CELEX: 52011PC0266
Language: en
Date: 2011-05-06
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria

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		52011PC0266
		
			COUNCIL REGULATION concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria Joint Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria /* COM/2011/0266 final - NLE 2011/0113 */
			
				
		
		
			
			   	EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
(1)              
Council Decision 2011/[…]/CFSP of […] provides
for the adoption of restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria in consideration
of the seriousness of the situation in the country. 
(2)              
These measures consist of an arms embargo, a ban
on exports of internal repression equipment, and restrictions on the admission
to the EU, and the freezing of funds and economic resources, of persons and
entities responsible for the violent repression against
the civilian population in Syria. 
(3)              
Further action at Union level is required in
order to give effect to some of these measures. The High Representative of the
EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the Commission propose to give
effect to these measures by means of a Regulation based on Article 215(1) of
the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
2011/0113 (NLE)
Joint Proposal for a
COUNCIL REGULATION
concerning restrictive measures in view of
the situation in Syria
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning
of the European Union, and in particular Article 215(1) thereof, 
Having regard to Council Decision 2011/[…]/CFSP
of […] concerning restrictive measures in view
of the situation in Syria,
Having regard to the joint proposal from
the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
and the Commission,
After consulting the European Data
Protection Supervisor,
Whereas:
(1)              
Council Decision 2011/[…]/CFSP of […] provides
for an arms embargo, a ban on internal repression equipment, and restrictions
on the admission to the EU, and the freezing of funds and economic resources, of
certain persons and entities responsible for the
violent repression against the civilian population in Syria. These persons, entities and bodies are
listed in the Annex to the Decision.
(2)              
Some of these measures fall within the scope of
the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and, therefore, notably
with a view to ensuring their uniform application by economic operators in all
Member States, regulatory action at the level of the Union is necessary in
order to implement them.
(3)              
This Regulation respects the fundamental rights
and observes the principles recognised in particular by the Charter of
Fundamental Rights of the European Union and notably the right to an effective
remedy and to a fair trial and the right to the protection of personal data.
This Regulation should be applied in accordance with those rights. 
(4)              
Article 291(2) TFEU provides that, where uniform
conditions for implementing legally binding Union acts such as Regulations
based on Article 215 TFEU are needed, those acts shall confer implementing
powers on the Commission.
(5)              
For the implementation of this Regulation, and
in order to create maximum legal certainty within the Union, the names and
other relevant data concerning natural and legal persons, entities and bodies
whose funds and economic resources must be frozen in accordance with this
Regulation, must be made public. Any processing of personal data should respect
Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18
December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of
personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement
of such data[1]
and Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24
October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of
personal data and on the free movement of such data[2].
(6)              
In order to ensure that the measures provided
for in this Regulation are effective, this Regulation must enter into force
immediately,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
For the purposes of this Regulation, the
following definitions shall apply:
(a)          ‘funds’ means financial assets
and benefits of every kind, including but not limited to:
(i)      cash, cheques, claims on money,
drafts, money orders and other payment instruments;
(ii)     deposits with financial institutions
or other entities, balances on accounts, debts and debt obligations;
(iii)     publicly- and privately-traded
securities and debt instruments, including stocks and shares, certificates
representing securities, bonds, notes, warrants, debentures and derivatives
contracts;
(iv)    interest, dividends or other income on
or value accruing from or generated by assets;
(v)     credit, right of set-off, guarantees,
performance bonds or other financial commitments;
(vi)    letters of credit, bills of lading,
bills of sale;
(vii)    documents evidencing an interest in
funds or financial resources;
(b)          ‘freezing of funds’ means
preventing any move, transfer, alteration, use of, access to, or dealing with
funds in any way that would result in any change in their volume, amount,
location, ownership, possession, character, destination or other change that
would enable the funds to be used, including portfolio management;
(c)          ‘economic resources’ means assets
of every kind, whether tangible or intangible, movable or immovable, which are
not funds but may be used to obtain funds, goods or services;
(d)          ‘freezing of economic resources’
means preventing their use to obtain funds, goods or services in any way,
including, but not limited to, by selling, hiring or mortgaging them;
(e)          'technical assistance' means any
technical support related to repairs, development, manufacture, assembly,
testing, maintenance, or any other technical service, and may take forms such
as instruction, advice, training, transmission of working knowledge or skills
or consulting services; including verbal forms of assistance;
(f)           ‘territory of the Union’ means the territories of the
Member States to which the Treaty is applicable, under the conditions laid down
in the Treaty, including their airspace.
