Published: 2012-01-01
Key Benefits:
Passed 22.12.2011 Annex 162
This Regulation is enacted on the basis of Section 70(5) of the Strateegilise kauba seadus [Strategic Goods Act].
(1) A Strategic Goods Commission (hereinafter ‘Commission’) shall be set up under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss issues relating to strategic goods and to ensure the smooth running of the strategic goods control system.
(2) The composition of the Commission shall be approved by an Order of the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
(1) The Commission shall consist of seven members, including the Chairman. The Minister for Foreign Affairs shall be the Chairman of the Commission.
(2) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, the Tax and Customs Board, the Security Police and the Police and Border Guard Board shall each appoint a representative to be a member of the Commission. At least one alternate member shall be appointed for each Commission member.
(3) The mandate of the members and alternate members of the Commission shall be open-ended. The relevant minister or the head of the relevant government body may at any time withdraw the mandate of a member of the Commission or replace a member of the Commission.
(4) Members of the Commission, including alternate members, shall be officials at the relevant ministry or government body whose official duties concern the strategic goods control system.
(5) Members and alternate members of the Commission must have the right to access state secrets classified at least as ‘secret’.
(1) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall organise the Commission’s work and provide clerical support.
(2) Costs relating to the clerical support for the Commission and to other activities undertaken by the Commission shall be covered from the budget of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs within the State budget.
(1) The Commission has a 35 mm-diameter circular seal bearing the small national coat of arms in the centre and the words ‘STRATEEGILISE KAUBA KOMISJON COMMISSION OF STRATEGIC GOODS’ around the edge.
(2) The Commission shall use a letterhead bearing its own name and the small national coat of arms.
The Commission operates as part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Commission’s postal address is Islandi väljak 1, 15049 Tallinn.
(1) The Chairman of the Commission shall:
1) direct the Commission’s work;
2) convene Commission meetings and determine the agenda;
3) chair Commission meetings;
4) sign Commission decisions and orders and other documents drawn up by the Commission;
5) keep and use the Commission’s seal;
6) where necessary, invite persons who are not members of the Commission to participate in the Commission’s work;
7) represent the Commission.
(2) The Chairman of the Commission shall issue Orders within the limits of his or her responsibilities.
(3) In the absence of the Chairman of the Commission, his or her duties shall be performed by the Commission member who is the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
(1) Members of the Commission shall participate in the Commission’s work on a personal basis.
(2) Each Commission member shall present a reasoned opinion on the issue under discussion, based on the information known to the body he or she represents.
(3) In order to obtain information, members of the Commission shall communicate with competent authorities and export control organisations in Estonia and abroad, launch consultations and submit enquiries within the limits of their sector-specific competence.
(4) Classified information that is necessary for the Commission’s work shall be exchanged in accordance with the rules laid down in the Riigisaladuse ja salastatud välisteabe seadus [State Secrets and Classified Information of Foreign States Act] and in legal acts enacted on the basis thereof. Where necessary, the information shall be provided with the agreement of the relevant minister.
(5) If a member of the Commission is unable to participate in the Commission’s work, they shall be replaced by their alternate member, who shall have the rights of a member of the Commission.
(1) The Commission’s work shall take the form of meetings. Commission meetings shall be private.
(2) Commission meetings shall be convened by the Chairman as and when necessary. A notice of meeting, including the agenda and any additional material, shall be sent to the members of the Commission in writing at least five days before the meeting.
(3) The Commission has a quorum when at least four members of the Commission and the Chairman or his or her replacement are present at a meeting.
(4) If a member of the Commission or an alternate member has valid reasons for being unable to be present at a Commission meeting, the relevant government body shall present in writing its views on the item on the agenda no later than on the working day preceding the meeting.
(5) The Commission secretary shall be present at meetings, and with the permission of the Chairman or his or her replacement other persons may also take part without the right to vote.
(1) The Commission shall take a decision after the opinions of all the members are heard.
(2) Commission decisions shall be taken by consensus. Where consensus is not reached, a decision shall be taken by majority vote after hearing additional contributions from the members. If the votes are divided equally, the Chairman of the Commission or his or her replacement shall have the casting vote.
(3) Any Commission member who has a differing view shall have the right to have that differing view recorded in the minutes of the meeting.
(4) Members of the Commission are required to inform the Commission if they have any personal involvement, whether direct or indirect, with an application to be discussed, and in that case they shall not vote.
