Joint Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION amending Regulation (EU) No 442/2011 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria
Date: 2011-08-31
Institutions: European Commission, High Representative of the Union
Subjects: Syria, common foreign and security policy, economic sanctions, human rights, import restriction, international sanctions, petroleum, trade agreement

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

HIGH REPRESENTATIVE OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION FOR 
FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND 
SECURITY POLICY

Brussels, 31.8.2011 
COM(2011) 542 final 

2011/0233 (NLE) 

Joint Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

amending Regulation (EU) No 442/2011 concerning restrictive measures in view of the 
situation in Syria 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

On  9  May  2011,  the  Council  adopted  Regulation  (EU)  No  442/2011  concerning 
restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria.  

On  18  August  2011,  the  High  Representative  /  Vice  President  issued  a  statement 
indicating  that  the  EU  was  proceeding  with  further  action.  On  26  August  2011,  the 
Council  reached  political  agreement  on  a  package  of  further  measures  to  be  adopted 
including  an  expansion  of  the  designation  criteria  for  the  freezing  of  funds,  and  a 
prohibition  on  the  purchase,  import  or  transportation  from  Syria  of  crude  oil  and 
petroleum products. The additional persons, entities and bodies to whom the freezing 
of funds and economic resources is to apply 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. 

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2011/0233 (NLE) 

Joint Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

amending Regulation (EU) No 442/2011 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 thereof,  

Having  regard  to  Council  Decision  2011/273/CFSP  concerning  restrictive  measures  in  view 
of the situation in Syria1, 

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

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

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On  9  May  2011,  the  Council  adopted  Regulation  (EU)  No  442/2011  concerning 
restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria2.  

Council Decision 2011/[…]/CFSP of […]3 provides for further measures to be adopted 
including a prohibition on the purchase, import or transportation from Syria of crude 
oil  and  petroleum  products,  and  the  freezing  of  funds  and  economic  resources  to 
further  persons  and  entities  who  benefit  from  or  support  Bashar  al-Assad  and  his 
regime. The additional persons, entities and bodies to whom the freezing of funds and 
economic resources is to apply are listed in the Annex to the Decision. 

Some of those measures fall within the scope of the Treaty on the Functioning of the 
European  Union  and,  therefore,  in  particular  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. 

A  partial  suspension  of  the  Cooperation  Agreement  Syria4  has  been  effected  by 
Council Decision […]5. 

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

OJ L 121, 10.5.2011, p. 11. 
OJ L 121, 10.5.2011, p. 11. 
OJ L […] 
OJ L 269, 27.9.1978, p. 2. 
OJ L […] 

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HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

Regulation (EU) No 442/2011 is amended as follows: 

(1) 

In Article 1, the following paragraphs are inserted: 

“(g) ‘insurance’ means an undertaking or commitment whereby one or more natural 
or  legal  persons  is  or  are  obliged,  in  return  for  a  payment,  to  provide  one  or  more 
other persons, in the event of materialisation of a risk, with an indemnity or a benefit 
as determined by the undertaking or commitment; 

(h)  ‘reinsurance’  means  the  activity  consisting  in  accepting  risks  ceded  by  an 
insurance  undertaking  or  by  another  reinsurance  undertaking  or,  in  the  case  of  the 
association  of  underwriters  known  as  Lloyd's,  the  activity  consisting  in  accepting 
risks, ceded by any member of Lloyd's, by an insurance or reinsurance undertaking 
other than the association of underwriters known as Lloyd's; 

(i) ‘petroleum products’ means the products listed in Annex IV.” 

(2) 

the following Articles 3a and 3b are inserted: 

“Article 3a 

It shall be prohibited: 

(a) 

to import crude oil or petroleum products into the Union if they  

(i) originate in Syria; or  

(ii) have been exported from Syria; 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

to  purchase  crude  oil  or  petroleum  products  which  are  located  in  or  which 
originated in Syria; 

to  transport  crude  oil  or  petroleum  products  if  they  originate  in  Syria,  or  are 
being exported from Syria to any other country;  

to  provide,  directly  or  indirectly,  financing  or  financial  assistance,  including 
financial derivatives and future products, as well as insurance and re-insurance, 
related to the provisions in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c); and 

to participate, knowingly and intentionally, in activities whose object or effect 
is, directly or indirectly, to circumvent the prohibitions in points (a), (b), (c) or 
(d). 