Article 2
It shall be prohibited:
(a)     to sell,
supply, transfer or export, directly or indirectly, equipment which might be
used for internal repression as listed in Annex I, whether or not originating
in the Union, to any person, entity or body in Syria or to any other
person, entity or body for use in Syria;
(b)     to participate, knowingly and
intentionally, in activities the object or effect of which is to circumvent the
prohibitions referred to in point (a).
Article 3
1.           It shall be prohibited:
(a)     to provide, directly or indirectly,
technical assistance related to the goods and technology listed in the Common
Military List of the European Union (‘Common Military List’)[3], or related to the provision,
manufacture, maintenance and use of goods included in that list, to any person,
entity or body in Syria or for use in Syria;
(b)     to provide, directly or indirectly,
technical assistance or brokering services related to equipment
which might be used for internal repression as listed in Annex I, to any person, entity or body in Syria or for use in Syria;
(c)     to provide, directly or indirectly,
financing or financial assistance related to the goods and technology listed in
the Common Military List or in Annex I, including in particular grants,
loans and export credit insurance, for any sale, supply, transfer or export of
such items, or for any provision of related technical assistance to any person,
entity or body in Syria or for use in Syria;
(d)     to participate, knowingly and
intentionally, in activities the object or effect of which is to circumvent the
prohibitions referred to in points (a) to (c).
2.           By way of derogation from
paragraph 1, the prohibitions refered to therein shall not apply to the
provision of technical assistance, financing and financial assistance related
to 
·              
technical assistance intended solely for the
support of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF);
·              
non-lethal military equipment, or equipment
which might be used for internal repression, intended solely for humanitarian
purposes or protective use or for institution building programmes of the United
Nations (“UN”) and the Union, or for Union or UN crisis management operations;
or
·              
non-combat vehicles fitted with materials to
provide ballistic protection, intended solely for the protective use of
personnel of the Union and its Member States in Syria;
provided that such provision shall first have
been approved by the competent authority of a Member State, as identified on
the websites listed in Annex III.
3.           Paragraph 1 shall not
apply to protective clothing, including flak jackets and military helmets,
temporarily exported to Syria by UN personnel, personnel of the Union or its
Member States, representatives of the media or humanitarian and development
workers and associated persons exclusively for their personal use.
Article 4
1.           All funds and economic
resources belonging to, owned, held or controlled by the natural or legal
persons, entities and bodies listed in Annex II shall be frozen. 
2.           No funds or economic
resources shall be made available, directly or indirectly, to or for the
benefit of the natural or legal persons, entities or bodies listed in Annex II.
3.           The participation,
knowingly and intentionally, in activities the object or effect of which is,
directly or indirectly, to circumvent the measures referred to in paragraphs 1
and 2 shall be prohibited.
Article 5
1.           Annex II shall consist of
natural or legal persons, entities and bodies who, in accordance with Article 4(1)
of Council Decision 2011/[…]/CFSP of […], have been identified by the Council
as being persons and entities responsible for the
violent repression against the civilian population in Syria, and natural or
legal persons and entities associated with them.
2.           Annex II shall include
only the following information on listed natural persons:
(a)     for identification purposes: surname
and given names (including alias names and titles, if any); date and place of
birth; nationality; passport and identity card numbers; tax and social security
numbers; sex; address or other information on whereabouts; function held or
profession; 
(b)     the date on which the natural or legal
person, entity or body has been included in Annex;
(c)     the grounds for listing.
