In a letter dated 8 June to EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan, NGOs call on the European Commission to strengthen its position in the ongoing inter-institutional negotiations on dual-use goods (see EUROPE 12429/24, 11634/15).
These products, whose civil applications can be repurposed and can then be used to violate human rights, are subject to approval by national authorities before being exported.
In September 2016, the European Commission presented its proposal to overhaul the EU export control regime for these goods, adapting it to the risks of human rights violations linked to the use of new technologies, including cyber-surveillance tools, by dictatorships.
The signatories of the letter are concerned that the Commission's compromise position in these negotiations may result in a weakening of the scope of the recast. Concerned about the "ongoing stream of evidence that digital surveillance technology continues to be exported from the Union to repressive regimes around the world", they call on the Commission to return to its original proposal of September 2016.
They are calling on the institution to return to a stricter definition of the human rights standards to be assessed.
A mechanism for updating the EU checklist by Member States should be agreed in a transparent and consultative manner, the signatories also believe.
Welcoming the Commission's recent commitment to impose mandatory due diligence by EU companies on their supply chains, the signatories also call on the Commission to apply these requirements to the export control regime.
Finally, the NGOs urge the Commission to require Member States to publicly disclose export licences and the reasons for approving or refusing them.
A Commission spokesman reacted on Tuesday 9 June, saying it was "too early to anticipate what [...] the outcome of the discussions that are still ongoing" will be between the institutions.
To consult the letter: https://bit.ly/37kC02X (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)