REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2021/821 setting up a Union regime for the control of exports, brokering, technical assistance, transit and transfer of dual-use items
Date: 2022-09-01
Institutions: Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security, European Commission
Subjects: application of EU law, dual-use good, export (EU), export licence, export monitoring, technical cooperation, trade restriction, transit

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 1.9.2022  COM(2022) 434 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2021/821 setting up a Union regime for the control of exports, brokering, technical assistance, transit and transfer of dual-use items  
 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

on the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2021/821 setting up a Union regime for the 
control of exports, brokering, technical assistance, transit and transfer of dual-use items 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

This  report  provides  information  on  the  implementation  of  EU  export  controls  for  dual-use 
items  in  2021 and  provides  aggregated export control  data for 2020.  It  was  prepared by the 
Commission with input from Member States1 in the Dual Use Coordination Group (DUCG). 
2021  saw  the  adoption  of  a  new  Export  Control  Regulation,  which  marks  an  important 
milestone in the development of EU export control policy.2 

This  report  is  adopted  together  with  the  Annual  Report  on  FDI  Screening  as  export  control 
and FDI screening both  provide strategic trade and investment controls to ensure security in 
the European Union.  

The  report  covers  activities  in  2021  and therefore  does  not  cover  aspects  of  export  controls 
touched by, or measures taken in the form of export restrictions in response to, Russia’s war 
of  agression  in  Ukraine.  Those  events  have  brought  the  issue  of  Russian  and  Belarusian 
access  to  dual  use  technologies  into  sharp  political  focus,  albeit  in  the  context  of  the 
application of sanctions, including export bans and restrictions, by the European Union.  

2. 

EVOLUTION OF THE POLICY & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK 

2.1. 

Export control policy  

2.1.1.  Modernisation of EU export controls - new Export Control Regulation 

Further to the adoption of a new Export Control Regulation on 19 May 2021 and its entry into 
force  on  9  September  2021,  the  Commission  and  the  Member  States  have  initiated  its 
effective  implementation3,  in  a  number  of  new  areas  -  e.g.  transparency,  enforcement, 
capacity-building.  The  DUCG    played  a  key  role,  as  described  in  chapter  3  below,  and 
expanded the EU export control “institutional infrastructure” through the creation of a number 
of expert groups to develop new policies, guidelines, procedures, etc. The annex to this report 
sets out the various work strands and related indicative timelines. 

2.1.2  Consultations and outreach 

In  2021,  the  Commission  conducted  a  series  of  targeted  consultations  of  industry  and  civil 
society  stakeholders4  including  on  priorities  for  the  newly  established  EU-US  Trade  and 

1 Some Member States’ competent authorities also publicly report on trade in dual-use items. 
2 Regulation (EU) 2021/821 of the European Parliament and of the Council 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) - https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/821/oj. 
3 The previous annual report contains a description of key elements of the new Regulation (section 2.1.1. 
legislative modernisation). 
4 This is also part of our "partnership with the private sector", which is a key element of the modernisation of EU 
export controls. 

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Technology  Council  (“TTC”)  -  See  section  2.1.3.  The  Commission  also  organised,  jointly 
with the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU, the annual Export Control Forum on 
8 December 2021. This provided an opportunity to exchange views on the implementation of 
EU  export  controls  and  the  modernised  EU  export  controls  regime  with  more  than  800 
industry and civil society stakeholders5.  

2.1.3  Cooperation with third countries  

In June 2021, the EU and the U.S. established the Trade and Technology Council, which met 
for  the  first  time  in  Pittsburgh  on  29  September  2021  and  agreed  on  an  ambitious  Joint 
Statement,  including  cooperation  on  export  control6.  One  of  the  ten  Working  Groups  is 
dedicated to export controls, sharing information and working on themes like legislative and 
regulatory  developments,  risk  assessments  and  licensing  good  practices,  as  well  as  on 
approaches to industry compliance and enforcement. Furthermore, this working group aims at 
promoting  convergent  control  approaches  on  sensitive  dual-use  technologies,  and  perform 
joint industry outreach on dual-use export controls.  

The TTC aims to ensure greater coordination in approaches on trade and technology issues, so 
that a holistic approach is taken across different work strands. In that context, aspects of other 
groups  such  as  those  on  secure  supply  chains,  and  particularly,  semi-conductors,  or  on  the 
screening of foreign investment are also impacted by export controls.  