3.           Annex II may also include
information on family members of the persons listed, provided that the
inclusion of this information is considered to be necessary in a specific case
for the sole purpose of verifying the identity of the listed natural person in
question.
Article 6
By way of derogation from Article 4, the
competent authorities in the Member States as identified on the websites listed
in Annex III may authorise the release of certain frozen funds or economic
resources, or the making available of certain funds or economic resources,
under such conditions as they deem appropriate, after having determined that
the funds or economic resources are:
(a)         
necessary to satisfy the basic needs of persons
listed in Annex II and their dependent family members, including payments for
foodstuffs, rent or mortgage, medicines and medical treatment, taxes, insurance
premiums, and public utility charges;
(b)         
intended exclusively for payment of reasonable
professional fees and reimbursement of incurred expenses associated with the
provision of legal services; 
(c)         
intended exclusively for payment of fees or
service charges for routine holding or maintenance of frozen funds or economic
resources; or
(d)         
necessary for extraordinary expenses, provided
that the relevant competent authority has notified the grounds on which it
considers that a specific authorisation should be granted to the competent
authorities of the other Member States and to the Commission at least two
weeks before the authorisation.
The Member State concerned shall inform the
other Member States and the Commission of any authorisation granted under this
paragraph.
Article 7
By way of derogation from Article 4, the
competent authorities in the Member States as listed in Annex III may authorise
the release of certain frozen funds or economic resources, if the following
conditions are met:
(a)         
the funds or economic resources in question are
the subject of a judicial, administrative or arbitral lien established prior to
the date on which the person, entity or body referred to in Article 4 was
included in Annex II, or of a judicial, administrative or arbitral judgment
rendered prior to that date;
(b)         
the funds or economic resources in question will
be used exclusively to satisfy claims secured by such a lien or recognised as
valid in such a judgment, within the limits set by applicable laws and
regulations governing the rights of persons having such claims;
(c)         
the lien or judgment is not for the benefit of a
person, entity or body listed in Annex II; and
(d)         
recognising the lien or judgment is not contrary
to public policy in the Member State concerned.
The relevant Member State shall inform the
other Member States and the Commission of any authorisation granted under this
Article.
Article 8
1.           Article 4(2) shall not
apply to the addition to frozen accounts of:
(a)     interest or other earnings on those
accounts; or
(b)     payments due under contracts,
agreements or obligations that were concluded or arose before the date on which
the account became subject to this Regulation,
provided that any such interest, other earnings
and payments are frozen in accordance with Article 4(1).
2.           Article 4(2) shall not
prevent financial or credit institutions in the Union from crediting frozen accounts
where they receive funds transferred to the account of a listed natural or
legal person, entity or body, provided that any additions to such accounts will
also be frozen. The financial or credit institution shall inform the relevant
competent authority about any such transaction without delay.
Article 9
By way of derogation from Article 4 and
provided that a payment by a person, entity or body listed in Annex II is due
under a contract or agreement that was concluded by, or an obligation that
arose for the person, entity or body concerned before, the date on which that
person, entity or body had been designated, the competent authorities of the
Member States, as indicated on the websites listed in Annex III, may authorise,
under such conditions as they deem appropriate, the release of certain frozen
funds or economic resources, provided that the payment is not directly or
indirectly received by a person on entity referred to in Article 4.
Article 10
1.           The freezing of funds and
economic resources or the refusal to make funds or economic resources
available, carried out in good faith on the basis that such action is in
accordance with this Regulation, shall not give rise to liability of any kind
on the part of the natural or legal person or entity or body implementing it,
or its directors or employees, unless it is proved that the funds and economic
resources were frozen or withheld as a result of negligence.
