Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and the Russian Federation on drug precursors
Date: 2013-01-21
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Russia, agreement (EU), drug addiction, drug traffic, narcotic, signature of an agreement

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 21.1.2013  
COM(2013) 3 final 

2013/0004 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement between the 
European Union and the Russian Federation on drug precursors 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

On  23  March  2009  the  Council  authorised  the  Commission  to  open  negotiations  with  the 
Russian  Federation  for  an  Agreement  on  drug  precursors.  Following  the  launch  of 
negotiations in September 2009, four negotiating rounds took place. In September 2012, the 
text of the Agreement was finally agreed between the Parties. 

This  Agreement  aims  to  strengthen  the  cooperation  between  the  European  Union  and  the 
Russian  Federation  to  prevent  diversion  of  drug  precursors  from  the  legal  trade  to  counter 
illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. 

As this Agreement may occasionally imply an exchange of personal data, it includes specific 
provisions on data protection in order to provide sufficient protection for citizens in the use of 
their data. 

The Commission considers that the text is in accordance with the negotiating directives. 

The Commission is therefore invited to adopt the attached proposal for a Council decision on 
the signing of this Agreement. 

In parallel, a separate proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion of this Agreement is 
also submitted. 

2. 

RESULTS OF CONSULTATIONS WITH THE INTERESTED PARTIES AND 
IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

Member  States  were  regularly  informed  on  the  draft  of  the  Agreement  within  the  Drug 
Precursors  Working  Group/Committee  and  within  the  Council  Working  Party  on  Customs 
Union. 

There was no need for an impact assessment. 

3. 

LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL 

The Council is asked to adopt a decision authorising the signing of the draft Agreement based 
on Article 207 (4) in conjunction with Article 218 (5) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the 
European Union. 

The proposal falls under the common commercial policy, exclusive competence of the Union. 
The subsidiarity principle therefore does not apply. 

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

The proposal has no budgetary implications for the Union budget. 

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5. 

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The  draft  Agreement  is  consistent  with  the  drug  policy  outlined  in  the  EU  Drug  Strategy 
2005-2012, providing for action to reduce the supply of precursors and, thereby, decrease the 
production of drugs. 

A proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion of the draft Agreement is submitted in 
parallel to this proposal for a Council decision on the signing of the draft Agreement. 

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2013/0004 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement between the 
European Union and the Russian Federation on drug precursors 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular the 
first subparagraph of Article 207 (4) in conjunction with Article 218 (5) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

The European Union and the Russian Federation should strengthen their cooperation 
to  prevent  diversion  of  drug  precursors  from  the  legal  trade  to  counter  illicit 
manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. 

On 23 March 2009, the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations with 
the  Russian  Federation  for  an  Agreement  between  the  European  Union  and  the 
Russian  Federation  on  drug  precursors,  hereinafter  referred  to  as  "the  Agreement". 
Negotiations  were  conducted  by  the  Commission  within  the  framework  of  the 
negotiating directives adopted by the Council and were recently concluded. 

The Agreement should ensure full respect of fundamental rights, in particular a high 
level of protection for the processing and transfer of personal data between the Parties. 

The  Agreement  should  be  signed  on  behalf  of  the  European  Union,  subject  to  its 
conclusion at a later date, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  

Article 1 

The  signing  of  the  Agreement  between  the  European  Union  and  the  Russian  Federation  on 
drug precursors is hereby approved on behalf of the Union, subject to the conclusion of the 
said Agreement. 

The text of the Agreement to be signed is attached to this Decision. 

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Article 2 

The  Council  Secretariat  General  shall  establish  the  instrument  of  full  powers  to  sign  the 
Agreement,  subject  to  its  conclusion,  for  the  person(s)  indicated  by  the  negotiator  of  the 
Agreement. 