Generally,  the  EU  and  U.S.  agreed  in  Pittsburgh  to  enhance  cooperation  in  the  following 
areas: 

  Technical consultations on current and upcoming legislative and regulatory developments, 
including  regular  adjustments  to  control  lists  and  specific  license  exceptions/General 
Export Authorisations, development of guidelines; 

  Technical  consultations  and  development  of  convergent  control  approaches  on  sensitive 
dual-use  technologies,  and  information  exchange  on  risks  associated  with  the  export  or 
transfer of sensitive technologies to destinations and entities of concern; 

  Technical consultations on compliance and enforcement approaches and actions; 
  Capacity building assistance to third countries to develop their legal frameworks support 

their capacity to implement and enforce control; and 

  Technical consultations regarding multilateral and international cooperation, including  in 

relation to multilateral export control regimes, as appropriate. 

The  TTC’s  Export  Control  Working  Group  actively  engaged  with  stakeholders  in  order  to 
prepare  its  work.  A  joint  Stakeholder  Meeting  was  held  on  27  October  20217  bringing 
together more than 200 representatives from industry and civil society and academic experts 
to discuss its priorities and this was followed by a public consultation during December 2021 
and January 2022 – in parallel with the US8. 

5 https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2021/november/tradoc_159949.pdf. 
6 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/STATEMENT_21_4951.  
7 https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2021/december/tradoc_159950.pdf. 
8 https://futurium.ec.europa.eu/en/EU-US-TTC/wg7/documents/summary-public-feedback-consultation-
working-group-7. 

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On  26  October  2021,  the  Commission  organised  an  export  control  dialogue  with  the  six 
Western  Balkan  partners9  to  support  their  efforts  to  align  with  the  acquis  communautaire 
including EU dual-use export controls. The EU reaffirmed its readiness to continue supporting 
alignment  to  EU  export  controls  and  offered  to  make  the  EU’s  electronic  licensing  tool 
available to Western Balkan countries at their request.  

2.2. 

Amendments under the Regulation (EU) 2021/821  

2.2.1. Update to the EU control list 

The EU Control List in Annex I to the Regulation essentially provides a list of dual-use items, 
including software and technology, which  should be subject  to  controls  given that it  can be 
used for both civil and military purposes. It is updated on a regular basis to reflect changes in 
the  Multilateral  Export Control  Regimes.  It  was  amended  once  in  202110  to  incorporate  the 
decisions agreed from March to December 2020 in the context of those regimes (in particular 
under the Wassenaar Agreement and in the Australia Group).  

Amendments to the EU control list in 2021 

The amendments relate in particular to the control of biocontainment chambers, isolators, or biological 
safety  cabinets  (2B352.f.2 Note  2) in  order to  include  any  isolator  meeting  all of  the  characteristics 
mentioned in the description of the item, regardless of its intended use and its designation. The 2021 
EU  control  list  also  introduces  a  change  to  the  definition  of  "superalloys",  in  order  to  specify  the 
ultimate tensile strength of such materials.  

The updated and consolidated EU Control List entered into force on 7 January 2022, thereby 
allowing  the  EU  to  comply  with  its  international  commitments.  The  Commission  published 
guidance  providing  an  overview  of  all  changes  to  the  2021  EU  Dual-Use  Control  List 
summarised in a "Summary Note"11. 

2.3. 

National implemention and enforcement measures 

2.3.1. Implementation measures  

The  Regulation  is  binding  in  its  entirety  and  directly  applicable  in  all  Member  States. 
However, it provides that Member States may take certain measures for the implementation of 
specific provisions, such as whether a licence has to be requested for certain dual use items, 
where the exporter may suspect that the items are going to used in a way not allowed by the 
Regulation.  It  requires  that  information  on  those  national  measures  are  published  in  the 
Official  Journal  of  the  European  Union.  Accordingly,  the  Commission  published  an 
Information  Note  on  8  February  202112  which  provides  an  updated  overview  of  measures 
taken by Member States including, inter alia, the extension of brokering and transit controls, 
the extension of controls to non-listed items for reasons of public security and human rights 
considerations,  the  introduction  of  national  general  export  authorisations,  the  application  of 
intra-EU transfer controls for non-listed items. This Information Note reflects the EU's actions 

9 Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. 
10 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1of 20 October 2021 (OJ L 3, 6.1.2022, p. 1). 
11 The Summary Note is available at:  https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2021/november/tradoc_159903.pdf  
12 https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2022/februarT/tradoc_160037.pdf      

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to ensure the transparency of applicable rule and efforts to support the consistent and effective 
implementation of controls by exporters throughout the EU. 

