Council Regulation (EU) No 692/2014 of 23 June 2014 concerning restrictions on the import into the Union of goods originating in Crimea or Sevastopol, in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol

Article 1

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

(a) ‘claim’ means any claim, whether asserted by legal proceedings or not, made before or after 25 June 2014, under or in connection with a contract or transaction, and includes in particular: (i) a claim for performance of any obligation arising under or in connection with a contract or transaction; (ii) a claim for extension or payment of a bond, financial guarantee or indemnity of whatever form; (iii) a claim for compensation in respect of a contract or transaction; (iv) a counterclaim; (v) a claim for the recognition or enforcement, including by the procedure of exequatur, of a judgment, an arbitration award or an equivalent decision, wherever made or given;

(b) ‘contract or transaction’ means any transaction of whatever form, whatever the applicable law, and whether comprising one or more contracts or similar obligations made between the same or different parties; for this purpose ‘contract’ includes a bond, guarantee or indemnity, particularly a financial guarantee or financial indemnity, and credit, whether legally independent or not, as well as any related provision arising under, or in connection with, the transaction;

(c) ‘goods originating in Crimea or Sevastopol’ means goods which are wholly obtained in Crimea or in Sevastopol or which have undergone their last substantial transformation there, in accordance, mutatis mutandis, with Articles 23 and 24 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code (¹);

(d) ‘territory of the Union’ means the territories of the Member States to which the Treaty is applicable, under the conditions laid down in the Treaty, including their airspace.

(e) ‘competent authorities’ means the competent authorities of the Member States as identified on the websites listed in  Annex I;

(f) ‘brokering services’ means: (i) the negotiation or arrangement of transactions for the purchase, sale or supply of goods and technology or of financial and technical services, including from a third country to any other third country; or (ii) the selling or buying of goods and technology or of financial and technical services, including where they are located in third countries for their transfer to another third country;

(g) ‘technical assistance’ means any technical support related to repairs, development, manufacture, assembly, testing, maintenance, or any other technical service, and may take forms such as instruction, advice, training, transmission of working knowledge or skills or consulting services; technical assistance includes verbal forms of assistance;

(h) ‘entity in Crimea or Sevastopol’ means any entity having its registered office, central administration or principal place of business in Crimea or Sevastopol, its subsidiaries or affiliates under its control in Crimea or Sevastopol, as well as branches and other entities operating in Crimea or Sevastopol;

(i) ‘investment services’ means the following services and activities: (i) reception and transmission of orders in relation to one or more financial instruments, (ii) execution of orders on behalf of clients, (iii) dealing on own account, (iv) portfolio management, (v) investment advice, (vi) underwriting of financial instruments and/or placing of financial instruments on a firm commitment basis, (vii) placing of financial instruments without a firm commitment basis, (viii) any service in relation to the admission to trading on a regulated market or trading on a multilateral trading facility;

(j) ‘Union shipowner’ has the same meaning as a ‘Community shipowner’ as defined in Article 2(2)(a) and (b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 3577/92. (²)

Article 2

It shall be prohibited:

(a) to import into the European Union goods originating in Crimea or Sevastopol;

(b) to provide, directly or indirectly, financing or financial assistance as well as insurance and reinsurance related to the import of the goods referred to in point (a).

Article 2a

It shall be prohibited to:

(a) acquire any new or extend any existing participation in ownership of real estate located in Crimea or Sevastopol;

(b) acquire any new or extend any existing participation in ownership or control of an entity in Crimea or Sevastopol, including the acquisition in full of such entity or the acquisition of shares, and other securities of a participating nature of such entity;

(c) grant or be part of any arrangement to grant any loan or credit or otherwise provide financing, including equity capital, to an entity in Crimea or Sevastopol, or for the documented purpose of financing such entity;

(d) create any joint venture in Crimea or Sevastopol or with an entity in Crimea or Sevastopol;

(e) provide investment services directly related to the activities referred to in points (a) to (d).

Article 2aa

The prohibition in paragraph 1 shall not apply to the sale, supply, transfer or export of banknotes denominated in any official currency of a Member State provided that such sale, supply, transfer or export is necessary for:

(a) the personal use of natural persons travelling to Crimea or Sevastopol or members of their immediate families travelling with them;

(b) the official purposes of international organisations enjoying immunities in accordance with international law located in Crimea or Sevastopol; or

(c) civil society and media activities that directly promote democracy, human rights or the rule of law in Crimea or Sevastopol which receive public funding from the Union, Member States or countries listed in Annex V.

