Brussels, 09/01/2007 (Agence Europe) - In December, the European Commission brought forward a draft regulation amending current Community arrangements on the control of exports of “dual-use” items and technology, that is, items and technologies that could be used for civil, military, or indeed terrorist, ends. This initiative reflects the EU's desire to respond to the calls from the United Nations and the European Council, in the wake of the 11 September terrorist attacks, to strengthen control over such items and technologies. Over and above this security concern, the proposal also aimed to simplify regulations for business and to improve coordination of export control at international level.
Following the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, the international community came out overwhelmingly in favour of strengthening control of dual-use items and technologies. The UN Security Council, in 2004, adopted Resolution 1540 which calls for the general use of export controls and the introduction of controls on the transit and brokerage of dual-use items. The EU Action Plan and Strategy to counter the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), adopted by the European Council respectively in June and December 2003, also call for the implementation of a series of concrete measures to strengthen controls and how they were applied.
It was against this background, following intense discussions with Member States and consultation of representatives of the industries concerned that, at the end of December, the Commission presented a proposal to revise the current Community regime for the control of dual-use items and technology (regulation EC no 1334/2000). This proposal has the triple aim of: - improving security by improving the effectiveness of export controls in the EU27; - providing a more “user-friendly” regulatory framework for businesses in order to enhance their international competitiveness, notably by clarifying the Community regime and reducing regulatory burdens; - and promoting increased coordination of export controls at international level.
In terms of improving security, the regulation proposed by the Commission provides notably for the following: - in line with UN Security Council Regulation 1540, controls will be applied to items in transit within the EU, and controls will be introduced on brokerage activities where these deal with items or technologies which could be used in a WMD programme; - Member States will impose criminal sanctions for serious infringements of export controls; - information exchange between Member States and between the different departments of their administrations will be improved; - adequate review opportunities will be introduced in cases where one Member State intends to authorise exports which another Member State considers contrary to its essential security interests or which have previously been refused by another Member State; - there will be improved cooperation between Member States in the application of national controls on non-listed items.
On improving the regulatory environment, the proposed amendment of the “duel-use” regulation provides for: - the replacement of the prior authorisation, currently applied to intra-EU transfers of some types of items, with a “pre-notification” system, which will still allow Member States to block undesirable transfers; - the clarification of some provisions in the regulation, particularly those on intangible transfers of technology, which are currently applied in different ways by Member States; - the statement of the principle that legal security should be provided to genuine EU exporters who have carried out exports from the EU in line with Community regulations on export controls, in the event of these exports being judged illegal by a third country, and the call for such situations to be dealt with through increased cooperation with third countries; - the promotion of global licences based on greater reliance on internal controls implemented by companies, and the increased use of Community and national general export authorisations; - provision for the establishment by national authorities of indicative deadlines for the processing of applications for export authorisations.
The Commission also proposes to improve consistency in the application of the regulation by Member States through the adoption of guidelines or best practice for its implementation. Some provisions aim to promote greater coordination of export controls at international level, particularly through closer coordination of EU positions in international export control regimes, greater input from EU industry in the identification of items which should be subject to control, and ensuring membership of all EU Member States in the regimes. The Commission has also put in place a technical assistance programme to help third countries set up appropriate export control systems. The proposed regulation includes a clause providing for the negotiation of agreements with third countries on mutual recognition of export controls, and a provision on the possibility of adopting of ad hoc export control procedures for EU research programmes and other projects involving third countries.
Finally, the Commission proposes the creation of a regulatory committee, in particular for the introduction of amendments to the annexes of the regulation, which contain the lists of controlled items and other technical provisions. This procedure, through which the Commission would adopt amendments after obtaining the favourable opinion of a committee composed of Member States, will enable the list of controlled items to be up-dated more speedily, a process which at present requires a Council decision on the basis of a Commission proposal.
Dual-use items cover a very wide range of goods and technologies, such as chemical and biological products, nuclear technologies, optical and laser material used in avionics and some software. These are high value added goods and technologies, in which EU industry has a competitive edge. Export controls of dual-use items and technologies play a key role in the fight against the proliferation of WMD. They prevent this type of product or technology falling into the hands of countries which could use them in proliferation programmes, or of organisations which could use them for military or terrorist purposes. The text of the proposal may be found at:
http: //europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/com/2006/com2006_0829en01.pdf (ol)