2.3.2. Enforcement measures  

The  Commission  was  not  informed  of  any  new  developments  in  2021.  The  list  of  national 
enforcement  measures  published  together  with  the  2019  annual  export  control  report13 
remains valid. 

2.4 Exports from Northern Ireland 

Exports  of  dual-use  items  from  the  EU  to  the  UK  became  subject  to  control  under  the 
Regulation with the UK’s departure from the Union on 1st January 2021, just like exports to 
any other third country. 

Specific  arrangements  are  set  forth  in  the  Northern  Ireland  (NI)  Protocol14,  which  provides 
that  the  Regulation  applies  to,  and  in  the  United  Kingdom  in  respect  of  Northern  Ireland15, 
with the UK acting as a competent authority under the Regulation for exports from Northern 
Ireland  to  third  countries  outside  the  EU.  The  Commission  developed  a  dedicated  secure 
electronic  tool  to  support  the  exchange  of  information  with  the  UK  competent  authority  in 
charge of applying the Regulation in and from Northern Ireland. This enables this authority to 
access information on denials for essentially identical transactions issued by the EU Member 
State,  and  have  bilateral  consultation  with  issuing  Member  State,  as  foreseen  by  the 
Regulation.16  

3. 

ACTIVITIES OF THE DUAL-USE COORDINATION GROUP 

The DUCG brings together experts from the Commission and Member States to examine any 
issue concerning the application of export controls.17 It held six meetings in 2021.  

3.1. 

Consultations on implementation issues - general information exchange 

The  Commission  and  Member  States’  representatives  in  the  DUCG  conducted  general 
information  exchanges  on  export  control  issues,  including  in  support  of  the  legislative 
modernisation of EU export controls.  

The  Commission  coordinated  an  exchange  of  information  among  Member  States  in  the 
DUCG  regarding  national  implementing  measures  and  prepared  the  update  of  the 
Information Note on national measures with the support of the DUCG.18 

With  the  entry  into  force  of  the  new  Regulation  in  September  2021,  the  DUCG  started  to 
work  on  its  implementation,  agreeing  to  regularly  exchange  information.  For  instance,  the 
Commission invited Member States in the the DUCG to start reflecting on the new provisions 

13 https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/documents-register/detail?ref=COM(2019)562&lang=en   
14 OJ L 29, 31.1.2020, p. 7 (“Withdrawal Agreement”).   
15 Article 5(4) of the NI Protocol and section 47 of annex 2 to that Protocol. 
16 The DUCG approved this newDUeS functionality. 
17 This report is also the annual report required by the new Regulation on the activities, examinations and 
consultations of the DUCG. 
18 The updated information note was published on 8 February  2022, OJ Notice 2022/C66/27. 

4 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
of  the  Regulation,  requiring  publication  of  national  measures  and  national  control  lists 
(Articles 9 and 10). 

The  Commission  collected  information  on  licensing  data  with  the  support  of  the  DUCG  in 
order to provide an overview of the implementation of export controls and to increase public 
transparency  on  EU  dual-use  export  controls  (EU  2020  aggregated  data  was  used  in  the 
preparation of this annual report).  

The DUCG conducted a  technical exchange of  information on the application of controls 
on cyber-surveillance technologies in 2020. The data collected from Member States shows a 
decrease in the number of licences for the export of these technologies (see Table 1), with a 
total of 39 licenses for listed cyber-surveillance items19 issued in 2020. In the same period, 32 
denials were issued for cyber-surveillance items.  

Table 1: Number of individual licences for listed cyber-surveillance items. 

3.2. 

Technical exchange of information – implementation issues  

Under coordination of the Commission, the DUCG took initiatives to address certain technical 
implementation  issues and set  up dedicated  expert groups to  implement  the requirements of 
the new Regulation. 

Member States’ competent authorities in the DUCG provided technical expertise supporting 
the  updates  to  the  EU  control  list,  and  engaged  in  discussions  on  a  number  of  specific 
implementation issues such as the need to enhance information exchange under EU  General 
Export  Authorisations  (EUGEAs)  and  under  global  licences,  or  the  development  of  a 
consultation mechanism between competent authorities concerning information on exporters 
using global licences. 