2.           The prohibition set out in
Article 4(2) shall not give rise to any liability of any kind on the part of
the natural and legal persons, entities and bodies who made funds or economic
resources available if they did not know, and had no reasonable cause to
suspect, that their actions would infringe the prohibition in question.
Article 11
1.           Without prejudice to the
applicable rules concerning reporting, confidentiality and professional
secrecy, natural and legal persons, entities and bodies shall:
(a)     supply immediately any information which would facilitate compliance with this
Regulation, such as accounts and amounts frozen in accordance with Article 4, to
the competent authority in the Member State where they are resident or located,
as indicated on the websites listed in Annex III, and shall transmit such
information, either directly or through the Member States, to the Commission;
and
(b)     co-operate with that competent
authority in any verification of this information.
2.           Any information provided
or received in accordance with this Article shall be used only for the purposes
for which it was provided or received.
Article 12
The Commission and Member States shall
immediately inform each other of the measures taken under this Regulation and
shall supply each other with any other relevant information at their disposal
in connection with this Regulation, in particular information in respect of
violation and enforcement problems and judgments handed down by national
courts.
Article 13
1.           The Commission shall be
empowered to:
(a)     amend Annex II on the basis of
decisions taken in respect of the Annex to Council Decision 2011/…/CFSP; and.
(b)     amend Annex III on the basis of
information supplied by Member States.
2.           Any natural or legal
person, entity or body included in Annex II may submit observations regarding
their listing to the Commission, which shall publish a notice regarding the
modalities for submitting such observations. Where observations are submitted,
the Commission shall review the relevant listing and inform the person, entity
or body accordingly. 
3.           The Commission shall
process personal data in order to carry out its tasks under this Regulation.
These tasks include: 
(a)     preparing and making amendments of
Annex II to this Regulation; 
(b)     including the contents of Annex II in
the electronic, consolidated list of persons, groups and entities subject to EU
financial sanctions available on the Commission website[4]; 
(c)     processing of information on the
impact of the measures of this Regulation such as the value of frozen funds and
information on authorisations granted by the competent authorities.
4.           The Commission may process
relevant data relating to criminal offences committed by listed natural
persons, and to criminal convictions or security measures concerning such
persons, only to the extent that such processing is necessary for the preparation
of Annex II to this Regulation. Such data shall not be
made public or exchanged.
5.           For the purposes of this
Regulation, the Commission unit listed in Annex III is designated as
“controller” for the Commission within the meaning of Article 2(d) of Regulation
(EC) No 45/2001, in order to ensure that the natural persons concerned can
exercise their rights under Regulation (EC) No 45/2001.
Article 14
1.           Member States shall lay
down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of the provisions of
this Regulation and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are
implemented. The penalties provided for must be effective, proportionate and
dissuasive.
2.           Member States shall notify
the Commission of those rules without delay after the entry into force of this
Regulation and shall notify it of any subsequent amendment.
Article 15
Where there is, in this Regulation, a
requirement to notify, inform or otherwise communicate with the Commission, the
address and other contact details to be used for such communication shall be
those indicated in Annex III.
Article 16
This Regulation shall apply:
(a)          within the territory of the Union,
including its airspace;
(b)          on board any aircraft or any
vessel under the jurisdiction of a Member State;
(c)          to any person inside or outside
the territory of the Union who is a national of a Member State;
(d)          to any legal person, entity or
body which is incorporated or constituted under the law of a Member State;
(e)          to any legal person, entity or
body in respect of any business done in whole or in part within the Union.
Article 17
This Regulation shall enter into force on
the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding
in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, […]
                                                                       For
the Council
                                                                       The
President
                                                                       […]
ANNEX I
List of equipment which might be
used for internal repression as referred to in Article 2 and Article 3 
1.           Fire-arms, ammunition and related
accessories therefor, as follows:
1.1    Firearms not controlled by ML 1 and ML
2 of the Common Military List of the European Union ('Common Military List')[5];
1.2    Ammunition specially designed for the
firearms listed in item 1.1 and specially designed components therefor;
1.3    Weapon-sights not controlled by the
Common Military List.
