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: 2021-10-14
Institutions: European Commission, Service for Foreign Policy Instruments
Subjects: cruel and degrading treatment, death penalty, dual-use good, exchange of information, export licence, import licence, international trade, third country, torture, trade restriction

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  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 14.10.2021  COM(2021) 633 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 punishment(1) requires the Commission to submit an annual report to 
the European Parliament on the activities, examinations and consultations of the Anti-Torture 
Coordination  Group  (ATCG).  The  report  must  not  undermine  the  commercial  interests  of 
natural or legal persons. 

This report provides information on the ATCG’s activities in 2020. 

2.  Regulatory framework 

The Regulation’s objective is to prevent capital punishment, on the one hand, and torture and 
other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in countries outside the EU, on the 
other, by restricting trade in certain goods. It distinguishes between: 

-  goods that are inherently abusive and should not be traded at all (Annex II); and 

-  goods that can have legitimate uses, such as law enforcement equipment (Annex III) 

and goods for therapeutic use (Annex IV). 

Trade  in  goods  listed  in  Annex  III  and  Annex  IV  is  subject  to  certain  restrictions.  In 
particular, the Regulation: 

i. 

ii. 

prohibits  the  import  into,  export  from  and  transit  through  the  EU  of  goods  listed  in 
Annex II,  which  have  no  practical  use  other  than  for  the  purposes  of  capital 
punishment or torture. It prohibits the provision of any technical assistance relating to 
such goods,  including training in  how to  use them.  It  also  prohibits advertising such 
goods  in  print  media,  on  the  internet  or  on  television  or  radio,  and  displaying  or 
offering them for sale at an exhibition or trade fair; 

requires  prior  authorisation,  case  by  case,  for  exports  of  goods  listed  in  Annex III, 
which could be used for the purposes of capital punishment or torture, but may have 
other  legitimate  uses  (e.g. for  law  enforcement).  A  prior  export  authorisation  is  also 
required  for  supplying  technical  assistance  or  brokering  services  relating  to  this 
category of goods. Annex III does not include:  

(a)  firearms subject to Regulation (EU) No 258/2012(2);  
(b)  dual-use items subject to Regulation (EU) 2021/821(3); or 
(c)  goods  subject  to  the  terms  of  Council  Common  Position  2008/944/CFSP(4);  

and 

(1)   OJ  L  30,  31.1.2019,  p.  1.  Having  been  amended  several  times,  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No 1236/2005  of 
27 June 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 200, 30.7.2005, p. 1) was subsequently codified 
as Regulation (EU) 2019/125. 

(2)   Regulation  (EU)  No  258/2012  of  14  March  2012  implementing  Article  10  of  the  United  Nations  Protocol 
against the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition, 
supplementing  the  United  Nations  Convention  against  Transnational  Organised  Crime  (UN  Firearms 
Protocol), and establishing an export authorisation, and import and transit measures for firearms, their parts 
and components and ammunition (OJ L 94, 30.3.2012, p. 1). 

(3)   Regulation (EU) 2021/821 of 20 May 2021 setting up a Union regime for the control of exports, brokering, 

technical assistance, transit and transfer of dual-use items (recast) (OJ L 206, 11.6.2021, p. 1). 

(4)  Council  Common  Position  2008/944/CFSP  defining  common  rules  governing  the  control  of  exports  of 

military technology and equipment (OJ L 335, 13.12.2008, p. 99). 

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iii. 

regulates trade in chemicals and pharmaceutical substances (Annex IV) that could be 
used  for  capital  punishment  (e.g. through  lethal  injection).  A  specific  licence 
authorisation  (Union  general  export  authorisation  (GEA))  has  been  introduced  to 
control the export of such anaesthetic chemicals  and prevent their transfer for use in 
lethal  injection  executions,  without  limiting  trade  in  them  for  medical,  veterinary  or 
other legitimate purposes. 

3.  Activities of the Anti-Torture Coordination Group 

The  ATCG  was  set  up  pursuant  to  Regulation  (EU)  2016/2134  of  the  European  Parliament 
and  of  the  Council(5)  to  examine  questions  concerning  the  application  of  the  Anti-Torture 
Regulation. 

