authorise, under such conditions as they 
deem appropriate, the release of certain frozen funds or economic resources, provided that the 
payment is not directly or indirectly received by a person on entity referred to in Article 4. 

Article 10 

1. 

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  or  body  implementing  it,  or  its 

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directors  or  employees,  unless  it  is  proved  that  the  funds  and  economic  resources 
were frozen or withheld as a result of negligence. 

2. 

The prohibition set out in Article 4(2) shall not give rise to any liability of any kind 
on the part of the natural and legal persons, entities and bodies who made funds or 
economic resources available if they did not know, and had no reasonable cause to 
suspect, that their actions would infringe the prohibition in question. 

Article 11 

1. 

Without  prejudice  to  the  applicable  rules  concerning  reporting,  confidentiality  and 
professional secrecy, 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  4,  to  the  competent  authority  in  the  Member  State  where  they  are 
resident or located, as indicated on the websites listed in Annex III, and shall 
transmit such information, either directly or through the Member States, to the 
Commission; and 

(b) 

co-operate with that competent authority in any verification of this information. 

2. 

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 12 

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. 

1. 

The Commission shall be empowered to: 

Article 13 

(a) 

amend  Annex  II  on  the  basis  of  decisions  taken  in  respect  of  the  Annex  to 
Council Decision 2011/…/CFSP; and. 

(b) 

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

2. 

3. 

Any  natural  or  legal  person,  entity  or  body  included  in  Annex  II  may  submit 
observations regarding their listing to the Commission, which shall publish a notice 
regarding  the  modalities  for  submitting  such  observations.  Where  observations  are 
submitted,  the  Commission  shall  review  the  relevant  listing  and  inform  the  person, 
entity or body accordingly.  

The Commission shall process personal data in order to carry out its tasks under this 
Regulation. These tasks include:  

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(a) 

preparing and making amendments of Annex II to this Regulation;  

(b) 

(c) 

including  the  contents  of  Annex  II  in  the  electronic,  consolidated  list  of 
persons, groups and entities subject to EU financial sanctions available on the 
Commission website4;  

processing  of  information  on  the  impact  of  the  measures  of  this  Regulation 
such as the value of frozen funds and information on authorisations granted by 
the competent authorities. 

The Commission may process relevant data relating to criminal offences committed 
by  listed  natural  persons,  and  to  criminal  convictions  or  security  measures 
concerning such persons, only to the extent that such processing is necessary for the 
preparation  of  Annex  II  to  this  Regulation.  Such  data  shall  not  be  made  public  or 
exchanged. 

For  the  purposes  of  this  Regulation,  the  Commission  unit  listed  in  Annex  III  is 
designated as “controller” for the Commission within the meaning of Article 2(d) of 
Regulation  (EC)  No  45/2001,  in  order  to  ensure  that  the  natural  persons  concerned 
can exercise their rights under Regulation (EC) No 45/2001. 

Article 14 

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. 

4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

Article 15 

Where there is, in this Regulation, a requirement to notify, inform or otherwise communicate 
with the Commission, the address and other contact details to be used for such communication 
shall be those indicated in Annex III. 

This Regulation shall apply: 

Article 16 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

4 

within the territory of the Union, 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  Union  who  is  a  national  of  a 
Member State; 

http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/cfsp/sanctions/consol-list_en.htm 

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(d) 

(e) 

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

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

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

Article 17 

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 I 

List of equipment which might be used for internal repression as referred to in Article 2 
and Article 3  

1. 

Fire-arms, ammunition and related accessories therefor, as follows: 

1.1  Firearms not controlled by ML 1 and ML 2 of the Common Military List of the 

European Union ('Common Military List')5; 

1.2  Ammunition specially designed for the firearms listed in item 1.1 and specially 

designed components therefor; 

1.3  Weapon-sights not controlled by the Common Military List. 

Bombs and grenades not controlled by the Common Military List. 

Vehicles as follows: 

2. 