Article 3 

This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its adoption. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

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ANNEX 

AGREEMENT 

BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN UNION 

AND THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION 

ON DRUG PRECURSORS 

THE EUROPEAN UNION 

on the one part, and 

THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION, 

on the other part, 

hereinafter referred to as the "The Parties", 

WITHIN  THE  FRAMEWORK  of  the  United  Nations  Convention  of  1988  against  Illicit  Traffic  in 

Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, hereinafter referred to as the "1988 Convention"; 

DETERMINED  to  prevent  and  to combat  the  illicit  manufacture  of  narcotic drugs and  psychotropic 

substances by preventing the diversion from the legitimate trade of substances frequently used in the 

illicit  manufacture  of  narcotic  drugs  and  psychotropic  substances  (hereinafter  referred  to  as  the 

"precursors");  

TAKING into account the overall legal framework between the Russian Federation and the European 

Union; 

NOTING that international trade may be used for the diversion of such precursors; 

CONVINCED  of  the  necessity  to  conclude  and  to  implement  agreements  between  the  Parties 

concerned,  with  the  purpose  of  establishing  wide  cooperation,  in  particular  pertaining  to  export  and 

import controls; 

RECOGNISING  that  precursors  are  also  mainly  and  widely  used  for  legitimate  purposes  and  that 

international trade must not be hindered by excessive monitoring procedures. 

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS: 

Article 1 

Scope of the Agreement 

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1. 

This Agreement sets out measures to strengthen cooperation between the Parties to prevent 

the  diversion  from  the  legitimate  trade  of  precursors,  without  prejudice  to  the  legitimate  trade  in 

these precursors.  

2. 

– 

The Parties shall assist each other, as set out in this Agreement, in particular by: 

monitoring the trade between the Parties in the precursors with the aim of preventing their 

use for illicit purposes, 

– 

3. 

providing mutual assistance for the purpose of prevention of diversion of such precursors. 

The measures referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article shall apply to the precursors listed in 

Annex I of this Agreement (hereinafter referred to as "scheduled precursors"). 

Article 2 

Implementation measures 

1. 

The  Parties  shall  inform  each  other  in  writing  about  their  respective  competent  authorities. 

These authorities shall communicate directly with one another for the purposes of this Agreement. 

2. 

The Parties shall inform each other about their respective legal provisions and other measures 

applied to implement this Agreement. 

Article 3 

Trade monitoring 

1. 

The  competent  authorities  of  the  Parties  shall  inform  each  other  on  their  own  initiative 

whenever  they  have  reasonable  grounds  to  believe  that  scheduled  precursors  in  legitimate  trade 

between  the  Parties  may  be  diverted  to  the  illicit  manufacture  of  narcotic  drugs  or  psychotropic 

substances. 

2. 

With regard to the scheduled precursors the competent authorities of the exporting Party shall 

forward a pre-export notification containing the information referred to in Article 12 (10) point a) of 

the 1988 Convention to the competent authorities of the importing Party. 

The  reply  in  writing  by  the  competent  authorities  of  the  importing  Party  shall  be  provided  through 

technical means of communication within 21 days after the receipt of the message from the competent 

authorities of the exporting Party. The absence of a reply within this period shall be considered as non-

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objection to sending the shipment. Any objection shall be notified in writing through technical means 

of  communication  to  the  competent  authorities  of  the  exporting  Party  within  this  period  after  the 

receipt of the pre-export notification giving the reasons for refusal. 

Article 4 

Mutual assistance 

1. 

The  Parties  shall  within  the  scope  of  this  agreement  provide  each  other  mutual  assistance 

through  exchange  of  information  referred  to  in  Article  12  (10)  point  a)  of  the  1988  Convention  to 

prevent  the  diversion  of  scheduled  precursors  to  the  illicit  manufacture  of  narcotic  drugs  or 

psychotropic substances. They shall, in accordance with the legislation of the Parties, take appropriate 

steps to prevent diversion. 

2. 

