Council Regulation (EU) No 224/2014 of 10 March 2014 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in the Central African Republic

Article 1

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

(a) ‘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, 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 that are located in a third country for their transfer to another third country;

(b) ‘claim’ means any claim, whether asserted by legal proceedings or not, made before or after the date of entry into force of this Regulation, under or in connection with a contract or transaction, including 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;

(c) ‘contract or transaction’ means any transaction of whatever form and whatever the applicable law, 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;

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

(e) ‘economic resources’ means assets of every kind, whether tangible or intangible, movable or immovable, which are not funds, but may be used to obtain funds, goods or services;

(f) ‘freezing of economic resources’ means preventing the use of economic resources to obtain funds, goods or services in any way, including, but not limited to, by selling, hiring or mortgaging them;

(g) ‘freezing of funds’ means preventing any move, transfer, alteration, use of, access to, or dealing with funds in any way that would result in any change in their volume, amount, location, ownership, possession, character, destination or other change that would enable the funds to be used, including portfolio management;

(h) ‘funds’ means financial assets and benefits of every kind, including, but not limited to:

(i) cash, cheques, claims on money, drafts, money orders and other payment instruments;

(ii) deposits with financial institutions or other entities, balances on accounts, debts and debt obligations;

(iii) publicly- and privately-traded securities and debt instruments, including stocks and shares, certificates representing securities, bonds, notes, warrants, debentures and derivatives contracts;

(iv) interest, dividends or other income on or value accruing from or generated by assets;

(v) credit, right of set-off, guarantees, performance bonds or other financial commitments;

(vi) letters of credit, bills of lading, bills of sale; and

(vii) documents showing evidence of an interest in funds or financial resources;

(i) ‘Sanctions Committee’ means the Committee of the United Nations Security Council which was established pursuant to paragraph 57 of United Nations Security Council Resolution UNSCR 2127 (2013);

(j) ‘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, including verbal forms of assistance;

(k) ‘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.

Article 2

It shall be prohibited to provide, directly or indirectly:

(a) technical assistance or brokering services related to the goods and technology listed in the Common Military List of the European Union (Common Military List) or related to the provision, manufacture, maintenance and use of goods included in that list, to any person, entity or body in the Central African Republic or for use in the Central African Republic;

(b) financing or financial assistance related to the sale, supply, transfer or export of goods and technology listed in the Common Military List, including in particular grants, loans and export credit insurance, as well as insurance and reinsurance, for any sale, supply, transfer or export of such items, or for any provision of related technical assistance or brokering services to any person, entity or body in the Central African Republic or for use in the Central African Republic;

(c) technical assistance, financing or financial assistance, brokering services or transport services related to the provision of armed mercenary personnel in the Central African Republic or for use in the Central African Republic.

Article 3

By way of derogation from Article 2, the prohibitions laid down in that Article shall not apply to the provision of technical assistance, financing or financial assistance or brokering services:

(a) intended solely for the support of or use by the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), the Union missions and the French forces deployed in the Central African Republic, as well as other United Nations Member States’ forces providing training and assistance as notified in accordance with point (b);

(b) related to supplies of non-lethal equipment and provision of assistance, including operational and non-operational training to the Central African Republic security forces, including State civilian law enforcement institutions, intended solely for support of or use in the Central African Republic process of Security Sector Reform (“SSR”), in coordination with MINUSCA, provided that the provision of assistance and services have been notified in advance to the Sanctions Committee;

(c) related to supplies of non-lethal military equipment intended solely for humanitarian or protective use, provided that the provision of such assistance or services has been notified in advance to the Sanctions Committee;

(d) related to protective clothing, including flak jackets and military helmets, temporarily exported to the Central African Republic by United Nations personnel, personnel of the Union or its Member States, representatives of the media and humanitarian and development workers and associated personnel, for their personal use only;

(e) related to supplies of arms and related materiel of all types, including weapons and ammunition, military vehicles and equipment, paramilitary equipment, and spare parts for the aforementioned, to the CAR security forces, including state civilian law enforcement institutions.

