Nearly 3 years after the launch of the procedure, discussions on the export control regulation for dual-use goods - those goods that have legitimate civilian applications but can also be used for the development of weapons or other applications that violate human rights - could finally be brought to a successful conclusion.
On Wednesday 19 February, at a meeting of the European Parliament’s Committee on Trade (INTA), the participants in a first trilogue, which took place in Strasbourg during the previous week, said this meeting had been very promising.
It is “a big progress” that there is now something to discuss, stressed rapporteur Klaus Buchner (Greens/EFA, Germany) (see EUROPE 11941/4). Indeed, the Croatian EU Council Presidency appears willing to move forward and seems to have more room for manoeuvre than its predecessors, emphasized Bernd Lange (S&D, Germany).
Progress is reported to have already been made in the areas of transparency, notification, granting of licences and the export licensing system, human rights and cyber-surveillance technologies. Discussions on the latter subject will still be necessary, but two technical meetings are still on the agenda before the next - and perhaps last - trilogue, scheduled for around 26 March. (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)