THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 207 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,
Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,
Whereas:
(1)
Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 requires dual-use items to be subject to effective control when they are exported from or transit through the Union, or are delivered to a third country as a result of brokering services provided by a broker resident or established in the Union.
(2)
In order to enable Member States and the Union to comply with their international commitments, Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 establishes the common list of dual-use items that are subject to controls in the Union. Decisions on the items subject to controls are taken within the framework of the Australia Group, the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Wassenaar Arrangement and the Chemical Weapons Convention.
(3)
Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 provides for the list of dual-use items set out in Annex I to that Regulation to be updated in conformity with the relevant obligations and commitments, and any modifications thereto, that Member States have accepted as members of the international non-proliferation regimes and export control arrangements, or by ratification of relevant international treaties.
(4)
The list of dual-use items set out in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 needs to be updated regularly so as to ensure full compliance with international security obligations, to guarantee transparency, and to maintain competitiveness of exporters. Delays with regard to the updating of that list of dual-use items may have negative effects on security and international non-proliferation efforts, as well as on the performance of economic activities by exporters in the Union. At the same time, the technical nature of the amendments and the fact that those amendments are to be in conformity with decisions taken in the international export control regimes means that an accelerated procedure should be used to bring the necessary updates into force in the Union.
(5)
Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 introduces Union General Export Authorisations as one of the four types of export authorisations available under that Regulation. Union General Export Authorisations allow exporters established in the Union to export certain specified items to certain specified destinations subject to the conditions of those authorisations.
(6)
Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 sets out the Union General Export Authorisations currently in force in the Union. Given the nature of such Union General Export Authorisations, there may be a need to remove certain destinations from the scope of those authorisations, in particular if changing circumstances show that facilitated export transactions should no longer be authorised under a Union General Export Authorisation for a particular destination. Such removal of a destination from the scope of a Union General Export Authorisation should not preclude an exporter from applying for another type of export authorisation under the relevant provisions of Regulation (EC) No 428/2009.
(7)
In order to ensure regular and timely updates of the common list of dual-use items in conformity with the obligations and commitments taken by Member States within the international export control regimes, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) should be delegated to the Commission in respect of amending Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 within the scope of Article 15 of that Regulation. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level.
(8)
In order to allow for a swift Union response to changing circumstances as regards the assessment of the sensitivity of exports under Union General Export Authorisations, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission in respect of amending Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 as regards the removal of destinations from the scope of the Union General Export Authorisations. Given that such modifications should only be made in response to an increase in the assessment of the risk of the relevant exports, and that the continued use of Union General Export Authorisations for those exports could have an imminent adverse effect on the security of the Union and its Member States, an urgency procedure may be used by the Commission.
(9)
The Commission, when preparing and drawing up delegated acts, should ensure a simultaneous, timely and appropriate transmission of relevant documents to the European Parliament and to the Council.
(10)
Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 should therefore be amended accordingly,
HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: