Article 1 
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply: (a) ‘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. Technical assistance includes verbal forms of assistance; (b) ‘Sanctions Committee’ means the Committee established by paragraph 21 of UN Security Council Resolution 1521 (2003).
Article 2 
It shall be prohibited: (a) to provide technical assistance related to military activities, including to the provision, manufacture, maintenance and use of arms and of related materiel of all types, including weapons and ammunition, military vehicles and equipment, paramilitary equipment, and spare parts for the aforementioned, directly or indirectly to any non-governmental person, entity or body in or for use in Liberia; (b) to provide financing or financial assistance related to military activities, including in particular grants, loans and export credit insurance for any sale, supply, transfer or export of arms and related materiel, or for the provision of related technical assistance, directly or indirectly to any non-governmental person, entity or body in or for use in Liberia; or (c) to participate, knowingly and intentionally, in activities the object or effect of which is to circumvent the prohibitions referred to in points (a) or (b).
Article 3 
1. By way of derogation from Article 2, the competent authorities, as indicated in the websites listed in Annex I, in the Member State where the service provider is established, may authorise the provision of: (a) technical assistance intended solely for support of or use by the United Nations Mission in Liberia; or (b) technical assistance related to non-lethal equipment which is intended solely for humanitarian or protective use, provided that the Member State concerned has notified in advance the provision of such technical assistance to the Sanctions Committee. Such notifications shall contain all relevant information, including, where appropriate, the end-user, the proposed date of delivery and the itinerary of shipments. 2. Decisions on requests for authorisation shall be taken by competent authorities on a case-by-case basis, taking account of all relevant considerations including the criteria set out in the Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP of 8 December 2008 defining common rules governing control of exports of military technology and equipment ( 3 ). Competent authorities shall require safeguards against misuse of such authorisations and shall, where appropriate, make provisions for the repatriation of the delivered arms and related materiel. 3. No authorisations shall be granted for activities that have already taken place.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL The proposal for a Council Regulation is necessitated by the upcoming accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union. The Treaty concerning the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union[1] was signed by all Member States of the European Union and the Republic of Croatia at Brussels on 9 December 2011. Article 3 (3) of the Treaty of Accession provides that it shall enter into force on 1 July 2013 provided that all the instruments of ratification have been deposited before that date. Article 3(4) of the Treaty of Accession enables the institutions of the Union to adopt before accession measures referred to, inter alia, in Article 50 of the Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Republic of Croatia[2]. These measures shall enter into force only subject to and on the date of the entry into force of the Treaty of Accession. Article 50 of the Act of Accession provides that where acts of the institutions adopted prior to accession require adaptation by reason of accession, and the necessary adaptations have not been provided for in this Act or its Annexes, the Council or the Commission (if the original acts were adopted by the Commission) shall adopt the necessary acts. Point 2 of the Final Act[3] refers to the political agreement on a set of adaptations to acts adopted by the institutions which was reached between the Member States and Croatia in the context of the approval of the Treaty of Accession; the High Contracting Parties of the Treaty of Accession invited the Council and the Commission to adopt these adaptations before accession in accordance with Article 50 of the Act of Accession, completed and updated where necessary to take account of the evolution of the law of the Union. The present proposal regroups the technical adaptations to all Council regulations and decisions as well as to all European Parliament and Council regulations and decisions which require technical adaptation by reason of the accession of Croatia, into a single Council regulation. Alongside this proposal for a Council Regulation, the Commission transmits a series of separate proposals for several Council directives to the Council which cover technical adaptations to Council directives as well as to European Parliament and Council directives which also need technical adaptation by reason of the accession of Croatia. Each of these separate proposals for Council directives regroups the technical adaptations which correspond to different negotiation chapters. This structure is designed to facilitate the transposition of the directives by Member States into their respective legal orders, and is in line with the approach which was taken in view of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania[4]. It is foreseen that all the legal acts included in this package will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union at the same date. The present proposal and the other proposals included in this package will take into account technical adaptations to the acquis which were published in the Official Journal of the European Union until 1 September 2012. The reasons for this are to provide sufficient time for the legislative processes involved on the one hand, and for the fulfilment of the ensuing transposition and notification obligations by Member States as regards directives on the other hand. Adaptations which may be necessary to the acquis published in the Official Journal of the European Union after 1 September 2012 will be foreseen in the relevant acts themselves or done at a later stage through the appropriate procedure. In addition, the Commission intends to informally provide a list of such legislation to Member States in early July 2013.
Revised version (Article 3 ):
1. By way of derogation from Article 2, the competent authorities, as indicated in the websites listed in Annex I, in the Member State where the service provider is established, may authorise the provision of: (a) technical assistance intended solely for support of or use by the United Nations Mission in Liberia; or (b) technical assistance related to non-lethal equipment which is intended solely for humanitarian or protective use. 2. Decisions on requests for authorisation shall be taken by competent authorities on a case-by-case basis, taking account of all relevant considerations including the criteria set out in the Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP of 8 December 2008 defining common rules governing control of exports of military technology and equipment ( 3 ). Competent authorities shall require safeguards against misuse of such authorisations and shall, where appropriate, make provisions for the repatriation of the delivered arms and related materiel. 3. No authorisations shall be granted for activities that have already taken place.
