Is there a plan to harmonise Export Controls across the EU so that there is no competitive advantage between states?

Question

The assessment being supplied via the UK advice system is contra to information being offered to competitors in other European countries, is there therefore a plan to provide a level playing field for exporting businesses across the EU.

(This question was asked at one of our recent webinars on Export Controls. You can listen to this webinar on our recent webinars page at https://opentoexport.com/info/webinars/)

Answer

The Dual Use list and the consolidated criteria for reviewing licence applications should be applied equally across all member states within the EU. It is only the military lists which are set by national authorities, but even then they are based upon the same international agreements so in theory they should be fairly similar.

Answer

While the EU Regulation 428/2009 is directly implementable in all 28 EU Member States, aspects such as licensing and technical assessments are performed at a Member State level. Ideally all technical assessments will be consistent but with a technical list open to interpretation in some areas it is possible that different conclusions will be reached. If you have evidence of another Member State assessing an item differently to the view taken by the UK, you should initially contact the ECO Helpline (at [email protected] telephone 020 7215 4594) so that the matter can be investigated.

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