With respect to technical expert groups, whose role is now recognised in the new Regulation, 
the  Surveillance  Technology  Expert  Group  (STEG)  was  reactivated  and  its  Terms  of 
Reference revised in order to reflect the new provisions of the Regulation. The STEG allows 

19 Mobile telecommunications interception equipment, IP network surveillance systems, intrusion software. 

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experts  from  Member  States  to  contribute  to  the  development  of  EU  controls  on  exports  of 
cybersurveillance technologies. The STEG's mandate involves information exchange on risks 
associated with exports of cyber surveillance items and technical discussions of specific cyber 
surveillance  items,  as  well  as  the  development  of  due  diligence  guidelines  for  exporters.  In 
2021, experts shared information relevant to certain products, such as monitoring centres and 
data  retention  solutions  (DRS),  surveillance  vehicles,  and  Voice  over  the  Internet  Protocol 
(VoIP) systems - as part of their technical review of potential cybersurveillance technologies.  

The Technical  Expert Group on the development  of  guidelines for dual  use research (TEG-
DUR)  finalised  EU  Guidance  on  internal  compliance  programmes  for  research  involving 
dual-use items, which apply also to the transfer of technology and knowledge associated with 
that  research.  This  guidance  was  adopted  as  a  Commission  Recommendation  in  September 
202120  and  aims  at  helping  researchers,  research  managers  and  compliance  staff  in 
universities and research organisations to identify, manage and mitigate risks associated with 
collaboration  with  partners  located  outside  the  EU  (or  researchers  from  outside  the  EU)  on 
research projects which can actually be subject to dual-use export controls. The EU guidance 
serves  as  a  common  reference  tool  for  Member  States  competent  authorities  in  the 
development of specific  outreach programmes  and for deciding on export authorisations  for 
dual-use items listed in Annex I of the Regulation. The guidance is non-binding and research 
organisations  and  researchers  maintain  the  responsibility  to  comply  with  their  obligations 
under the Regulation. The DUCG subsequently started developing a plan of actions to support 
the implementation and monitoring of the guidance. 

A  new  Technical  Expert  Group  on  emerging  technologies  (ETEG)  was  launched  as  a 
dedicated  forum  for  information  exchange  on  risks  associated  with  exports  of  emerging 
technologies and the challenges associated with their control. The ETEG held its first meeting 
in October 2021. 

The  Commission  also  prepared  draft  Terms  of  Reference  –  endorsed  by  the  DUCG  -  for  a 
Technical Expert Group on data collection and transparency (TEG-Transparency) and for an 
Enforcement  Coordination  Mechanism  (ECM),  which  will  support  exchange  of  information 
and development of best practices among licensing and enforcement authorities in the EU. 

Finally,  the  DUCG  held  initial  discussions  regarding  the  setting  up  of  a  Technical  Expert 
Group on capacity-building with a view to supporting regular training and sharing of expertise 
within the EU dual-use community. 

3.3. 

EU Guidelines on Dual-Use Export Controls 

Guidelines  for  Dual-Use  Research  mentioned  in  section  3.2  above  were  adopted  by  the 
Commission and published on 23 September 2021.21  

The  new  Regulation  introduces  provisions  for  the  control  of  exports  of  non-listed  cyber-
surveillance  items  to  be  backed  up  by  guidelines  for  exporters  to  support  their  effective 
implementation. Those controls address the risk of such items being used in connection with 

20 Commission Recommendation (EU) 2021/1700 of 15 September 2021 on internal compliance programmes for 
controls of research involving dual-use items under Regulation (EU) 2021/821 of the European Parliament and 
of the Council setting up a Union regime for the control of exports, brokering, technical assistance, transit and 
transfer of dual-use items 
21 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2021.338.01.0001.01.ENG 

6 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
internal  repression  or  serious  violations  of  human  rights  and/or  international  humanitarian 
law, The STEG has been working on the preparation of those guidelines including, inter alia, 
due diligence measures assessing risks related to the export of such items to end-users and for 
specific end-uses.   

3.4. 

IT  Tools  for  Exchange  of  Information  among  Member  States  and  for  
Electronic Licensing  

The  Commission,  supported  by  the  DUCG,  continued  to  develop  the  Dual-Use  e-System 
(DUeS) as the IT backbone of the EU export control network. This platform has a key role in  
the  effective  application  of  the  Regulation,  for  example,  the  information  sharing  foreseen 
under Article 5.  