Article 4 
Natural and legal persons, entities and bodies that intend to provide any assistance related to military activities to the Government of Liberia, as specified in Article 1, shall inform in advance the competent authority, as indicated in the websites listed in Annex I, in the Member State where they are resident or located. Such information shall contain all relevant information, including, where appropriate, the end-user, the proposed date of delivery and the itinerary of shipments. The Member State concerned shall immediately upon receipt of the relevant information notify the Sanctions Committee thereof.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL The proposal for a Council Regulation is necessitated by the upcoming accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union. The Treaty concerning the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union[1] was signed by all Member States of the European Union and the Republic of Croatia at Brussels on 9 December 2011. Article 3 (3) of the Treaty of Accession provides that it shall enter into force on 1 July 2013 provided that all the instruments of ratification have been deposited before that date. Article 3(4) of the Treaty of Accession enables the institutions of the Union to adopt before accession measures referred to, inter alia, in Article 50 of the Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Republic of Croatia[2]. These measures shall enter into force only subject to and on the date of the entry into force of the Treaty of Accession. Article 50 of the Act of Accession provides that where acts of the institutions adopted prior to accession require adaptation by reason of accession, and the necessary adaptations have not been provided for in this Act or its Annexes, the Council or the Commission (if the original acts were adopted by the Commission) shall adopt the necessary acts. Point 2 of the Final Act[3] refers to the political agreement on a set of adaptations to acts adopted by the institutions which was reached between the Member States and Croatia in the context of the approval of the Treaty of Accession; the High Contracting Parties of the Treaty of Accession invited the Council and the Commission to adopt these adaptations before accession in accordance with Article 50 of the Act of Accession, completed and updated where necessary to take account of the evolution of the law of the Union. The present proposal regroups the technical adaptations to all Council regulations and decisions as well as to all European Parliament and Council regulations and decisions which require technical adaptation by reason of the accession of Croatia, into a single Council regulation. Alongside this proposal for a Council Regulation, the Commission transmits a series of separate proposals for several Council directives to the Council which cover technical adaptations to Council directives as well as to European Parliament and Council directives which also need technical adaptation by reason of the accession of Croatia. Each of these separate proposals for Council directives regroups the technical adaptations which correspond to different negotiation chapters. This structure is designed to facilitate the transposition of the directives by Member States into their respective legal orders, and is in line with the approach which was taken in view of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania[4]. It is foreseen that all the legal acts included in this package will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union at the same date. The present proposal and the other proposals included in this package will take into account technical adaptations to the acquis which were published in the Official Journal of the European Union until 1 September 2012. The reasons for this are to provide sufficient time for the legislative processes involved on the one hand, and for the fulfilment of the ensuing transposition and notification obligations by Member States as regards directives on the other hand. Adaptations which may be necessary to the acquis published in the Official Journal of the European Union after 1 September 2012 will be foreseen in the relevant acts themselves or done at a later stage through the appropriate procedure. In addition, the Commission intends to informally provide a list of such legislation to Member States in early July 2013.
Revised version (Article 4 ):
Natural and legal persons, entities and bodies that intend to provide any assistance related to military activities or other security sector activities to the Government of Liberia, as specified in Article 1, shall inform in advance the competent authority, as indicated in the websites listed in Annex I, in the Member State where they are resident or located. Such information shall contain all relevant information, including, where appropriate, the purpose and end-user, the technical specifications and the quantity of equipment to be shipped, the supplier, the proposed date of delivery, the mode of transportation, and the itinerary of the shipments. The Member State concerned shall, upon receipt of the relevant information, in consultation with the Government of Liberia, notify the Sanctions Committee thereof, where the Government of Liberia has not provided that notification in accordance with paragraph 2(b)(ii) and (iii) of UN Security Council Resolution 2128 (2013).
Article 5 
Article 2 shall not apply to protective clothing, including flak jackets and military helmets, temporarily exported to Liberia by United Nations personnel, personnel of the European Union, the Community or its Member States, representatives of the media and humanitarian and development workers and associated personnel, for their personal use only.
Article 7 
Without prejudice to the rights and obligations of the Member States under the Charter of the United Nations, the Commission shall maintain all necessary contacts with the Committee established by paragraph 21 of UN Security Council Resolution 1521 (2003) for the purposes of effective implementation of this Regulation.
Article 8 
Member States shall immediately inform each other and the Commission 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 judgements handed down by national courts.
Article 8a 
1. Member States shall designate the competent authorities referred to in this Regulation and identify them in, or through, the websites as listed in Annex I. 2. Member States shall notify the Commission of their competent authorities without delay after the entry into force of this Regulation and shall notify it of any subsequent amendment.
Article 9 
The Commission shall be empowered to: (a) amend Annex I on the basis of information supplied by Member States; (b) amend Annexes II and III in order to bring them into line with changes that may be made to the Combined Nomenclature.
Article 10 
This Regulation shall apply notwithstanding any rights conferred, or obligations imposed, by any international agreement signed or any contract entered into or any licence or permit granted before 13 February 2004.
Article 11 
1. The Member States shall lay down the rules on sanctions applicable to infringements of the provisions of this Regulation and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. The sanctions provided for must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. 2. The Member States shall notify these rules to the Commission without delay after the entry into force of the Regulation and shall notify it of any subsequent amendment.
Article 12 
This Regulation shall apply: (a) within the territory of the Community, including its airspace; (b) on board any aircraft or any vessel under the jurisdiction of a Member State; (c) to any person elsewhere who is a national of a Member State; (d) to any legal person, group or entity which is incorporated or constituted under the law of a Member State; (e) to any legal person, group or entity doing business within the Community.
Article 14 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that 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.