3. 

3.1  Vehicles equipped with a water cannon, specially designed or modified for the 

purpose of riot control; 

3.2  Vehicles specially designed or modified to be electrified to repel borders; 

3.3  Vehicles  specially  designed  or  modified  to  remove  barricades,  including 

construction equipment with ballistic protection; 

3.4  Vehicles  specially  designed  for  the  transport  or  transfer  of  prisoners  and/or 

detainees; 

3.5  Vehicles specially designed to deploy mobile barriers; 

3.6  Components for the vehicles specified in items 3.1 to 3.5 specially designed for 

the purposes of riot control. 

Note 1  This item does not control vehicles specially designed for the purposes 

of fire-fighting. 

Note 2  For the purposes of item 3.5 the term "vehicles" includes trailers. 

4. 

Explosive substances and related equipment as follows: 

4.1  Equipment and devices specially designed to initiate explosions by electrical or 
non-electrical  means,  including  firing  sets,  detonators,  igniters,  boosters  and 
detonating  cord,  and  specially  designed  components  therefor;  except  those 
specially designed for a specific commercial use consisting of the actuation or 
operation  by  explosive  means  of  other  equipment  or  devices  the  function  of 
which is not the creation of explosions (e.g., car air-bag inflaters, electric-surge 
arresters of fire sprinkler actuators); 

5 

OJ L 88, 29.3.2007, p. 58. 

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4.2  Linear cutting explosive charges not controlled by the Common Military List; 

4.3  Other  explosives  not  controlled  by  the  Common  Military  List  and  related 

substances as follows: 

a. 

b. 

c. 

d. 

e. 

f. 

amatol; 

nitrocellulose (containing more than 12,5 % nitrogen); 

nitroglycol; 

pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN); 

picryl chloride; 

2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT). 

5. 

Protective  equipment  not  controlled  by  ML  13  of  the  Common  Military  List  as 
follows: 

5.1  Body armour providing ballistic and/or stabbing protection; 

5.2  Helmets providing  ballistic and/or  fragmentation protection,  anti-riot  helmets, 

antiriot shields and ballistic shields. 

Note: This item does not control: 

- 

- 

equipment specially designed for sports activities; 

equipment specially designed for safety of work requirements. 

Simulators, other than those controlled by ML 14 of the Common Military List, for 
training in the use of firearms, and specially designed software therefor. 

Night  vision,  thermal  imaging  equipment  and  image  intensifier  tubes,  other  than 
those controlled by the Common Military List. 

Razor barbed wire. 

Military knives, combat knives and bayonets with blade lengths in excess of 10 cm. 

Production equipment specially designed for the items specified in this list. 

Specific technology for the development, production or use of the items specified in 
this list. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

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List of natural and legal persons, entities or bodies referred to in Article 4  

ANNEX II 

1. 

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List of competent authorities in the Member States referred to in Articles 3(2), 6, 7, 8, 9, 
11(1) and 13(4) and address for notifications to the European Commission 

ANNEX III 

(To be completed by the Member States)  

A. 

Competent authorities in each Member State: 

BELGIUM 

BULGARIA 

CZECH REPUBLIC 

DENMARK 

GERMANY 

ESTONIA 

IRELAND 

GREECE 

SPAIN 

FRANCE 

ITALY 

CYPRUS 

LATVIA 

LITHUANIA 

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LUXEMBOURG 

HUNGARY 

MALTA 

NETHERLANDS 

AUSTRIA 

POLAND 

PORTUGAL 

ROMANIA 

SLOVENIA 

SLOVAKIA 

FINLAND 

SWEDEN 

UNITED KINGDOM 

B. 

Address for notifications to or other communication with the European Commission: 

European Commission 

Service for Foreign Policy Instruments  

CHAR 12/096 

B-1049 Bruxelles/Brussel  

Belgium 

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E-mail: relex-sanctions@ec.europa.eu  

Tel.: (32 2) 295 66 73 

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