Article 4

By way of derogation from Article 2, provided that the provision of such technical assistance or brokering services, financing or financial assistance has been approved in advance by the Sanctions Committee, the prohibitions laid down in that Article shall not apply to the provision of technical assistance, financing or financial assistance to the sale, supply, transfer or export of goods and technology listed in the Common Military List or to any provision of related technical assistance or brokering services.

Article 5

1.   All funds and economic resources belonging to, owned, held or controlled by any natural or legal person, entity or body listed in Annex I shall be frozen.

2.   No funds or economic resources shall be made available, directly or indirectly, to or for the benefit of any natural or legal person, entity or body listed in Annex I.

3.   Annex I shall include natural or legal persons, entities and bodies identified by the Sanctions Committee as:

(a) engaging in or providing support for acts that undermine the peace, stability or security of the Central African Republic, including acts that threaten or impede the stabilization and reconciliation process or that fuel violence;

(b) acting in violation of the arms embargo established in paragraph 54 of UNSCR 2127 (2013), or having directly or indirectly supplied, sold, or transferred to armed groups or criminal networks in the Central African Republic, or having been the recipient of arms or any related materiel, or any technical advice, training, or assistance, including financing and financial assistance, related to violent activities of armed groups or criminal networks in the Central African Republic;

(c) involved in planning, directing, or committing acts in the Central African Republic that violate international human rights law or international humanitarian law, as applicable, or that constitute human rights abuses or violations, including those involving targeting of civilians, ethnic- or religious-based attacks, attacks on civilian objects, including administrative centres, courthouses, schools and hospitals, and abduction and forced displacement;

(d) being involved in planning, directing, or committing acts involving sexual and gender-based violence in the Central African Republic;

(e) recruiting or using children in armed conflict in the Central African Republic, in violation of applicable international law;

(f) providing support for armed groups or criminal networks through the illicit exploitation or trade of natural resources, including diamonds, gold and wildlife, as well as wildlife products, in or from the Central African Republic;

(g) obstructing the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Central African Republic, or access to, or distribution of, humanitarian assistance in the Central African Republic;

(h) involved in planning, directing, sponsoring, or conducting attacks against United Nations missions or international security presences, including MINUSCA, the Union missions and the French forces which support them, as well as against humanitarian personnel;

(i) being leaders of an entity designated by the Sanctions Committee, or having provided support to, or having acted for or on behalf of or at the direction of, a person, entity or body designated by the Sanctions Committee, or an entity owned or controlled by a designated person, entity or body;

(j) committing acts of incitement to violence, in particular on an ethnic or religious basis, that undermine the peace, stability or security of the Central African Republic, and then engaging in or providing support for acts that undermine the peace, stability or security of the Central African Republic;

(k) involved in planning, directing, sponsoring or committing acts in the CAR that violate international humanitarian law, including attacks against medical personnel or humanitarian personnel.

4.   Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to the making available of funds or economic resources necessary to ensure the timely delivery of humanitarian assistance or to support other activities that support basic human needs where such assistance and other activities are carried out by:

(a) the United Nations, including its programmes, funds and other entities and bodies, as well as its specialised agencies and related organisations;

(b) international organisations;

(c) humanitarian organisations having observer status with the United Nations General Assembly and members of those humanitarian organisations;

(d) bilaterally or multilaterally funded non-governmental organisations participating in the United Nations Humanitarian Response Plans, Refugee Response Plans, other United Nations appeals or humanitarian clusters coordinated by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA);

(e) the employees, grantees, subsidiaries, or implementing partners of the entities mentioned in points (a) to (d) while and to the extent that they are acting in those capacities; or

(f) appropriate other actors as determined by the Sanctions Committee.

Article 6

By way of derogation from Article 5, the competent authorities of the Member States may authorise the release of certain frozen funds or economic resources, or the making available of certain funds or economic resources, under such conditions as they deem appropriate, provided that the following conditions are met:

(a) the competent authority concerned has determined that the funds or economic resources are:

(i) necessary to satisfy the basic needs of a natural or legal person, entity or body listed in Annex I, and dependent family members of such natural persons, including payments for foodstuffs, rent or mortgage, medicines and medical treatment, taxes, insurance premiums, and public utility charges;

(ii) intended exclusively for payment of reasonable professional fees or the reimbursement of incurred expenses associated with the provision of legal services; or

(iii) intended exclusively for payment of fees or service charges for routine holding or maintenance of frozen funds or economic resources; and

(b) the Member State concerned has notified the Sanctions Committee of the determination referred to in point (a) and of its intention to grant an authorisation, and the Sanctions Committee has not objected to that course of action within five working days of notification.

