On 21 December 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) issued its judgment in Bank Melli Iran (C-124/20), which we have previously written about here. The judgment relates to the application of the EU Blocking Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 2271/96). The Blocking Regulation prohibits EU businesses from complying with certain extraterritorial US sanctions targeting Iran and Cuba. In many Member States, breaches of the Blocking Regulation can expose you to criminal penalties, albeit…
On 15 December 2021, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the challenges and prospects for multilateral weapons of mass destruction arms control and disarmament regimes. The resolution calls for the EU to play a strong role, and for member states to show continuous support, in all major disarmament treaties and non-proliferation regimes. The resolution states that renewed global arms control and disarmament efforts are essential to the EU’s security, amid concerns that key arms…
Following the entry into force of the new EU Dual-Use Regulation 2021/821 last month (see also our recent post), the EU has introduced new document codes that need to be used on EU customs export declarations for exports and transits of dual-use items. Notably, specific codes now apply depending on the relevant (type of) authorisation/licence. The old code “X002” (which was previously valid for all dual-use authorisations) has been replaced and cannot be used anymore.…
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…