European Union publishes new open licences or EU General Export Authorisations for export of controlled dual-use items

The European Union (EU) is responsible for legislation concerning export controls

of dual-use items (i.e. goods and technologies that can be used for both civilian and military purposes).

The EU controls are enshrined in the EU Dual-Use Regulation - currently Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009.

As part of its ongoing remit in relation to controls on dual-use goods, the EU has introduced a number of new open general licences or European Union General Export Authorisations (EU GEAs).

These changes have been made in an amendment to the existing EU Dual-Use Regulation. The amending legislation is Council Regulation (EU) No 1232/2011 published at: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2011/december/tradoc_148465.pdf

The regulation and new licences come into force on 7 January 2011 and exporters of controlled dual-use items will need to take appropriate ACTION

Under EU legislation, controlled dual-use items may not leave the EU customs territory without an export authorisation issued by the relevant authority in the Member State in which the exporter is established.

EU Member States may issue export licences which are either:

•Individual licences granted to one exporter and licenses exports to one destination and end user.

•Global authorisations (granted to one exporter and cover one or more items to one or more countries/end users.

•National general export authorisations

•General Export Authorisations

The EU Dual-Use Regulation 428/2009 provided originally for only one General Export Authorisation. This was known as the Community General Export Authorisation (CGEA) and referred to as EU001. It authorised the export of most items in Annex I of the Dual-Use Regulation to seven specified countries (i.e. Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and the USA).

You can download the EU Dual Use Regulation at: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2009/june/tradoc_143390.pdf.

What are the new general licences published by the EU?

The new EU GEAs which came into force on 7 January 2011 are as follows:

•EU GEA 001 (EU001) is a reissued and renamed version of the existing CGEA. The licence is also amended to include Liechtenstein as a permitted destination.

Additionally a further five new open general licences have been published as follows:

•EU GEA 002 (EU002) - export of certain dual-use items to certain destinations

•EU GEA 003 (EU003) - export after repair/replacement

•EU GEA 005 (EU004) - temporary export for exhibition or fair

•EU GEA 005 (EU005) - telecommunications

•EU GEA 006 (EU006) - chemicals

If you already hold the CGEA (now referred to as EU GEA 001) then you do not need to re-register for this licence, although you will need to print out both Council Regulation 428/2009 and Council Regulation1232/2011 for your records.

How to access published versions of the EU GEAs

As things stand, the EU GEAs are not currently published as individual licence documents. To download the relevant authorisation appropriate for your export needs, initially download Council Regulation 1232/2011. You will find the licences are included as annexes within the EU Dual-Use legislation.

With specific regard to EU GEA No EU001 you need to consult the text of the EU Dual Use Regulation (i.e. Regulation 428/2009) in conjunction with the amending Regulation 1232/2011.

You need to keep a copy of the relevant regulations for your records.

Guidance on licensing coverage

Each of the licences incorporated within Council Regulation 1232/2011 provides specific licensing coverage including:

•a precise list of destinations to which exports are permitted

•a specific list of items that may be exported to those destinations

•a specific set of conditions of use, which must be adhered to and proven when exporting under the particular general authorisation

It is your responsibility as the exporter and knowing your business, to ensure that you are aware of the end-use destination and intended application of your items for export and to adequately inform yourself of appropriate licensing conditions by reading the published legislation carefully.

To help you identify if a licence is appropriate to your export needs in terms of permitted licensing coverage you can access the following complementary guidance material published by both the EU and the Export Control Organisation:

•you can view the destination and item coverage of each of these in a brief one page summary document published on the export control pages of the Department for Business website.

•the European Union have also published a fact sheet with details about EU GEAs published at: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/html/148466.htm. This guidance includes a summary of licensing coverage and answers to frequently asked questions.

Power to revoke use of licence from an exporter

An important aspect of Council Regulation (EU) No 1232/2011 is that under this legislation, national export licensing authorities are now empowered to withdraw the benefit of an exporter’s use of an EU GEA.