New  functionalities  were  developed  to  support  the  exchange  of  information  on  denials  for 
intra-EU transfers, and to support the regular review and update of denials' information by the 
competent authorities. 

In consideration of Brexit, a new functionality supporting information-exchange with the UK 
under the NI Protocol was introduced in January 2021.  

After  several  years  of  preparations,  2021  marked  the  first  year  of  operation  of  the  dual-use 
eLicensing  system,  with  its  introduction  in  two  Member  States  -  Latvia  and  Romania. 
eLicensing  allows  competent  authorities  and  exporters  to  administer  controls  on-line  more 
efficiently  and  reduce  the  administrative  burden  associated  with  controls.  It  is  aimed  at 
replacing  off-line  systems  or  outdated  national  electronic  systems,  allowing  for  more  agile 
exchange  of  information  -  including  in  the  reporting  of  licensing  data  to  the  Commission  – 
and  bringing  further  potential  for  exchange  of  data  across  the  EU.  The  development  of  the 
eLicensing system continued in 2021 with other competent authorities joining the pilot project 
(Italy and Belgium - Walloon Region going live in 2022 and Slovenia foreseen in early 2023). 
Beyond the EU, as part of its dialogues with partner countries, the Commission is examining 
options for providing the eLicensing tool to partners e.g. the national authority in Bosnia and 
Herzegovina which has shown interest in using the tool.  

The eLicensing project is also developing in new directions to make controls more effective, 
for  example,  by  connecting  the  eLicensing  system  with    national  customs  systems  via  the 
Customs’  Single  Window  environment.  This  will  make  sharing  information  across  borders 
and  with  customs  authorities  much  easier,  reducing  the  regulatory  burden  for  operators  and 
allowing  automatic  licenses  quantity  management.  This  would  be  done  through  the 
Certification Exchage - “CERTEX” platform managed by DG TAXUD.  

At  the  request  of  Member  States  that  already  operate  eLicensing  systems,  the  Commission 
initiated a new "eLicensing bridge" project to allow to connect national licensing systems to 
customs systems.  

3.5. 

Implementation and enforcement 

The  Commission  supervised  an  exchange  of  information  on  the  implementation  and 
enforcement of controls with the support of the DUCG. According to available data, the EU 
export control network – comprising staff in Member States’ licensing competent authorities 
and the Commission – consisted of over 345 staff. With respect to enforcement at a national 
level,  78  breaches  of  export  control  regulations  were  recorded  in  2020,  while  eight 

7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
administrative  penalties  and  seven  criminal  penalties  were  applied  by  national  law 
enforcement authorities.  

3.6.  Capacity building 

In  2021,  the  Commission’s  Joint  Research  Centre,  with  the  support  of  DG  Trade  and  the 
DUCG  contributed  to  the  preparation  of  the  14th  JRC-National  Nuclear  Security  Agency 
technical  seminar  for  licensing  authorities.  This  was  organised  by  the  Commission’s  Joint 
Reseach  Centre  and  the  U.S.  Department  of  Energy.  It  was  was  held  over  several  sessions 
from  September  through  November  2021.  The  seminar  was  focused  on  cyber-surveillance, 
cryptocurrencies, block-chain and proliferation financing. 

3.7.  Transparency and dialogue with industry and academia  

As mentioned in section 2.1.2, the Commission – with the support of the DUCG – organised 
the  2021  Export  Control  Forum,  and  prepared  documentation  to  support  exporters  in 
implemententing 
including  Guidelines  on  dual-use  research  and  a 
"Comprehensive Change Note Summary 2020" explaining the changes to the Control List. 

the  regulation, 

4. 

EU EXPORT CONTROLS – KEY DATA  

It  currently  remains  difficult  to  obtain  reliable  information  on  overall  dual-use  exports 
(including  non-listed  dual-use  items)  as  there  is  no  official  category  of  “dual-use  items”  in 
official economic / trade statistics. However, the Commission and Member States collect data 
that allows for approximate estimates of exports of dual-use goods based, on the one hand, on 
specific licensing data collected by competent authorities and, on the other hand, on statistics 
for  export  declarations  to  EU  customs  which  include  dual-use  goods.  2020  export  data 
estimates are presented below. It should be noted that the estimates presented do not include 
services nor intangible technology transfers associated with the trade in dual-use goods.  

4.1. 