Article 2b

It shall be prohibited to sell, supply, transfer, or export, directly or indirectly, goods and technology, whether or not originating in the Union, as listed in Annex II:

(a) to any natural or legal person, entity or body in Crimea or Sevastopol, or

(b) for use in Crimea or Sevastopol.

Annex II shall include certain goods and technologies suited for use in the following key sectors:

(i) transport;

(ii) telecommunications;

(iii) energy;

(iv) the prospection, exploration and production of oil, gas and mineral resources.

It shall be prohibited to:

(a) provide, directly or indirectly, technical assistance or brokering services related to the goods and technology as listed in Annex II, or related to the provision, manufacture, maintenance and use of such items to any natural or legal person, entity or body in Crimea or Sevastopol or for use in Crimea or Sevastopol;

(b) provide, directly or indirectly, financing or financial assistance related to the goods and technology as listed in Annex II to any natural or legal person, entity or body in Crimea or Sevastopol or for use in Crimea or Sevastopol.

Article 2c

It shall be prohibited to:

(a) provide, directly or indirectly, technical assistance or brokering services directly relating to infrastructure in Crimea or Sevastopol in the sectors referred to in Article 2b(1a), independently of the origin of the goods and technology;

(b) provide technical assistance, brokering services or other services related to the goods and services referred to in paragraphs 1, 2, 2a and 2b for their provision, directly or indirectly, to legal persons, entities or bodies in Crimea or Sevastopol;

(c) provide financing or financial assistance related to the goods and services referred to in paragraphs 1, 2, 2a and 2b for their provision, or for the provision of related technical assistance, brokering services or other services, directly or indirectly, to legal persons, entities or bodies in Crimea or Sevastopol;

(d) sell, license or transfer in any other way intellectual property rights or trade secrets as well as grant rights to access or re-use any material or information protected by means of intellectual property rights or constituting trade secrets related to the software referred to in paragraph 2b and to the provision, manufacture, maintenance and use of that software, directly or indirectly to any natural or legal person, entity or body in Crimea or Sevastopol or for use in Crimea or Sevastopol.

By way of derogation from paragraphs 1, 2, 2a, 2b and 3, the competent authorities may authorise the sale, supply, transfer, export, or provision of the services referred to therein, under such conditions as they deem appropriate, after having determined that this is necessary for:

(a) humanitarian purposes, such as delivering or facilitating the delivery of assistance, including medical supplies, food, or the transfer of humanitarian workers and related assistance, or for evacuations;

(b) civil society activities that directly promote democracy, human rights or the rule of law in Crimea or Sevastopol;

(c) the functioning of international organisations enjoying immunities in accordance with international law located in Crimea or Sevastopol;

(d) ensuring critical energy supply within the Union and the purchase, import or transport into the Union of titanium, aluminium, copper, nickel, palladium and iron ore;

(e) ensuring the continuous operation of infrastructures, hardware and software which are critical for human health and safety, or the safety of the environment;

(f) the establishment, operation, maintenance, fuel supply and retreatment and safety of civil nuclear capabilities, and the continuation of design, construction and commissioning required for the completion of civil nuclear facilities, the supply of precursor material for the production of medical radioisotopes and similar medical applications, or critical technology for environmental radiation monitoring, as well as for civil nuclear cooperation, in particular in the field of research and development;

(g) the provision of electronic communication services by Union telecommunication operators necessary for the operation, maintenance and security, including cybersecurity, of electronic communication services, in Ukraine, in the Union, between Ukraine and the Union, and for data centre services in the Union.

Article 2d

Article 2e

The competent authorities may grant, under such terms and conditions as they deem appropriate, an authorisation in relation to the activities referred to in Article 2a(1) and Article 2b(2), and to the goods and technology referred to in Article 2b(1) provided that they are:

(a) necessary for official purposes of international organisations enjoying immunities in accordance with international law located in Crimea or Sevastopol;

(b) related to projects exclusively in support of hospitals, or other public health institutions providing medical services or civilian education establishments located in Crimea or Sevastopol; or

(c) appliances or equipment for medical use.

The Commission and the Members States shall inform each other of the measures taken under this paragraph and share any other relevant information at their disposal.

Article 4

It shall be prohibited to participate, knowingly and intentionally, in activities the object or effect of which is to circumvent prohibitions in this Regulation, including by participating in such activities without deliberately seeking that object or effect but being aware that the participation may have that object or effect and accepting that possibility.

Article 5

Actions by natural or legal persons, entities or bodies shall not give rise to any liability of any kind on their part if they did not know, and had no reasonable cause to suspect, that their actions would infringe the measures set out in this Regulation.

