REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission pursuant to 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 punishment
Date: 2021-02-22
Institutions: European Commission, Service for Foreign Policy Instruments
Subjects: European Commission, cruel and degrading treatment, death penalty, delegated legislation, export licence, import licence, powers of the institutions (EU), third country, torture, transfer of competence

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 22.2.2021 COM(2021) 75 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL   on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission pursuant to 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 punishment  
 
 
1.  BACKGROUND 

The  objective  of  Regulation  (EU)  2019/1251  is  to  prevent  capital  punishment,  on  the  one 
hand, or torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, on the other 
hand,  in  countries  outside  the  EU  by  either  banning  or  restricting  trade  in  certain  goods.  It 
distinguishes between goods that: 

- 
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are inherently abusive and should not be traded at all (Annex II), or  
can have legitimate uses, such as law enforcement equipment (Annex III) or goods for 
therapeutic use (Annex IV).  

Trade in such goods is subject to certain restrictions. In particular, the Regulation provides for 
the following: 

i. 

It prohibits the import into, export from and transit through, the EU of goods, listed in 
Annex II, that have no practical use other than for the purpose of capital punishment 
or  for  the  purpose  of  torture  or  other  cruel,  inhuman  or  degrading  treatment  or 
punishment.  The  provision  of  any  technical  assistance  related  to  such  goods, 
specifically including training in how to use them, is also prohibited. The advertising 
of  such  goods  in  print  media  or  on  the  Internet  or  advertising  time  on  television  or 
radio, or the display or offer for sale in an exhibition or fair, are also prohibited. 
ii.  Goods listed in Annex III that could be used for the purpose of torture or other cruel, 
inhuman  or  degrading  treatment  or  punishment,  but  that  may  also  have  other 
legitimate  uses  (law  enforcement),  are  subject  to  a  prior  export  authorisation,  on  a 
case-by-case  basis.  A  prior  export  authorisation  is  also  required  for  supplying 
technical assistance or brokering services related to this category of goods.  
It regulates trade in goods – chemicals or pharmaceutical substances (Annex IV) – that 
could  be  used  for  capital  punishment  (e.g.  products  that  could  be  used  to  execute 
people by lethal injection).  

iii. 

Annex I to the Regulation lists the authorities in the Member States, which in accordance with 
Article  20  of  the  Regulation  are  entitled  to  make  a  decision  on  an  application  for  an 
authorisation  or  to  prohibit  an  exporter  from  using  the  Union  general  export  authorisation. 
The  lists  of  prohibited  and  controlled  goods  are  set  out  in  Annexes  II,  III  and  IV  to  the 
Regulation.  Annex  V  refers  to  the  Union  general  export  authorisation  (part  1  relates  to 
‘Goods’ while part 2 relates to the ‘Destinations’).  

2.  LEGAL BASIS  

In accordance with Article 29 of Regulation (EU) 2019/125, the Commission is empowered to 
adopt  delegated  acts  to  amend  Annexes  I,  II,  III,  IV,  V,  VI  VII,  VIII  and  IX  to  the 
Regulation2.  This  report  is  required  under  Article  29  (2)  of  Regulation  (EU)  2019/125. 
Pursuant to that Article, the power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission for 
a period of five years from 16 December 2016 and the Commission is required to draw up a 

1  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 punishment, OJ L 30, 31.1.2019, 
p. 1. 
2 Annex VI lists the territories of Member States referred to in article 11(2). Annex VII describes the export or 
import authorisation form referred to in article 21(1). Annex VIII describes the authorisation form for the supply 
of  brokering  services  referred  to  in  article  21(1).  Annex  IX  describes  the  authorisation  form  for  the  supply  of 
technical assistance referred to in article 21(1). 

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report in respect of the delegation of that power not later than nine months before the end of 
the five-year period.  

3.  EXERCISE OF THE DELEGATION 

Since the delegation of  power was conferred on the Commission  in  20163, the Commission 
has made use of the power to adopt delegated acts on three occasions, as described below: 

a)  COMMISSION  DELEGATED  REGULATION  (EU)  2018/181  of  18  October  20174 
amended  Annex  V  by  adding  the  Dominican  Republic,  Sao  Tome  and  Principe  and 
Togo  to  the  list  of  destinations  to  which  the  Union  general  export  authorisation5 
applies.  It  entered  into  force  on  14  February  2018,  the  day  following  that  of  its 
publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. 

b)  COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2020/621 of 18 February 20206 
amended Annex I by updating the entries of several competent authorities and Annex 
V  by  adding  The  Gambia  and  Madagascar  to  the  list  of  destinations  to  which  the 
Union general export authorisation applies. It entered into force on the twentieth day 
(27 May 2020) following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. 
c)  COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2021/139 of 4 December 20207 
amended  the  reference  to  the  United  Kingdom  in  Annex  I  to  the  Regulation.  It  also 
amended Annex V by adding the United Kingdom to the list of destinations to which 
the  Union  general  export  authorisation  applies.  It  entered  into  force  on  the  fifth  day 
(13 February 2021) following its  publication in  the Official Journal  of the European 
Union. 

Prior  to  the  adoption  of  the  above-mentioned  delegated  acts,  the  Commission  consulted 
experts  designated  by  each  Member  State  in  the  Anti-Torture  Coordination  Group  in 
accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 
on Better Law-Making8. 

4.   CONCLUSION 

This  report  fulfils  the  reporting  requirement  under  Article  29  (2)  of  Regulation  (EU) 
2019/125. The Commission invites the European Parliament and the Council to take note of 
this report. 

3 Regulation (EU) 2016/2134 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 November 2016 amending 
Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  1236/2005  concerning  trade  in  certain  goods  which  could  be  used  for  capital 
punishment, torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, OJ L 338, 13.12.2016, p. 1. 
4 OJ L 40, 13.2.2018, p. 1. 
5 A ‘Union general export authorisation’ is an authorisation for export that applies to chemicals, which could be 
used for execution by lethal injection (Annex IV to the Regulation). It is used when those goods/chemicals are 
exported to countries that have abolished capital punishment for all crimes and confirmed that abolition through 
an international commitment. For 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.  
6 OJ 144, 7.5.2020, p. 1. 
7 OJ L 43, 8.2.2021, p. 5. 
8 OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1. 

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The Commission sees the need to extend, i.e. to prolong for a further period of five years, the 
delegation of power to adopt the delegated acts described in Articles 24 and 29 of Regulation 
(EU) 2019/125. This is necessary in order to, inter alia, respond when new goods which could 
be  used  for  capital  punishment,  torture  or  other  cruel,  inhuman  or  degrading  treatment  or 
punishment, are developed, or when one or more third countries meet the requirements for the 
application of the Union general export authorisation, violate an international commitment to 
abolish  capital  punishment  for  all  crimes  or  when  the  details  of  the  competent  authorities 
change. 

Article 29 (2) of the Regulation provides that the delegation of power shall be tacitly extended 
for periods of  an identical  duration, unless the European Parliament  or the Council opposes 
such extension not later than three months before the end of each period. 

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