(5) An undertaking shall be informed in writing of a Commission decision, if this is provided for by law. The following shall be included in the notice:
1) data concerning the undertaking in respect of which the decision was taken;
2) the basis for and content of the decision;
3) an explanation concerning the possibility to contest the decision and the procedure and deadline for doing so.
(6) The notice referred to in subsection 5 of this Section shall be sent to the undertaking by registered mail. On agreement, the notice may be sent by standard mail.
(7) If a Commission decision concerns the granting of a special authorisation, the special authorisation shall be sent or issued without the notice referred to in subsection 5 of this Section.
(1) At the discretion of the Chairman of the Commission or in the case of questions requiring a rapid decision, decisions may be taken and Commission meetings may take place using information technology.
(2) When organising a meeting to be held using information technology, the Chairman of the Commission shall send to the members the material that is necessary to make a decision and shall set a deadline for replying.
(3) At meetings held using information technology, the Commission has a quorum if all the ministries and government bodies represented in the Commission have presented in writing their views on the items on the agenda.
(1) Minutes shall be taken of Commission meetings. The minutes shall be signed by the person who chaired the meeting and the person who took the minutes.
(2) The text of the minutes must enable the course of the discussion of the questions to be reconstructed. The following shall be recorded in the minutes of Commission meetings:
1) the time and place at which the meeting took place;
2) a list of the Commission members and invited persons present at the meeting;
3) the agenda for the meeting;
4) a brief summary of the discussion of the points on the agenda for the meeting;
5) the decisions taken at the meeting, including voting results and the course of the discussion of the questions;
6) if so required by a Commission member having a differing view in respect of the decision, his or her differing view;
7) a brief summary of any oral statement made by a person invited to the meeting;
8) other facts of importance;
9) the name of the person who chaired the meeting and of the person who took the minutes.
(3) The minutes shall be drawn up within three working days of the Commission meeting taking place and they shall be sent to all members of the Commission. Any additional material presented in respect of any of the points on the agenda for the meeting shall be appended to the minutes.
(4) Signed minutes shall be stored at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
(5) If a Commission meeting deals with a state secret, the minutes or a part thereof shall be classified in accordance with the procedure laid down in the State Secrets and Classified Information of Foreign States Act and in legal acts enacted on the basis thereof.
(1) An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall be appointed as the Commission secretary by an Order of the Chairman of the Commission.
(2) The duties of the Commission secretary shall be as follows:
1) to organise the Commission’s administration and correspondence;
2) to accept applications, statements and additional documents, to check that they meet the requirements and, where necessary, to draw attention to their shortcomings;
3) to advise undertakings with regard to strategic goods control;
4) to prepare material for Commission meetings;
5) to inform members of the Commission when a meeting is being convened, including the place where the meeting will be held and its agenda, and to send material for the meeting;
6) to be present at Commission meetings and to take the minutes;
7) to draw up Commission decisions and orders;
8) to deliver special authorisations and other documents;
9) to make necessary entries in the database;
10) to supply reports and other data arising from international obligations.
(3) The Commission secretary must be authorised to access state secrets classified at least as ‘secret’.
(1) Each year the Commission shall draw up and present to the Government of the Republic a report on its activities which includes the following data:
1) an overview of international events and development trends in the field of export controls and strategic goods control;
2) national measures to make controls more effective;
3) statistical data.
(2) The following statistical data shall be included in the annual report:
1) the number of licences and end-use monitoring documents issued;
2) the number of brokers of military goods registered in the database;
3) the number of certified persons;
4) the number of registered users of a general transfer licence;
5) the quantity and value of goods imported into, exported from or having passed through Estonia under licences, and the countries of origin and destination of the goods;
6) the volume and value of services provided under licences, and the countries of origin and destination of the services;
7) the number of denial decisions taken during the reporting year and the reasons for those denials;
8) data on end-use monitoring and on ex-post control concerning the use of licences;
9) an overview of offences relating to strategic goods and of violations of international sanctions.
(3) The report referred to in subsection 1 of this Section shall be presented to the Government of the Republic in writing within six months of the end of the calendar year.
(4) The Commission shall draw up reports on transfers of strategic goods and the provision of services and present them to international organisations and to bodies monitoring compliance with international agreements.
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 2012.
Andrus Ansip
Prime Minister
Urmas Paet
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Heiki Loot
Secretary of State