The ATCG serves as a platform for Member State experts and the Commission to exchange 
information on administrative practices and discuss issues of interpretation of the Regulation, 
technical issues with the goods listed, developments relating to the Regulation, and any other 
matters that may  arise.  The Commission  also  consults  the ATCG when  preparing delegated 
acts,  in  accordance  with  the  Interinstitutional  Agreement  of  13  April  2016  on  Better 
Law-Making(6). 

The ATCG met once in 2020, on 12 October, in a virtual format, to exchange information on 
a number of issues (summarised below) concerning the implementation of the Regulation. 

3.1. Developments relating to the basic act 

The Commission informed the ATCG of plans for, and subsequently consulted it on, a draft 
delegated  act  amending  the  Regulation  –  Annex  I  (competent  authorities  of  the  Member 
States) and Annex V, part 2 (destinations to which the Union GEA applies) – to take account 
of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU(7). 

3.2. Trade information: data reporting 

The Commission presented the state of play on the annual report referred to in Article 26(3), 
in  particular  the  data  that  it  intended  to  use.  It  also  informed  the  ATCG  of  its  intention  to 
update  the  reporting  form  in  order  to  gather  a  broader  range  of  data,  in  preparation  for  the 
subsequent reporting exercise. 

3.3. Review of Regulation (EU) 2019/125 

The Commission presented a report on its review of Regulation (EU) 2019/125, with its main 
findings  and  conclusions(8).  The  report  provides  a  comprehensive  assessment  of  the 
Regulation, evaluating its impact, influence at global level, challenges and opportunities. The 

(5)  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). 

(6)  OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1. 
(7)  The provisions of the Regulation apply to and in the UK in respect of Northern Ireland, in accordance with 
Article 5(4)  of  the  Protocol  on  Ireland/Northern  Ireland  to  the  Withdrawal  Agreement,  read  in  conjunction 
with point 47 of Annex 2 to that Protocol. 

(8)  COM(2020) 343 final, 30.7.2020. 

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report  outlines  further  action  to  make  the  Regulation  more  effective,  and  to  ensure  that  it 
continues to make an important contribution to the fight against torture and the death penalty. 

The  Commission  had  involved  the  Member  States’  competent  authorities  in  the  review 
process,  in  particular  through  evaluation  questions  and  a  virtual  workshop  (14 May 2020). 
The purpose of the workshop was to gather direct feedback and listen to stakeholders’ views 
and  ideas  on  how  to  enhance  the  effectiveness  of  the  Regulation.  There  were  balanced  and 
lively  exchanges  of  views  on  the  various  topics  that  had  been  proposed  to  facilitate  the 
discussion. Representatives from 16 EU competent authorities, civil society organisations and 
international organisations took part, along with other experts. 

3.4.  Torture-free trade — regional and international developments 

The  ATCG  served  as  a  platform  for  exchanging  information  and  raising  awareness  on 
regional  and  international  developments,  with  particular  reference  to  the  United  Nations 
Secretary-General’s  report,  Towards  torture-free trade:  examining  the  feasibility,  scope  and 
parameters  for  possible  common  international  standards(9),  which  recognises  that  common 
international standards could lead to more effective regulation in this area. As a next step, the 
UN  will  be  setting  up  a  group  of  governmental  experts  to  continue  work  on  basis  of  the 
report.  

The  ATCG  was  also  informed  about  the  work  on  a  Council  of  Europe  (CoE) 
Recommendation(10)  to  establish  a  framework  enabling  the  CoE  member  states  to  regulate 
more effectively the trade in goods that could be used for capital punishment, torture or other 
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. 

(9)   Report of Secretary General A/74/969 of 28 July 2020. 
(10)  Recommendation CM/Rec(2021)2 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on measures against the 
trade  in  goods  used  for  the  death  penalty,  torture  and  other  cruel,  inhuman  or  degrading  treatment  or 
punishment (adopted on 31 March 2021 at the 1 400th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies). 

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