Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 setting up a Community regime for the control of exports, transfer, brokering and transit of dual-use items

Controls of exports of dual-use items and technology play a key role in the fight against the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and conventional weapons and significantly contribute to regional and international security and stability. Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 setting up a Community regime for the control of exports, transfer, brokering and transit of dual-use items (hereunder 'the Regulation') implements international commitments under United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1540 (2004), international agreements such as the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and multilateral export control regimes such as the Wassenaar Arrangement, the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the Australia Group and the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).

The EU export control system was set up in the 1990s under Regulation (EC) No 3381/94 and Decision 94/942/CFSP, and was considerably strengthened with the adoption of Regulation (EC) No 1334/2000. Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 introduced significant improvements to the EU export control regime, in particular in response to the EU Strategy against WMD proliferation of December 2003 and in light of reports from exporters and industry.

The Regulation provides for the free circulation of dual-use items – with some exceptions – inside the EU and lays down basic principles and common rules for the control of the export, brokering, transit and transfer of dual-use items, in the framework of the common commercial policy. It also provides for administrative cooperation and harmonised policies and tools for implementation and enforcement. The Regulation is directly applicable to 'exporters' but requires some additional implementing measures by the EU Member States under a 'hybrid' system, whereby national competent authorities are in particular responsible for licensing decisions.

Article 25 of Regulation (EC) 428/2009 calls for the Commission to present, every three years, a “comprehensive implementation and impact assessment report” to the Council and Parliament including, as appropriate, proposals for amendments. Article 25(3) stipulates that special sections of the report shall deal with the activities of the Dual-Use Coordination Group (DUCG), the introduction of a secure and encrypted system for the exchange of information between Member States and the Commission, as well as implementation of Article 15(1) and (2) regarding updates to the control lists and Article 24 regarding national penalties in case of infringement to the Regulation.

This report provides information on the implementation and impact of the Regulation since its adoption until the beginning of 2013 and thus essentially covers activities in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)710: Follow the progress of this report through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:710:FIN

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