Council Regulation (EU) 2020/488Show full title

Article 1

Council Regulation (EU) No 1352/2014 is amended as follows:

(1)

Article 3(1) is replaced by the following:

‘1.

Annex I shall include natural or legal persons, entities and bodies identified by the Sanctions Committee as engaging in or providing support for acts that threaten the peace, security or stability of Yemen, including but not limited to:

(a)

acts obstructing or undermining the successful completion of the political transition, as outlined in the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative and Implementation Mechanism Agreement;

(b)

acts impeding the implementation of the outcomes of the final report of the Comprehensive National Dialogue Conference through violence, or attacks on essential infrastructure;

(c)

planning, directing or committing acts that violate applicable international human rights law or international humanitarian law, or acts that constitute human rights abuses, in Yemen, including sexual violence in armed conflict, or the recruitment or use of children in armed conflict in violation of international law;

(d)

acts violating the arms embargo imposed by Article 1 of Decision 2014/932/CFSP or obstructing the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Yemen or access to, or distribution of, humanitarian assistance in Yemen.’;

(2)

the following article is inserted:

‘Article 3a

By way of derogation from Articles 1a and 2, the competent authorities of the Member States may authorise:

(a)

the provision of technical assistance, financing or financial assistance related to the activities described in Article 1a;

(b)

the release of certain frozen funds or economic resources, or the making available of certain funds or economic resources,

under such conditions as they deem appropriate, and provided that the Sanctions Committee has determined on a case-by-case basis that a derogation is necessary to facilitate the work of the United Nations and other humanitarian organisations in Yemen or for any other purpose consistent with the objectives of UNSCR 2140 (2014) and UNSCR 2216 (2015).’;

(3)

in Article 13(1), point (a) is replaced by the following:

‘(a)

in respect of funds frozen under Article 2 and authorisations granted under Articles 3a, 4, 5, 6 and 7;’.

Article 2

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.

Done at Brussels, 2 April 2020.

For the Council

The President

A. Metelko-Zgombić