REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT on the activities and consultations of the Anti-Torture Coordination Group referred to in Article 31 of Regulation (EU) 2019/125 concerning trade in certain goods which could be used for capital punishment, torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
Date: 2019-10-07
Institutions: European Commission, Service for Foreign Policy Instruments
Subjects: cruel and degrading treatment, death penalty, exchange of information, export licence, import licence, international trade, operation of the Institutions, third country, torture, trade restriction

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  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 7.10.2019  COM(2019) 449 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT         on the activities and consultations of the Anti-Torture Coordination Group referred to in Article 31 of Regulation (EU) 2019/125 concerning trade in certain goods which could be used for capital punishment, torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment  
 
 
1.  Introduction 

Article  31(4)  of  Regulation  (EU)  2019/125  of  16  January  2019  concerning  trade  in  certain 
goods  which  could  be  used  for  capital  punishment,  torture  or  other  cruel,  inhuman  or 
degrading treatment or punishment1 ("the Regulation") requires the Commission to submit a 
report  to  the  European  Parliament  on  the  activities,  examinations  and  consultations  of  the 
Anti-Torture Coordination Group. It further specifies that the annual report shall be drawn up 
paying due regard to the need not to undermine the commercial interests of natural or legal 
persons. 

Given  the  rather  limited  information  in  2017,  this  report  provides  information  on  the 
activities of the Anti-Torture Coordination Group in 2017 and 2018, hence the period from 
the  entry  into  force  of  the  Regulation  (EU)  2016/2134  of  23  November  2016,  which 
established the group. 

2.  Regulatory Framework 

The  Regulation  highlights  the  EU’s  commitment  to  the  eradication  of  torture  and  capital 
punishment.  It  prohibits  exports  and  imports  of  goods  specifically  designed  for  capital 
punishment, for torture or for other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. It 
also requires that exports of goods which could be used for torture and other cruel, inhuman 
or degrading treatment or punishment, be subject to a prior export authorization issued by the 
competent authorities of the EU Member States. 

The lists of prohibited and controlled goods are set out in the Annexes II, III and IV to the 
Regulation. 

The  Regulation  was  amended  once  during  the  period  covered  by  this  report.  Commission 
Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2018/181  of  18  October  20172  added  the  Dominican  Republic, 
Sao Tome and Principe and Togo to  the list  of countries of destination to which the Union 
General Export Authorisation (currently Annex V) applies3.  

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2  
3 

The Regulation concerning trade in certain goods which could be used for capital punishment, torture 
or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment was adopted on 30.7.2005 (Regulation 
(EC)  1236/2005).  It  has  been  amended  several  times.  It  was  last  amended  by  Regulation  (EU) 
2016/2134 of 23.11.2016 and subsequently codified as Regulation (EU) 2019/125 of 16.1.2019 (OJ L 
30, 31.1.2019, p. 1). 

OJ L 40, 13.2.2018, p. 1. 

The  Union  General  Export  Authorisation  applies  to  exports  to  countries  that  have  abolished  capital 
punishment  for  all  crimes  and  confirmed  that  abolition  through  an  international  commitment,  if  the 
conditions  and  requirements  for  using  that  authorisation  are  met.  As  regards  countries  that  are  not 
members of the Council of Europe, that list comprises the countries that have not only abolished capital 
punishment for all crimes, but also ratified the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant 
on Civil and Political Rights without reservation. 

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3.  Activities of the Anti-Torture Coordination Group 

The  Anti-Torture  Coordination  Group  (ATCG)  was  established  by  Regulation  (EU) 
2016/2134 of the European Parliament and of the Council to examine questions concerning 
the application of the Regulation.  

The ATCG serves as a platform for Member States' experts and the Commission to exchange 
information  on  administrative  practices  and  to  discuss  questions  of  interpretation  of  the 
Regulation,  technical  issues  with  respect  to  the  goods  listed,  developments  related  to  the 
Regulation  and  any  other  questions  that  may  arise.  Furthermore,  when  preparing  delegated 
acts, the Commission consults the ATCG in accordance with the principles laid down in the 
Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making4. 

The ATCG held two meetings during the reporting period, on 12 July 2017 and 28 June 2018 
respectively,  to  exchange  information  on  a  number  of  topical  issues  concerning  the 
implementation of the Regulation. 

3.1. Notifications concerning denials and prohibited exporters 

The ATCG held technical exchanges of information regarding the tools available in the Dual-
Use electronic system (DUeS), a secure and encrypted system created by the Commission for 
the  exchange  of  certain  information  between  competent  authorities.  Article  23(5)  of 
Regulation requires that the competent authorities in the European Union Member States use 
DUeS to communicate information on cases where a request for an export authorisation has 
been rejected (so-called denials).   

New notification tools were introduced in DUeS to align it with Regulation (EU) 2016/2134 
of the European Parliament and of the Council5. The tools enable the competent authorities to 
notify:  
i) 

data on exporters who have been prohibited from using the Union General Export 
Authorisation (Article 20(1));  
data  concerning  technical  assistance  for  which  an  authorisation  has  not  been 
granted (Articles 15(1)(a) and 19(1)(a)) and .  
data  concerning  brokering  services  for  which  an  authorisation  has  not  been 
granted (Articles 15(1)(b) and 19(1)(b))  

ii) 

iii) 

3.2. Prior  authorisation  requirement  of  Articles  15  and  19  concerning  technical 

assistance and brokering services 

As regards the prior authorisation requirement for certain technical assistance and brokering 
services  laid  down  in  Articles  15  and  19  of  the  Regulation,  Members  of  the  ATCG  were 
requested to share any guidance they may have developed on these issues, including on the 
definition of certain terms, such as ‘broker’ and ‘supplier of technical assistance’. 

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5 

OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1. 
OJ L 338, 13.12.2016, p. 1. 

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3.3. Enforcement of the prohibitions of Articles 8 and 9 concerning trade fairs and 

advertising 

The ATCG held technical exchanges of information regarding the prohibitions laid down in 
Articles 8 and 9 of the Regulation concerning trade fairs and advertising, respectively. These 
prohibitions  were  introduced  in  the  2016  amendment  to  the  Regulation.  They  entered  into 
force on 16 December 2016. The exchanges touched in particular upon possible guidance for 
relevant  authorities  as  well  as  enforcement  modalities.  It  was  noted  that  there  had  been 
reported  instances  of  goods  being  advertised  on  some  European  suppliers’  websites,  which 
could  suggest  that  the  scope  of  the  prohibition  as  laid  down  in  the  Regulation  may  be 
insufficient. 

3.4. Global Alliance for Torture-Free Trade 

The  ATCG  was  informed  of  the  main  developments  regarding  the  Global  Alliance  for 
Torture-Free  Trade6.  Promoted  by  the  European  Union  and  co-sponsored  by  Argentina  and 
Mongolia, the Global Alliance was launched on 18 September 2017 with the adoption by 57 
members of a political declaration on its founding principles, including a commitment to take 
effective  measures  for  restricting  trade  in  goods  used  for  torture  and  death  penalty  through 
domestic legislation and efficient enforcement.  

This initiative aims to draw attention to the EU Regulation and encourage other countries to 
take similar trade measures  in  order to  stop  or restrict  global trade in  goods used for death 
penalty and torture. All EU Member States along with over thirty countries have joined the 
Global Alliance.  

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http://www.torturefreetrade.org/ 

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