On 12 May, Advocate General (“A-G”) Hogan issued an Opinion in a case before the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) concerning the application of the EU Blocking Statute (Regulation (EC) No 2271/96). While the Opinion is not binding on the CJEU, it signals that the EU and Member State courts are likely to take a strict approach in their interpretation of the Blocking Regulation, and highlights the complexities that face European businesses…
The scope of the two Open General Export Licences (OGEL) for security items has been further refined and amendments to the OGELs were on Wednesday (26 May 2021) published by the Department for International Trade in a Notice to Exporters. The updated OGELs permit the export of low risk information security items that rely on encryption technologies listed in Schedule 1 to each OGEL. The new Information Security OGELs cover a significantly wider range of…
On 10 May, the Council of the European Union adopted a revised version of the EU’s Dual-Use Regulation. This is the first major reform to the structure of the EU’s export control regime since 2009. The text, which was passed by the European Parliament on 26 March, has been under negotiation for five years and was agreed in November 2020 (see our previous blog post). Key changes include two new general export authorisations, stricter controls…
The UK Export Control Joint Unit has published a revised guidance note on exporting military or dual-use technology. This guidance clarifies a number of common queries regarding technology exports, particularly around the use of cloud storage and remote data infrastructure through which information could be routed. The guidance also addresses the application of the special arrangements in Northern Ireland under the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement. The guidance affirms the position on how key definitions and concepts…