2.           Bombs and grenades not controlled
by the Common Military List.
3.           Vehicles as follows:
3.1    Vehicles equipped with a water cannon,
specially designed or modified for the purpose of riot control;
3.2    Vehicles specially designed or modified
to be electrified to repel borders;
3.3    Vehicles specially designed or modified
to remove barricades, including construction equipment with ballistic
protection;
3.4    Vehicles specially designed for the
transport or transfer of prisoners and/or detainees;
3.5    Vehicles specially designed to deploy
mobile barriers;
3.6    Components for the vehicles specified
in items 3.1 to 3.5 specially designed for the purposes of riot control.
Note 1  This item does not control vehicles
specially designed for the purposes of fire-fighting.
Note 2  For the purposes of item 3.5 the
term "vehicles" includes trailers.
4.           Explosive substances and related
equipment as follows:
4.1    Equipment and devices specially
designed to initiate explosions by electrical or non-electrical means,
including firing sets, detonators, igniters, boosters and detonating cord, and
specially designed components therefor; except those specially designed for a
specific commercial use consisting of the actuation or operation by explosive
means of other equipment or devices the function of which is not the creation
of explosions (e.g., car air-bag inflaters, electric-surge arresters of fire
sprinkler actuators);
4.2    Linear cutting explosive charges not
controlled by the Common Military List;
4.3    Other explosives not controlled by the
Common Military List and related substances as follows:
a.       amatol;
b.       nitrocellulose (containing more than
12,5 % nitrogen);
c.       nitroglycol;
d.       pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN);
e.       picryl chloride;
f.        2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT).
5.           Protective equipment not
controlled by ML 13 of the Common Military List as follows:
5.1    Body armour providing ballistic and/or
stabbing protection;
5.2    Helmets providing ballistic and/or
fragmentation protection, anti-riot helmets, antiriot shields and ballistic
shields.
Note: This item does not control:
-        equipment specially designed for
sports activities;
-        equipment specially designed for
safety of work requirements.
6.           Simulators, other than those
controlled by ML 14 of the Common Military List, for training in the use of
firearms, and specially designed software therefor.
7.           Night vision, thermal imaging
equipment and image intensifier tubes, other than those controlled by the
Common Military List.
8.           Razor barbed wire.
9.           Military knives, combat knives
and bayonets with blade lengths in excess of 10 cm.
10.         Production equipment specially
designed for the items specified in this list.
11.         Specific technology for the
development, production or use of the items specified in this list.
ANNEX II
List of natural and legal persons,
entities or bodies referred to in Article 4 
1.           
ANNEX
III
List of competent authorities in the
Member States referred to in Articles 3(2), 6, 7, 8, 9, 11(1) and 13(4) and
address for notifications to the European Commission
(To be completed by the Member States) 
A.        Competent
authorities in each Member State:
BELGIUM
BULGARIA
CZECH REPUBLIC
DENMARK
GERMANY
ESTONIA
IRELAND
GREECE
SPAIN
FRANCE
ITALY
CYPRUS
LATVIA
LITHUANIA
LUXEMBOURG
HUNGARY
MALTA
NETHERLANDS
AUSTRIA
POLAND
PORTUGAL
ROMANIA
SLOVENIA
SLOVAKIA
FINLAND
SWEDEN
UNITED KINGDOM
B.         Address
for notifications to or other communication with the European Commission:
European Commission
Service for Foreign Policy Instruments 
CHAR 12/096
B-1049 Bruxelles/Brussel 
Belgium
E-mail: relex-sanctions@ec.europa.eu 
Tel.: (32 2) 295 66 73
[1]               OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.
[2]               OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31.
[3]               OJ
C 69, 18.3.2010, p. 19.
[4]               http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/cfsp/sanctions/consol-list_en.htm
[5]               OJ L 88, 29.3.2007, p. 58.