Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the conclusion 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

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 21.1.2013  
COM(2013) 4 final 

2013/0005 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the conclusion 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 conclusion of this Agreement. 

In parallel, a separate proposal for a Council decision on the signing 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 conclusion  of the draft Agreement 
based  on  Article  207  (4)  in  conjunction  with  Article  218  (6)  (a)  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. 

OTHER 

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

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2013/0005 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the conclusion 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(6)(a) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Having regard to the consent of the European Parliament1, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

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. 

In  accordance  with  Council  Decision  [XXX]  of  […]2,  the  Agreement  between  the 
European Union and the Russian Federation on drug precursors, hereinafter referred to 
as "the Agreement" was signed on […], subject to its conclusion at a later date. 

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. 

(4) 

The Agreement should be approved on behalf of the European Union, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  

Article 1 

The Agreement between the European Union and the Russian Federation on drug precursors 
is hereby approved on behalf of the Union. 

The text of the Agreement is attached to this Decision. 

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OJ C , , p. . 
OJ L , , p. . 

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Article 2 

The President of the Council shall designate the person empowered to proceed, on behalf of 
the European Union, to the notification provided for in Article 11 of the Agreement, in order 
to express the consent of the European Union to be bound by the Agreement. 

This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its adoption3. 

Article 3 

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

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The date of entry into force of the Agreement will be published in the Official Journal of the European 
Union by the General Secretariat of the Council. 

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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: 

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Article 1 

Scope of the Agreement 

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, 

– 

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

precursors. 

3. 

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 

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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-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. 

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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 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. 

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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. 

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 

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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".) 

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. 

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

2. 
Federation and the European Union on the protection of classified information4. 

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. 

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. 

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OJ L 155, 22.6.2010. 

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Article 13 

Costs 

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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 

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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  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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