Article 6

No claims in connection with any contract or transaction the performance of which has been affected, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, by the measures imposed under this Regulation, including claims for indemnity or any other claim of this type, such as a claim for compensation or a claim under a guarantee, particularly a claim for extension or payment of a bond, guarantee or indemnity, particularly a financial guarantee or financial indemnity, of whatever form, shall be satisfied, if they are made by:

(a) designated natural or legal persons, entities or bodies listed in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 269/2014;

(b) any natural person who, or legal person, entity or body which, has been found by an arbitral, judicial or administrative decision to have infringed the prohibitions set out in this Regulation;

(c) any natural or legal person, entity or body, if the claim relates to goods the import of which is prohibited under Article 2;

(d) any person, entity or body in Crimea or Sevastopol;

(e) any Russian person, entity or body;

(f) any person, entity or body acting through or on behalf of one of the persons, entities or bodies referred to in points (a) to (e) of this paragraph.

Article 6a

Any person referred to in Article 10, point (c) or (d), shall be entitled to recover, in judicial proceedings before the competent courts of a Member State, any direct or indirect damages, including legal costs, incurred by that person or by a legal person, entity or body that the person referred to in Article 10, point (d) owns or controls, as a consequence of claims lodged with courts in third countries by persons, entities and bodies referred to in Article 6(1), points (a) to (f), in connection with any contract or transaction the performance of which has been affected, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, by the measures imposed under this Regulation, provided that the person concerned does not have effective access to the remedies under the relevant jurisdiction. Such damages may be recovered from the persons, entities or bodies referred to in Article 6(1), points (a) to (f), that lodged the claims with the courts in the third country, or from persons, entities or bodies that own or control those entities or bodies.

Article 6b

Where no court of a Member State has jurisdiction pursuant to other provisions of Union law or of the law of a Member State, a court of a Member State may, on an exceptional basis, hear a claim for damages brought pursuant to Article 6a, provided that the case has a sufficient connection with the Member State of the court seised.

Article 7

The Member States and the Commission shall inform each other of the measures taken under this Regulation and share any other relevant information at their disposal in connection with this Regulation, in particular information in respect of:

(a) authorisations granted or denied under this Regulation;

(b) violation and enforcement problems, penalties applied for infringements of the provisions of this Regulation and judgments handed down by national courts.

It shall be presumed that the disclosure of any documents or proposals referred to in the first subparagraph would harm the security of the Union or that of one or more of its Member States or the conduct of their international relations.

Article 7a

Article 8

Article 8a

Natural and legal persons, entities and bodies shall undertake their best efforts to ensure that any legal person, entity or body established outside the Union that they own or control does not participate in activities that undermine the restrictive measures provided for in this Regulation.

Article 9

Article 10

This Regulation shall apply:

(a) within the territory of the Union, including its airspace;

(b) on board any aircraft or any vessel under the jurisdiction of a Member State;

(c) to any person inside or outside the territory of the Union who is a national of a Member State;

(d) to any legal person, entity or body, inside or outside the territory of the Union, which is incorporated or constituted under the law of a Member State;

(e) to any legal person, entity or body in respect of any business done in whole or in part within the Union.

Article 11

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

ANNEX I

BELGIUM

https://diplomatie.belgium.be/en/policy/policy_areas/peace_and_security/sanctions

BULGARIA

https://www.mfa.bg/en/EU-sanctions

CZECHIA

www.financnianalytickyurad.cz/mezinarodni-sankce.html

DENMARK

https://um.dk/udenrigspolitik/sanktioner/ansvarlige-myndigheder

GERMANY

https://www.bmwi.de/Redaktion/DE/Artikel/Aussenwirtschaft/embargos-aussenwirtschaftsrecht.html

ESTONIA

https://vm.ee/sanktsioonid-ekspordi-ja-relvastuskontroll/rahvusvahelised-sanktsioonid

IRELAND

https://www.dfa.ie/our-role-policies/ireland-in-the-eu/eu-restrictive-measures/

GREECE

http://www.mfa.gr/en/foreign-policy/global-issues/international-sanctions.html

SPAIN

https://www.exteriores.gob.es/es/PoliticaExterior/Paginas/SancionesInternacionales.aspx

FRANCE

http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/autorites-sanctions/

CROATIA

https://mvep.gov.hr/vanjska-politika/medjunarodne-mjere-ogranicavanja/22955

ITALY

https://www.esteri.it/it/politica-estera-e-cooperazione-allo-sviluppo/politica_europea/misure_deroghe/

CYPRUS