Council Regulation (EU) 2022/212 of 17 February 2022 amending Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 concerning restrictive measures in respect of Belarus

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 215 thereof,

Having regard to Council Decision 2012/642/CFSP of 15 October 2012 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Belarus (1),

Having regard to the joint proposal from the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the European Commission,

Whereas:

(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 (2) provides for, among others, the freezing of funds and economic resources of, and prohibits making funds or economic resources available to, persons, entities or bodies responsible for serious violations of human rights or the repression of civil society and democratic opposition, or whose activities otherwise seriously undermine democracy or the rule of law in Belarus or who benefit from or support the Lukashenka regime, or persons, entities or bodies that are organising or contributing to activities by the Lukashenka regime that facilitate the illegal crossing of the external borders of the Union or the transfer of prohibited goods and the illegal transfer of restricted goods, including hazardous goods, into the territory of a Member State.

(2) Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 gives effect to the measures provided for in Decision 2012/642/CFSP.

(3) On 24 June 2021, the Council adopted Decision (CFSP) 2021/1031 (3), which introduced further targeted economic restrictive measures and Regulation (EU) 2021/1030 (4), which amended Regulation (EC) No 765/2006. Decision (CFSP) 2021/1031 and Regulation (EU) 2021/1030 lay down specific sectoral restrictions.

(4) On 17 February 2022, the Council adopted Decision (CFSP) 2022/218 (5), which introduces certain amendments to ensure the effectiveness and uniform application of the measures. These amendments need to be reflected in Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 in order to allow for the correct and uniform implementation of the measures across the Union.

(5) Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 should therefore be amended accordingly,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 is amended a follows:

(1) the title is replaced by the following: ‘Council Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 of 18 May 2006 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Belarus’;

(4) in Article 1f, paragraphs 3 and 4 are replaced by the following: ‘3.   The prohibitions in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be without prejudice to the execution of contracts concluded before 25 June 2021, or ancillary contracts necessary for the execution of such contracts.

(5) in Article 1g, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: ‘2.   Annex VI shall include goods used for the production or manufacturing of tobacco products.’;

(7) in Article 1h, the following paragraph is added: ‘4.   Paragraph 1 shall be without prejudice to the freedom of transit through Belarus of petroleum and gaseous hydrocarbon products as listed in Annex VII which originate in a third country.’;

(8) in Article 1i, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: ‘2.   The prohibitions in paragraph 1 shall be without prejudice to the execution of contracts concluded before 25 June 2021and ancillary contracts necessary for the execution of such contracts. For the purpose of this Article, contracts include legally binding framework contracts which include an end-date and provide for adjustments of price and volumes based on conditions agreed before 25 June 2021. This paragraph does not apply to any type of agreement which does not include binding commitments between the parties.’;

(12) Article 2a is replaced by the following: ‘Article 2a Actions by natural or legal persons, entities or bodies shall not give rise to 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.’;

(15) Annex IV is amended as set out in Annex I to this Regulation;

(16) Annex VII is amended as set out in Annex II to this Regulation;

(17) Annex VIII is amended as set out in Annex III to this Regulation;

(18) Annex IX is amended as set out in Annex IV to this Regulation.

Article 2

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.

Done at Brussels, 17 February 2022.

For the Council The President J.-Y. LE DRIAN

(1) OJ L 285, 17.10.2012, p. 1.

(2) Council Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 of 18 May 2006 concerning restrictive measures in respect of Belarus (OJ L 134, 20.5.2006, p. 1).

(3) Council Decision (CFSP) 2021/1031 of 24 June 2021 amending Council Decision 2012/642/CFSP concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Belarus (OJ L 224 I, 24.6.2021, p. 15).

(4) Council Regulation (EU) 2021/1030 of 24 June 2021 amending Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 concerning restrictive measures in respect of Belarus (OJ L 224 I, 24.6.2021, p. 1).

(5) Council Decision (CFSP) 2022/218 of 17 February 2022 amending Council Decision 2012/642/CFSP concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Belarus (see page 41 of this Official Journal).