Article 3b 

The prohibitions in Article 3a shall not apply to:  

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(a) 
the execution, on or prior to 31 October 2011, of an obligation arising from a 
contract concluded before [insert the date of adoption of this Article], provided that 
the  natural  or  legal  person,  entity  or  body  seeking  to  perform  the  obligation 
concerned has notified, at least 3 working days in advance, the activity or transaction 
to  the  competent  authority  of  the  Member  State  in  which  it  is  established,  as 
identified on the websites listed in Annex III; or 

(b) 
the purchase of crude oil or petroleum products which had been exported from 
Syria prior to [insert date of adoption of this Article], or, where the export was made 
pursuant to paragraph (a), on or prior to 31 October 2011.” 

(3) 

Article 5(1) is replaced by the following: 

“1.  Annex  II  shall  consist  of  a  list  of  natural  or  legal  persons,  entities  and  bodies 
who,  in  accordance  with  Article  4(1)  of  Decision  2011/273/CFSP,  have  been 
identified  by  the  Council  as  being  persons  responsible  for  the  violent  repression 
against  the  civilian  population  in  Syria,  persons  and  entities  benefitting  from  or 
supporting  Bashar  al-Assad  and  his  regime,  or  persons  and  entities  associated  with 
them.” 

(4) 

In the first paragraph of Article 6, points (c) and (d) are replaced by the following: 

"(c)  intended  exclusively  for  the  payment  of  fees  or  service  charges  for  routine 
holding or maintenance of frozen funds or economic resources; 

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

and the following additional subparagraphs are inserted: 

“(e)  to  be  paid  into  or  from  an  account  of  a  diplomatic  or  consular  mission  or  an 
international organisation enjoying immunities in accordance with international law, 
insofar  as  such  payments  are  intended  to  be  used  for  official  purposes  of  the 
diplomatic or consular mission or international organisation; or 

(f)  necessary  for  humanitarian  purposes,  such  as  delivering  or  facilitating  the 
delivery of assistance, including medical supplies, food, the provision of electricity, 
humanitarian workers and related assistance, or evacuations from Syria.” 

(5) 

The following Article 10a is inserted: 

“No  claims,  including  for  compensation  or  any  other  claim  of  this  kind,  such  as  a 
claim  of  set-off  or  a  claim  under  a  guarantee,  in  connection  with  any  contract  or 
transaction the performance of which was affected, directly or indirectly, in whole or 
in  part,  by  the  measures  imposed  by  this  Regulation,  should  be  granted  to  the 
Government  of  Syria,  or  to  any  person  or  entity  claiming  through  it  or  for  its 
benefit.” 

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Annex II to Regulation (EU) No 442/2011 is hereby amended in accordance with the Annex 
to this Regulation 

Article 2 

Annex II to this Regulation is hereby inserted as Annex IV to Regulation (EU) No 442/2011. 

Article 3 

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

Article 4 

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 

The  following  shall  be  added  to  list  of  natural  and  legal  persons,  entities  or  bodies  in 
Annex II to Regulation (EU) No 442/2011  

[additional names to be proposed by Council] 

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ANNEX II 

“ANNEX IV” 

List of Petroleum Products and HS Code 

HS Code 

Description 

2709 00 

Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude:  

2710  Petroleum  oils  and  oils  obtained  from  bituminous  minerals,  other  than  crude; 
preparations  not  elsewhere  specified  or  included,  containing  by  weight  70  %  or  more  of 
petroleum  oils  or  of  oils  obtained  from  bituminous  minerals,  these  oils  being  the  basic 
constituents of the preparations; waste oils:  

2711  Petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons:  

2712  Petroleum  jelly;  paraffin  wax,  microcrystalline petroleum  wax, slack wax, ozokerite, 
lignite wax, peat wax, other mineral waxes, and similar products obtained by synthesis or by 
other processes, whether or not coloured:  

2713  Petroleum  coke,  petroleum  bitumen  and  other  residues  of  petroleum  oils  or  of  oils 
obtained from bituminous minerals:  

2714  Bitumen  and  asphalt,  natural;  bituminous  or  oil-shale  and  tar  sands;  asphaltites  and 
asphaltic rocks:  

2715 00 00  Bituminous  mixtures  based  on  natural  asphalt,  on  natural  bitumen,  on 
petroleum bitumen, on mineral tar or on mineral tar pitch (for example, bituminous mastics, 
cut-backs)  

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