John Grayston: All change in the EU? Understanding the impact of Regulation 821

In September 2021, accompanied by fanfare and scrutiny, the European Union implemented the ‘recast’ dual-use regulation: 821/2021. ‘We need to better respond to emerging threats in an increasingly volatile world. That means getting a better grip on dual-use technologies, including cyber-surveillance technologies that can be misused for human rights violations,’ said Commissioner for EU Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis, when the new regime came into force.

The recast arguably doesn’t constitute the wholesale revision that some had anticipated (it does not include, for example, an additional Annex describing export-controlled items beyond those mandated by the multilateral regimes). But it still represents a departure from the regulation it supersedes, creating a new ‘human security dimension’ with heightened obligations for  exporters to scrutinise end use, a new definition of ‘exporter’, and introducing the prospect of greater transparency and cooperation between EU member state competent authorities in the application and administration of export controls.

As the world takes stock of 821/2021, leading Brussels-based trade lawyer John Grayston outlines its most significant impacts for exporters/reexporters and describes some of the measures member states have taken by way of implementation. 

About John: Principal of Brussels-based Grayston & Company, John Grayston has practised EU law in Brussels for more than 25 years and is a recognised expert on EU laws in particular on customs and trade, export control and sanctions.