Article 7

By way of derogation from Article 5, the competent authorities of the Member States may authorise the release of certain frozen funds or economic resources, or the making available of certain funds or economic resources, under such conditions as they deem appropriate, provided that the competent authority concerned has determined that the funds or economic resources are necessary for extraordinary expenses, and provided that the Member State concerned has notified the Sanctions Committee of that determination and the Sanctions Committee has approved it.

Article 8

By way of derogation from Article 5, the competent authorities of the Member States may authorise the release of certain frozen funds or economic resources where the following conditions are met:

(a) the funds or economic resources in question are the subject of a judicial, administrative or arbitral lien established prior to the date on which the person, entity or body referred to in Article 5 was listed in Annex I, or of a judicial, administrative or arbitral judgment handed down prior to that date;

(b) the funds or economic resources in question will be used exclusively to satisfy claims secured by such a lien or recognised as valid in such a judgment, within the limits set by applicable laws and regulations governing the rights of persons having such claims;

(c) the lien or judgment is not for the benefit of a natural or legal person, entity or body listed in Annex I;

(d) recognition of the lien or judgment is not contrary to public policy in the Member State concerned; and

(e) the Sanctions Committee has been notified by the Member State of the lien or judgment.

Article 9

By way of derogation from Article 5, and provided that a payment by a natural or legal person, entity or body listed in Annex I is due under a contract or agreement that was concluded by, or under an obligation that arose for, the natural or legal person, entity or body concerned, before the date on which that natural or legal person, entity or body had been designated by the UN Security Council or the Sanctions Committee, the competent authorities of the Member States may authorise, under such conditions as they deem appropriate, the release of certain frozen funds or economic resources, provided that the competent authority concerned has determined that:

(a) the funds or economic resources shall be used for a payment by a natural or legal person, entity or body listed in Annex I;

(b) the payment is not in breach of Article 5(2); and

(c) the Sanctions Committee has been notified by the relevant Member State of the intention to grant an authorisation 10 working days in advance.

Article 10

1.   Article 5(2) shall not prevent the crediting of the frozen accounts by financial or credit institutions that receive funds transferred by third parties into the account of a natural or legal person, entity or body listed in Annex I, provided that any additions to such accounts will also be frozen. The financial or credit institution shall inform the relevant competent authority about any such transaction without delay.

2.   Article 5(2) shall not apply to the addition to frozen accounts of:

(a) interest or other earnings on those accounts;

(b) payments due under contracts, agreements or obligations that were concluded or that arose before the date on which the natural or legal person, entity or body referred to in Article 5 was included in Annex I; or

(c) payments due under judicial, administrative or arbitral lien or judgment, as referred to in Article 8; and

provided that any such interest, other earnings and payments are frozen in accordance with Article 5(1).

Article 11

1.   Without prejudice to the applicable rules concerning reporting, confidentiality and professional secrecy, natural and legal persons, entities and bodies shall:

(a) supply immediately any information which would facilitate compliance with this Regulation, such as information on accounts and amounts frozen in accordance with Article 5, to the competent authority of the Member State where they are resident or located, and shall transmit any such information, either directly or through the Member State, to the Commission; and

(b) co-operate with the competent authority in any verification of such information.

2.   Any additional information received directly by the Commission shall be made available to the Member States.

3.   Any information provided or received in accordance with this Article shall be used only for the purposes for which it was provided or received.

Article 12

It shall be prohibited to participate, knowingly and intentionally, in activities the object or effect of which is to circumvent the measures referred to in Articles 2, 5(1) and 5(2).

Article 13

1.   The freezing of funds and economic resources or the refusal to make funds or economic resources available, carried out in good faith on the basis that such action is in accordance with this Regulation, shall not give rise to liability of any kind on the part of the natural or legal person or entity or body implementing it, or its directors or employees, unless it is proved that the funds and economic resources were frozen or withheld as a result of negligence.

