New EU Controls on the Export of Personal Protective Equipment

Export Authorisation

1. An export authorisation established in accordance with the form set out in Annex II shall be required for the export outside the Union of personal protective equipment listed in Annex I, whether or not originating in the Union. Such authorisation shall be granted by the competent authorities of the Member State where the exporter is established and shall be issued in writing or by electronic means.
2. Without the production of such export authorisation, the exportation is prohibited.

Procedural aspects

1. If the protective equipment is located in one or more Member States other than the one where the application for export authorisation has been made, that fact shall be indicated in the application. The competent authorities of the Member State to which the application for export authorisation has been made shall immediately consult the competent authorities of the Member State or States in question and provide the relevant information. The Member State or States consulted shall make known within 10 working days any objections it or they may have to the granting of such an authorisation, which shall bind the Member State in which the application has been made.
2. Member States shall process applications for export authorisations within a period of time to be determined by national law or practice, which shall not exceed 5 working days, from the date on which all required information has been provided to the competent authorities. Under exceptional circumstances and for duly justified reasons, that period may be extended by a further period of 5 working days.
3. In deciding whether to grant an export authorisation under this Regulation, Member States shall take into account all relevant considerations including, where appropriate, whether the export serves, inter alia:

• to fulfil supply obligations under a joint procurement procedure in accordance with Article 5 of Decision No 1082/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2013 on serious cross-border threats to health ( 2 );
• to support concerted support actions coordinated by the Integrated Political Crisis Response Mechanism (IPCR), the European Commission or other Union institutions;
• to respond to the requests of assistance addressed to and handled by the UPCM (Union Civil Protection Mechanism), by third countries or international organisations;
• to support the statutory activities of support companies abroad that enjoy protection under the Geneva Convention, and in so far as they do not impair the ability to work as a national support company;
• to support the activities of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network (GOARN);
• to supply foreign operations of EU Member States including, military operations, international police missions and/or civilian international peacekeeping missions;
• for the supply of EU and Member State delegations abroad.

4. Member States may decide to make use of electronic documents for the purpose of processing the applications for export authorisation.

Final provisions

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication (14 March 2020) in the Official Journal of the European Union and apply for a period of six weeks. It shall automatically cease to apply at the end of this six weeks period.

If your business requires further assistance or advice on the export of PPE contact us on [email protected].  

For the full notice regarding the EU Export Controls for Personal Protection Equipment, please visit the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation webpage.

FULL LEGISLATION DOCUMENT AVAILABLE HERE