The  Parties  shall  also  provide  each  other  upon  written  request or at  their  own initiative  with 

mutual  assistance  if  there  are  reasons  to  believe  that  other  relevant  information  is  of  interest  to  the 

other Party. 

3. 

The request shall contain information about the following: 

- 

- 

- 

aim and foundation of the request; 

time of the expected execution of the request; 

other information that may be used for the execution of the request. 

4. 

The request  directed in  writing  on  the  official  letter  head  of  the  competent authorities of the 

requesting Party shall be accompanied by a translation in one of the official languages of the requested 

Party  and  shall  be  signed  by  duly  authorised  persons  of  the  competent  authorities  of  the  requesting 

Party. 

5. 

The  competent  authorities  of  the  requested  Party  shall  take  all  necessary  measures  for  the 

complete execution of the request as promptly as possible. 

6. 

Requests  for  assistance  shall  be  executed  in  accordance  with  the  legislation  of  the  requested 

Party. 

7. 

The  competent  authorities  of  the  requested  Party  should  as  promptly  as  possible  inform  the 

competent  authorities  of  the  requesting  Party  about  the  circumstances  that  prevent  or  delay  the 

execution of the request. 

If the competent authorities of the requesting Party state that there is no more necessity to complete the 

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request,  they  shall  as  promptly  as  possible  inform  the  competent  authorities  of  the  requested  Party 

accordingly. 

8. 

The  Parties  may  cooperate  with  each  other  to  minimise  the  risk  of  illicit  shipments  of 

precursors brought into or out of the territory of the Russian Federation and the customs territory of the 

European Union. 

9. 

Assistance provided under this Article shall not prejudice the rules governing mutual assistance 

in criminal matters and extradition, nor shall it apply to information obtained under powers exercised at 

the request of a judicial authority, except where communication of such information is authorised by 

that authority. 

Article 5 

Confidentiality and data protection 

1. 

The Parties shall take all measures to ensure confidentiality of the received information. If it is 

impossible to ensure confidentiality of the requested information, the Party requesting the information 

shall inform the other Party accordingly which shall decide whether to provide the information upon 

these conditions. 

2. 

Information obtained under this Agreement, including personal data, shall be used solely for 

the purposes of this Agreement and must not be kept longer than necessary for the purposes for which 

it is transferred pursuant to this Agreement. 

3. 

By  derogation  to  paragraph  2,  the  use  of  information,  including  personal  data,  for  further 

purposes by the Authorities or public bodies of the Party which received the information shall only 

be  authorized  after  prior  express  and  written  approval  of  the  authority  of  the  Party  which 

transmitted the information in accordance with the legislation of that Party. Such use shall then be 

subject to any conditions established by that authority. 

4. 

The Parties may in proceedings instituted for failure to comply with legislation on scheduled 

precursors  use  as  evidence  information  obtained  and  documents  consulted  in  accordance  with  the 

provisions  of  this  Agreement  following  prior  written  consent  of  the  competent  authorities  of  the 

requested Party which provided the data. 

5. 

In case personal data are exchanged, their processing shall comply with the principles set out in 

Annex II which are mandatory for the Parties to the Agreement. 

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Article 6 

Exceptions to the obligation to provide mutual assistance 

1. 

Provision  of  assistance  may  be  refused  or  may  be  made  subject  to  certain  conditions  or 

requirements, in cases where a Party is of the opinion that assistance under this Agreement would be 

likely  to  prejudice  the  sovereignty  the  security,  the  public  policy  or  other  essential  interests  of  the 

Russian  Federation  or  that  of  a  Member  State  of  the  European  Union  which  has  been  requested  to 

provide assistance under this Agreement. 

2. 

For the cases referred to in this Article, the decision of the competent authorities of the requested 

Party and the reasons therefore must be communicated to the competent authorities of the requesting 

Party as promptly as possible. 

Article 7 

Cooperation regarding precursors not listed in Annex I 

1. 

The  Parties  may,  on  a  voluntary  basis,  exchange  information  about  precursors  not  listed  in 

Annex I of this Agreement (hereinafter referred to as "non-scheduled precursors"). 