2.   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 prohibitions laid down in this Regulation.

Article 14

1.   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, in particular 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;

(b) any natural or legal person, entity or body acting through or on behalf of one of the persons, entities or bodies referred to in point (a).

2.   In any proceedings for the enforcement of a claim, the onus of proving that satisfying the claim is not prohibited by paragraph 1 shall be on the natural or legal person, entity or body seeking the enforcement of that claim.

3.   This Article is without prejudice to the right of the natural or legal persons, entities and bodies referred to in paragraph 1 to judicial review of the legality of the non-performance of contractual obligations in accordance with this Regulation.

Article 15

1.   The Commission and the Member States 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) funds frozen under Article 5 and authorisations granted under Articles 6, 7 and 8;

(b) violation and enforcement problems and judgments handed down by national courts.

2.   The Member States shall immediately inform each other and the Commission of any other relevant information at their disposal which might affect the effective implementation of this Regulation.

Article 16

The Commission shall be empowered to amend Annex II on the basis of information supplied by Member States.

Article 17

1.   Where the United Nations Security Council or the Sanctions Committee lists a natural or legal person, entity or body and has provided a statement of reasons for the designation, the Council shall include that natural or legal person, entity or body in Annex I. The Council shall communicate its decision and the statement of reasons to the natural or legal person, entity or body concerned, either directly, if the address is known, or through the publication of a notice, providing that natural or legal person, entity or body an opportunity to present observations.

2.   Where observations are submitted, or where substantial new evidence is presented, the Council shall review its decision and inform the person, entity or body accordingly.

3.   Where the United Nations decides to de-list a person, entity or body, or to amend the identifying data of a listed person, entity or body, the Council shall amend Annex I accordingly.

Article 18

Annex I shall include, where available, information provided by the Security Council or by the Sanctions Committee necessary to identify the natural or legal persons, entities or bodies concerned. With regard to natural persons, such information may include names including aliases, date and place of birth, nationality, passport and ID card numbers, gender, address, if known, and function or profession. With regard to legal persons, entities or bodies, such information may include names, place and date of registration, registration number and place of business. Annex I shall also include the date of designation by the Security Council or by the Sanctions Committee.

Article 19

1.   The Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of the provisions of this Regulation and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties provided for must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

2.   The Member States shall notify the rules referred to in paragraph 1 to the Commission without delay after the entry into force of this Regulation, and shall notify it of any subsequent amendment to them.

Article 19a

1.   The Council, the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (the ‘High Representative’) may process personal data in order to carry out their tasks under this Regulation. These tasks include:

(a) as regards the Council, preparing and making amendments to Annex I;

(b) as regards the High Representative, preparing amendments to Annex I;

(c) as regards the Commission:

(i) adding the contents of Annex I to the electronic consolidated list of persons, groups and entities subject to Union financial restrictive measures and in the interactive sanctions map, both publicly available;

(ii) processing information on the impact of measures taken under this Regulation, such as the value of frozen funds and information on authorisations granted by the competent authorities.

2.   The Council, the Commission and the High Representative may process, where applicable, relevant data relating to criminal offences committed by listed natural persons, to criminal convictions of such persons or to security measures concerning such persons, only to the extent that such processing is necessary for the preparation of Annex I.

3.   For the purposes of this Regulation, the Council, the Commission service listed in Annex II to this Regulation and the High Representative are designated as ‘controllers’ within the meaning of point (8) of Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, in order to ensure that the natural persons concerned can exercise their rights under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.

Article 20

1.   The Member States shall designate the competent authorities referred to in this Regulation and identify them on the websites listed in Annex II. The Member States shall notify the Commission of any changes in the addresses of their websites listed in Annex II.

2.   The Member States shall notify the Commission of their competent authorities, including the contact details of those competent authorities, without delay after the entry into force of this Regulation, and shall notify it of any subsequent amendment.

3.   Where this Regulation sets out a requirement to notify, inform or otherwise communicate with the Commission, the address and other contact details to be used for such communication shall be those indicated in Annex II.

Article 21

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 22

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day 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 - List of persons and entities referred to in article 5

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Annex II - Websites for information on the competent authorities and address for notifications to the European Commission

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Initial Version

Amended by