On 13 and 17 March, the German export control authority Bundesamt für Wirtschaft und Ausfuhrkontrolle (BAFA), announced that, as of 1 April 2014, both Russia and Ukraine will be excluded from the scope of all German national General Export Licences. This does not mean that it will be impossible to export controlled items to Russia or Ukraine in the future; however, for each export of military or dual-use items to Russia or Ukraine individual export licences must be applied for (unless such export can be made under a General Export Licence issued by the EU). This will significantly increase the time and administrative burden required for future exports to Russia or Ukraine from Germany.
In addition, the German Government appears to be revisiting some export licenses which have already been issued for exports to Russia. On 19 March, the Federal Ministry of Economics announced that it had suspended export licences for the export of certain military equipment from Germany to Russia. The Ministry has also indicated that the respective exports were not planned for the near future and that it may reconsider its decision at a future date. Reportedly, the underlying contract held by a German company has a value of €100 million.
This follows the announcement on Tuesday 18 March that the UK is suspending all existing licences and application processing for both direct military and dual-use exports to Russia destined for units of the Russian armed forces or other state agencies which could be or are being deployed against Ukraine, as well as licences for exports to third countries for incorporation into equipment for export to Russia where there is a clear risk that the end product will be used against Ukraine. The UK is understood to have already suspended a number of licences for incorporation in third countries before export to Russia. The Export Control Organisation (ECO), the UK licensing authority, will contact existing licence holders to inform them of the suspension. Foreign Secretary William Hague has encouraged other EU Member States to take similar action.
The Netherlands is currently reviewing global military and dual use licences and it is likely that Russia will not be included as a permitted destination in these.
We are liaising with our European colleagues to determine whether other EU Member States will amend their export licensing regimes and will update this blog with further news in due course.
