Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1480
of 14 October 2020
implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1542 concerning restrictive measures against the proliferation and use of chemical weapons

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EU) 2018/1542 of 15 October 2018 concerning restrictive measures against the proliferation and use of chemical weapons, and in particular Article 12 thereof,
OJ L 259, 16.10.2018, p. 12.
Having regard to the proposal from the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,
Whereas:
(1) On 15 October 2018, the Council adopted Regulation (EU) 2018/1542.
(2) On 20 August 2020, Alexei Navalny, a prominent opposition leader in Russia, was admitted to a hospital in Omsk, Russian Federation, due to his serious health condition.
(3) On 22 August 2020, Alexei Navalny was transported to Berlin, Germany, where he was thoroughly examined.
(4) On 2 September 2020, the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany announced that a specialised laboratory of the Federal Armed Forces had found evidence that Alexei Navalny had been subject to poisoning with a toxic nerve agent of the Novichok group. That finding was subsequently corroborated by laboratories in France and Sweden, as announced on 14 September 2020.
(5) The European Council, in its conclusions of 1 and 2 October 2020, condemned the assassination attempt on Alexei Navalny. The use of chemical weapons constitutes a serious breach of international law. The European Council called upon the Russian Federation’s authorities to fully cooperate with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to ensure an impartial international investigation and to bring those responsible to justice.
(6) In that context, and in view of the continued threat posed by the proliferation and use of chemical weapons, six persons and one entity should be included in the list of natural and legal persons, entities and bodies subject to restrictive measures set out in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2018/1542.
(7) Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2018/1542 should therefore be amended accordingly,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: