Export control assistance

Export Control Assistance

Export control calendar

Export control assistance programmes originated in the post-cold war context of the early 1990s. In the USA, they were initially focused on the Soviet Union and its successor states. As part of the process of first creating and then developing the European Union (EU), member states expanded and intensified their international contacts in the field of export control through strengthened internal cooperation. Export control assistance at EU level mainly emerged in the context of enlargement, with the purpose of preparing countries for the EU acquis communautaire for controls of both dual-use and conventional exports, as expressed in the treaties, the secondary legislation and EU policies.

The creation of a single market and of a common and uniform legal base for dual-use transfers in the EU reduced the level of control on intra-Community dual-use transfers. Most dual-use items that have both military and civilian applications move freely within the single market of the European Union, and any member state can issue an export licence which authorizes their export (including for items that are physically located elsewhere in the EU). Consequently, the EU has an inherent interest in ensuring effective export controls of all EU member states. The emerging European perspective on security threats is reflected in the EU Security Strategy and the EU Strategy against Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, both adopted in 2003.

• Background paper 6 (Dr. Sibylle Bauer)
  Enhancing export control-related CTR (Cooperative Threat Reduction) programmes: Options for the EU