EU dual-use trade: items and destinations  

In 2021, the Regulation primarily applied to the export of about 1884 dual-use items listed in 
Annex I (the "EU Control List") and classified in 10 categories from Annex I to Regulation 
(EU) 821/202122  (Figure  1). These dual-use items relate to  circa 1.000 “commodities” from 
the “customs nomenclature”, including chemicals, metals and non-metallic mineral products, 
computers,  electronic  and  optical  products,  electrical  equipment,  machinery,  vehicles  and 
transport  equipment,  etc.  and  typically  fall  at  the  high–tech  end  of  this  large,  mixed 
commodity area.  

22 The list of categories reflects the Wassenaar Arrangement list, to which category 0 on nuclear items was 
added. 

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Figure 1: Number of dual-use entries listed in the ten Categories of Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2021/821. 

Statistical estimates of the relative importance of dual-use trade indicate that dual-use exports 
represent  about  2.7%  of  EU27  total  exports  (intra  and  extra-EU),  within  a  broad  ‘dual-use 
export domain’23 of customs commodities that may include, to varying degrees, certain dual-
use items (Figure 2). This would put the value of dual-use trade at € 128 billion in 2020.  

Figure 2: Statistical estimates of dual-use intra and extra-EU exports. 

Statistical  estimates also  show the main export destinations and indicate that  a large part of 
the dual-use exports are directed towards countries listed on European Union General Export 

23 The statistical methodology developed by the Commission's Joint Research Centre makes use of a correlation 
table,  developed  by  the  Commission’s  Customs  and  Taxation  Department  (DG  TAXUD),  between  dual-use 
classification numbers and customs codes and of Eurostat’s COMEXT data, as well as of licensing data provided 
by  EU27  Member  States.  The  notion  of  dual-use  export  domain  refers  to  a  large  mixed  goods  area,  which 
includes dual-use items. Trade in dual-use items takes place within this goods area, but is not identical to it, since 
the  products  and  items  covered  in  that  customs  category  will  be  much  wider  and  cover  many  items  that  have 
purely civilian uses, or are not dual use. 

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Authorisations (EUGEAs). The ranking of destination countries reflects the EU export market 
in a basket of goods mostly related to dual-use items (Figure 3 and 4)24.  

Figure 3: EU dual-use export estimates: top 25 export destination countries and their sub-regions in 2020. 

24 "Stores and provisions extra" are defined as delivery of ships' and aircrafts' stores. ”Miscellaneous  –countries 
not  specified  extra”  includes  countries  and  territories  not  specified  within  the  framework  of  trade  with  third 
countries (i.e., these codes are usually used for goods delivered for offshore installations). 

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Figure 4: EU dual-use export estimates: destination countries by regions and sub-regions in 2020 

4.2. 

EU dual-use licenses: applications, authorisations, denials  

In light of Article 23(2) of the Regulation, which stipulates that "Member States shall take all 
appropriate  measures  to  establish  direct  cooperation  and  exchange  of  information  between 
competent  authorities  with  a  view  to  enhance  the  efficiency  of  the  Union  export  control 
regime", the Commission and Member States have exchanged licensing data and information 
in  order  to  improve  the  understanding  of  export  controls  and  their  economic  effect.  This 
exchange has been supported by the DUCG.  Some data collected for the reporting period is 
reported below; it should be noted, however, that not all Member States collect all data. The 
information  provided  below  represents  approximate  estimates  of  aggregate  quantities  and 
values within the limits of the data made available by Member States. 

In  2020  the  total  value25  of  applications  reached  EUR  38.4  billion  and  controlled  dual-use 
exports  thus  represented  2.3%  of  total  extra-EU27  exports.  Authorised  dual-use  trade 
amounted to EUR 31 billion, representing 1.9% of total extra-EU27 exports, with a majority 
of transactions authorised under individual licenses26 (around 19.412 single licenses issued in 
2020)  and  global  licenses27  (by  their  value).  Only  a  small  portion  of  exports  were  actually 
denied: 559 denials were issued in 2020, representing about 1.4% of the value of controlled 
dual-use exports in that year, and 0.03% of total extra-EU27 exports. Differences in data that 
indicate a decline in comparison to the previous years are due to Brexit and the fact that UK 
did not provide data since 2019. Concerning destinations for export licenses, the top 25 extra-
EU  destinations  accounted  for  94%  of  the  licensed  value,  with  the  main  destinations  being 
China, the United States, Taiwan, South Korea and Russia. With respect to intra-EU transfers, 
the main destinations were France, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Spain and Belgium. Breaking 
down licenses by Categories of items in  Annex  I  of the dual-use Regulation shows that the 
main  category  by  value  in  2020  was  Category  5  on  Telecommunication  and  ‘information 
security’,  followed  by  Category  0  on  Nuclear  materials,  facilities  and  equipment  and 
Category 3 on Electronics. 

