COMMUNITY CONTROL ON DUAL-USE GOODS
(21118)
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Presidency text of draft Council Regulation setting up a Community
régime for the control of exports of dual-use items and technology.
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| Legal base:
| Article 133 EC; qualified majority voting
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| Department: |
Trade and Industry |
| Basis of consideration:
| Minister's letter of 15 June 2000
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| Previous Committee Report:
| HC 23-xv (1999-2000), paragraph 10 (19 April 2000)
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| To be discussed in Council:
| No date set; but see (21272) at paragraph 8 of this Report
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| Committee's assessment:
| Politically important |
| Committee's decision:
| Cleared (decision reported on 19 April 2000)
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Background
6.1 The term 'dual-use goods' covers goods
and technologies which are primarily intended for civil applications,
but which may be used for military purposes, or which could significantly
enhance the military capacities of the countries acquiring them.
We cleared this draft Council Regulation, revising earlier legislation,
on 19 April, but put a question to the Minister for Competition
and Consumers Affairs at the Department of Trade and Industry
(Dr Howells) which he answers in a letter of 15 June.
6.2 We noted that the Government had successfully
argued for a change in Article 4(2) to include a definition of
military end-use control which specifies categories of destination
to which the control will apply. These will be countries which
are subject to a binding UN arms embargo, or to an arms embargo
imposed by a Common Position or Joint Action adopted by the Council
or a decision of the OSCE. We concluded that this was an improvement
on the earlier text but asked whether the Government intended
that the controls should apply to the People's Republic of China
(PRC). The PRC does not fit into any of the categories specified.
The Minister's letter
6.3 The Minister replied that, in brief,
the military end-use control in the draft Regulation would not
currently apply to China, but the UK has the discretion to apply
such a control under other powers if it chose. The arms embargo
currently in force for the PRC follows a declaration by the Madrid
European Council of 27 June 1989.
6.4 However, the Minister says, national
controls on the export of dual-use goods to China could be imposed
either under Article 11 of Regulation (EEC) No. 2603/69, if the
controls were justified on grounds of public policy, public security
or the protection of human health and life, or under Article 5(1)
of the draft Regulation, if they were considered appropriate for
reasons of public security or human rights considerations.
Conclusion
6.5 We cleared this proposal in April
and the Minister has now responded to our query with regard to
the People's Republic of China. He does not comment on how effective
the present embargo is, and makes no suggestion of a change of
policy, at either EU or national level, on the export of dual-use
goods to the PRC.
6.6 We now expect this revised Regulation
to be adopted at an early Council, together with the Joint Action
on Weapons of Mass Destruction, which we also consider today[13].
13 (21272) - ; see paragraph 8 of this Report. Back
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