2. 

In the case of paragraph 1 of this Article, the provisions of Article 4 (2) – (9) shall apply. 

3. 

The Parties may exchange their available lists of non-scheduled precursors. 

Article 8 

Technical and scientific cooperation 

The  Parties  shall  cooperate  in  the  identification  of  new  diversion  methods  as  well  as  appropriate 

countermeasures,  including  technical  cooperation  and  in  particular,  training  and  exchange 

programmes for the officials concerned, to strengthen administrative and enforcement structures in 

this field and to promote cooperation with trade and industry. 

Article 9 

Joint Follow-Up Expert Group 

1.  According  to  this  Agreement,  a  Joint  Follow-Up  Expert  Group  is  hereby  established  which 

consists of the representatives of competent authorities of the Parties (hereinafter referred to as "the 

Joint Follow-Up Expert Group".) 

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2. 

The Joint Follow-Up Expert Group shall make recommendations by consensus. 

3. 

The Joint Follow-Up Expert Group shall meet, with the date, place and programme being fixed 

by consensus. 

4. 

The  Joint  Follow-Up  Expert  Group  shall  administer  this  Agreement  and  ensure  its  proper 

implementation. For this purpose: 

– 

– 

– 

– 

It shall address questions relating to the implementation of the Agreement, 

It shall study and recommend technical cooperation measures referred to in Article 8, 

It shall study and recommend other possible forms of cooperation, 

It shall consider other issues of the Parties about the implementation of this Agreement. 

5. 

The  Joint  Follow-Up  Expert  Group  may  recommend  amendments  to  this  Agreement  to  the 

Parties. 

Article 10 

Obligations under other international agreements 

1.  Unless otherwise provided by this Agreement, its provisions shall not affect the obligations of the 

Parties under any other international agreement. 

The  exchange  of  secret  information  is  regulated  by  the  Agreement  between  the  Russian 

2. 
Federation and the European Union on the protection of classified information1. 

3. 

The provisions of this Agreement shall take precedence over the provisions of any bilateral or 

multilateral international agreement covering drug precursors between the Russian Federation and the 

EU Member States. 

4. 

The  Parties  shall  inform  each  other  about  the  conclusion  of  international  agreements  on  the 

aforementioned issues with other countries. 

5. 

This  Agreement  is  to  be  seen  and  interpreted  in  the  context  of  the  overall  legal  framework  in 

force  between  the  EU  and  the  Russian  Federation,  including  in  respect  of  any  obligation  contained 

therein. 

1 

OJ L 155, 22.6.2010. 

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Article 11 

Entry into force 

This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date of the 

reception of the last written notification of the Parties about completion of their internal procedures 

required for its entry into force. 

Article 12 

Duration, denunciation and amendments 

1. 

This Agreement shall be concluded for five years at the end of which it is automatically/tacitly 

renewed for further successive five year periods until one of the Parties, no later than 6 months prior 

the  termination  of  the  relevant  5  year  period  notifies  the  other  Party  in  writing  of  its  intention  to 

terminate this present agreement. 

2. 

This Agreement may be amended by mutual consent of the Parties. 

Article 13 

Costs 

Each Party shall bear the costs it incurs arising from the measures to implement this Agreement. 

Done at 

Date  

in duplicate in the Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, English, Finnish,  French, German, 

Greek,  Hungarian,  Italian,  Latvian,  Lithuanian,  Maltese,  Polish,  Portuguese,  Romanian,  Slovak, 

Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish and Russian languages, all these texts being equally authentic.  