25  This  figure  includes  value  for  licence  applications  and  notifications  under  General  Export  Authorisations. 
General  Export  Authorisations  allow  exports  of  dual-use  items  to  certain  destinations  under  certain  conditions 
while Global licenses can be granted by competent authorities to one exporter and may cover multiple items to 
multiple countries of destination or end users. 
26  Individual  licenses  are  licenses  granted  to  one  specific  exporter  for  one  end-user  or  consignee  in  a  third 
country and covering one or more dual-use items. 
27 Global licenses are licenses granted to one specific exporter in respect of a type or category of dual-use items 
which  may  be  valid  for  exports  to  one  or  more  specified  end-users  and/or  in  one  or  more  specified  third 
countries. 

11 

 
 
                                                 
 Figure 5: Volume (number) of authorisations and denials in 2016-202028. 

Figure 6: Value (mln EUR) of authorisations and denials in 2016-2020.  

28  In  Figures  5  and  6,  "Applications"  data  include  all  applications  for  licenses,  including  notifications  under 
general  authorisations,  thus  providing  an  indication  of  "controlled  exports",  i.e.  the  value  of  extra-EU  exports 
subject  to  an  authorisation  process.  In  cases  where  no  application  data  is  available,  the  charts  make  use  of 
authorisation  data  as  estimate  for  application  data.  "Authorisations"  data  refers  to  dual-use  exports  authorised 
under  individual  and  global  licences.  It  should  be  noted  that  applications  do  not  necessarily  correspond  to  the 
sum of authorisations and denials, as a number of applications may be cancelled and some applications may not 
be finalised within the same year. "Denial" refers to the volume and value of denied exports. Differences in data 
that indicate a decline in comparison to the previous years are due to Brexit and the fact that UK did not provide 
data since 2019. 

12 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Figure 7: Volume (number) of authorisations per type of licence in 2020. 

Figure 8: Value (mln EUR) of authorisations per type in 2020. 

13 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 9:Main extra-EU destinations of authorisations in 2020.   

Figure 10: Intra-EU destinations of authorisations in 2020. 

14 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 11: Authorisations by the 10 Categories of Annex I of the dual-use Regulation. 

5. 

CONCLUSION 

Further to the various actions initiated in 2021, the Commission and the Member States will 
continue to focus on meeting the new requirements and mandates under the new Regulation. 
This  includes  continuing  the  work  in  the  various  technical  expert  groups  towards  enhanced 
controls  on 
and 
transparency, the enforcement of export controls, emerging technologies and the development 
of  EU  capacity-building  and  training  programmes  for  Member  States  licensing  and 
enforcement authorities.  

information-exchange 

cyber-surveillance 

technologies, 

enhanced 

These  EU  actions  under  the  new  Regulation  will  also  allow  the  EU  to  cooperate  more 
effectively with partners in order to promote the global convergence of controls, reduce trade 
frictions  and  increase  predictability  for  businesses,  promote  EU  values  and  uphold 
international peace and security. 

15 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Annex – Implementation of the new Dual-Use Export Control Regulation – Indicative Timelines 

2021 

2022 

2023 

Q1 

Q2 

Q3 

Q4 

Q1 

Q2 

Q3 

Q4 

Q1 

Q2 

Q3 

Q4 

Surveillance 
Technology 
Expert Group 
Reactivation 

Set up 
Emerging 
Technology 
Expert Group 

Due Dilligence Guidelines 

Technical support to Art. 5 Controls / Publication of “EU Watchlist” 

Technical support to the control of emerging technologies 

Engaging with partners on cybersurveillance items, emerging technologies & other issues (US, Japan) 

Set up 
Transparency 
TEG  

Development of dedicated IT tools and 
development of Guidelines on Transparency 

2023 Annual Report (incl. 2022 
data) 

Implement dedicated actions (e.g. information exchange tools, guidance notes, joint operations) 

Set up 
Enforcement 
Group 

Set up  
Capacity-
Building 
Group 

Feasibility Study 

EU Training Programme 
Curricula 

Programme Kick-
off