Reform
EU dual-use regulation reform: Agreement on new export rules
The EU Council and the European Parliament have agreed on a new dual-use regulation. It will replace the existing one from 2009. Here is a first brief overview.
20.11.2020
At a glance: What to expect from the new EU regulation
The reform of the EU dual-use regulation has been under discussion since summer 2016. Protecting human rights is a major goal of these planned changes. In this context, the scope of control in the area of software and technology for interception and surveillance will be expanded. Exports of interception and surveillance technology from the EU will be subject to licensing in future. Authoritarian regimes will no longer be able to use surveillance technology from the EU for the suppression of opposition groups and/or violations of human rights. In addition to protecting of human rights, changes of the EU dual-use regulation also aim to make so-called "emerging technologies" more controllable.
Objective: Harmonizing EU export rules for dual-use goods
Another goal of the EU regulation reform is to harmonize the dual-use export rules in all EU member states. Closer cooperation between the member states should lead to a better and more uniform EU policy on dual-use export controls in the future. Some of the planned measures to ensure this include:
- New mechanisms to align and coordinate
- New forms of licensing to make it easier for companies
- Better enforceability of controls through increased cooperation at EU-level between licensing bodies and customs authorities
- More transparency in the annual report of the EU Commission
Official new EU regulation: Text not available yet
Confirmation of all EU member states is now the next step following the agreement on the amendment of the dual-use regulation. The official text of the new regulation has therefore not yet been published. Experts assume that an English version of the text will be available at the earliest after the final confirmation of the negotiation result by the EU member states. Official translations will not be available until 2021. You can find further details in the official press release of the EU Council.
Once there are news, we will keep you posted in our AEB newsletter and here in the AEB online magazine.
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