For the European Union 

For the Russian Federation 

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ANNEX I 

Acetic Anhydride 

Acetone 

Anthranilic Acid 

Ephedrine 

Ergometrine 

Ergotamine 

Ethyl Ether 

Hydrochloric Acid 

Isosafrole 

Lysergic Acid 

3,4-Methylenedioxyphenyl-2-propanonal 

Methyl Ethyl Ketone 

N-Acetylanthranilic Acid 

Norephedrine 

Phenylacetic Acid 

1-Phenyl-2-propanone 

Piperidine 

Piperonal 

Potassium Permanganate 

Pseudoephedrine 

Safrole 

Sulphuric Acid 

Toluene 

Note: The list of precursors must always include a reference to their salts, where appropriate.  

(With the exception of the salts of Hydrochloric Acid and Sulphuric Acid.) 

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ANNEX II 

Definitions 

Data protection definitions and principles 

For the purpose of this Agreement, "personal data" shall mean any information relating to an identified 

or identifiable natural person; 

"Processing of personal data" shall mean any operation or set of operations which is performed upon 

personal data, whether or not by automatic means, such as collection, recording, organisation, storage, 

adaptation  or  alteration,  retrieval,  consultation,  use,  disclosure  by  transmission,  dissemination  or 

otherwise making available, alignment or combination, blocking, erasure or destruction. 

Principles 

"Data quality and proportionality": data shall be adequate, accurate relevant and not excessive in 

relation to the purposes for which they are transferred and, where necessary, kept up to date. The 

Parties shall in particular ensure that the accuracy of data exchanged is regularly reviewed. 

"Transparency":  A  data  subject  shall  be  provided  with  information  as  to  the  purposes  of  the 

processing and the identity of the data controller , the recipients and categories of recipients of the 

personal data, the existence of the right of access and the right to rectify, erasure or blocking data 

concerning him/her, the right to administrative and judicial recourses and other information insofar 

as this is necessary to ensure fair processing, unless such information has already been provided by 

the Parties to the Agreement. 

"Rights of access, rectification, erasure and blocking of data": A data subject shall have a right of 

direct access without constraint to all data relating to him/her that are processed and, as appropriate, 

the right to the rectification, erasure or blocking of data the processing of which does not comply 

with this Agreement because the data are incomplete or inaccurate. 

"Redress": the Parties shall provide that a data subject who considers that his/her right to privacy or 

that personal data concerning him/her have been processed in breach of this Agreement, shall have 

the  right  in  accordance  with  their  legislation  to  an  effective  administrative  remedy  before  a 

competent authority and a judicial remedy before an independent and impartial tribunal accessible 

by individuals regardless of their nationality or country of residence. 

Any  such  infringements  or  violation  shall  be  subject  to  appropriate,  proportionate  and  effective 

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sanctions  including  compensation  for  damages  suffered  as  a  result  of  an  infringement  of  data 

protection  rules.  Where  data  protection  provisions  are  found  to  have  been  breached  sanctions 

including compensation are to be imposed in accordance with applicable domestic rules. 

Onward transfers: 

Onward transfers of personal data to other authorities and public bodies of a third country shall be 

allowed only with the prior written consent of the authority which has transmitted the data and for 

the purposes for which the data have been transmitted and if this country provides an adequate level 

of data protection. Subject to reasonable legal limitations provided by national law, the Parties shall 

inform the data subject on such onward transfer.  

Supervision  of  data  processing:  Compliance  with  data  protection  rules  by  each  Party  shall  be 

subject  to  control  by  one  or  more  independent  public  authorities  that  have  effective  powers  of 

investigation,  intervention  and  to  engage  in  legal  proceedings  or  to  bring  to  the  attention  of  the 

competent judicial authorities any violation of the data protection principles of this agreement. Each 

independent  public  authority  shall,  in  particular,  hear  claims  lodged  by  any  person  concerning 

protection of his or her rights and freedoms with regard to the processing of personal data pursuant 

to this Agreement. The person concerned shall be informed of the outcome of the claim. 

Exemptions  from  transparency  and  right  of  access:  The  Parties  may  restrict  the  right  of  access  and 

transparency principles in accordance with their legislation when necessary in order not to: 

- jeopardise an official investigation, 

- violate the human rights of other persons. 

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