On 4 November 2020, the Commission published the Proposal to amend Council Regulation 428/2009 by granting a Union General Export Authorisation (“EU001”) for the export of certain dual-use items from the Union to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
In particular, Annex IIa (providing for a EU001 for certain low-risk transactions) is amended as follows.
The UK has been included in the list of destinations as follows:
• "Exports to Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland,including Liechtenstein, United Kingdom and United States of America";
in Part 2 the following is inserted after "Switzerland, including Liechtenstein":
• "- United Kingdom (without prejudice to the application of this Regulation to and in the UK in respect of Northern Ireland in accordance with Annex 2, point 47, of the IE/NI Protocol, listing the provisions of Union law referred to in Article 5(4) of the Withdrawal Agreement)".
The Proposal is motivated by the urgence of mitigating the potential disruptive effects of the UK withdrawal to the EU’s competitiveness. Therefore, the UK would be added to the list of those third countries where certain dual-use items can be exported from the EU under certain conditions. This would allow to relieve the administrative burden for authorities and operators of both sides. Then, the Proposal aims eventually at facilitating the trade among the EU and the UK and Northern Ireland.
In this regard, the proposal is consistent with the general approach to contingency measures to address a withdrawal of the UK without agreement.
Considered that the list of destinations covered by the EU001 is established by the Regulation and that at the Commission has no power to add other countries to that list, a regulation of the European Parliament and Council is the only adequate form of legal act to address this situation.
No publicly consultation on the proposal took place.