Joint Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION amending Council Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 concerning restrictive measures in respect of Belarus
Date: 2011-09-20
Institutions: European Commission, High Representative of the Union
Subjects: Belarus, European undertaking, claim, economic sanctions, international sanctions, liberalisation of trade

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

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

Brussels, 20.9.2011 
COM(2011) 583 final 

2011/0250 (NLE) 

Joint Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

amending Council Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 concerning restrictive measures in 
respect of Belarus 

 
 
  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

Council Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 of 18 May 2006 provides for a freezing of the 
assets of President Lukashenko and certain officials of Belarus.  

By  Council  Regulation  (EU)  No  588/2011  of  20  June  2011,  the  Council  added 
further names to the list of persons targeted by the asset freeze. These further names 
included 3 entites.  

By Council Decision 2011/ … /CFSP of …September 2011, the Council has decided 
that a derogation from the asset freeze should be provided, in order to ensure that EU 
companies  are  not  prohibited  from  recovering  funds  owed  to  them  by  the  listed 
entities under contracts entered into prior to the listing of those entities. 

This measure falls within the scope of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European 
Union and regulatory action at the level of the Union is therefore necessary in order 
to  give  effect  to  it,  in  particular  with a  view  to  ensuring  its  uniform  application  by 
economic operators in all Member States. 

The  High  Representative  of  the  Union  for  Foreign  Affairs  and  Security  Policy  and 
the European Commission propose to amend Council Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 
accordingly. 

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2011/0250 (NLE) 

Joint Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

amending Council Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 concerning restrictive measures in 
respect of Belarus 

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/…/CFSP of … September 20111 amending Council 
Decision 2010/639/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Belarus,  

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

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

Council Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 of 18 May 20062 provides for a freezing of the 
assets of President Lukashenko and certain officials of Belarus. 

By Council Regulation (EU) No 588/2011 of 20 June 20113, the Council added further 
names  to  to  the  list  of  persons  targeted  by  the  asset  freeze.  These  further  names 
included entites. 

By Council Decision 2011/ … /CFSP of …September 2011, the Council has decided 
that a derogation from the asset freeze should be provided, in order to ensure that EU 
companies are not prohibited from recovering funds owed to them by the listed entities 
under contracts entered into prior to the listing of those entities. 

This measure falls within the scope of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European 
Union and regulatory action at the level of the Union is therefore necessary in order to 
give  effect  to  it,  in  particular  with  a  view  to  ensuring  its  uniform  application  by 
economic operators in all Member States. 

(5) 

Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 should therefore be amended accordingly, 

1 
2 
3 

OJ L … , …9.2011, p. … . 
OJ L 134, 20.5. 2006, p. 1 
OJ L 161, 21.6. 2011, p. 1 . 

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HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 is amended as follows: 

The following Article is inserted: 

“Article 4a 

By way of derogation from Article 2(1), where a payment by a natural or legal person, entity 
or  body  listed  in  Annex  I  or  Annex  IA  is  due  under  a  contract  or  agreement  that  was 
concluded  by,  or  an  obligation  that  arose  for  the  natural  or  legal  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 II, 
may authorise, under such conditions as they deem appropriate, the release of certain frozen 
funds or economic resources, provided that: 

(i) 

(ii) 

the competent authority concerned has determined that the payment is not, directly or 
indirectly, to or for the benefit of a person, entity or body listed in Annex I or Annex 
IA; and 

the  Member  State  concerned  has,  at  least  two  weeks  prior  to  the  grant  of  the 
authorisation,  notified  the  other  Member  States  and  the  Commission  of  that 
determination and its intention to grant the authorisation.” 

Article 2 

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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