DIGITALEUROPE’s Contribution to the Public Consultation on the Evaluation of the Dual-Use Regulation

Executive summary

DIGITALEUROPE welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the European Commission’s evaluation of the Dual-Use Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2021/821). The evaluation should ensure that the Regulation effectively delivers on its security objectives while preserving the EU’s global competitiveness, supporting innovation and legitimate trade, reducing unnecessary administrative burdens, and promoting a harmonised and predictable export control framework across the EU. It should also assess whether the current framework remains fit for purpose in light of the evolving geopolitical and technological landscape.

In this context, DIGITALEUROPE provides recommendations that would strengthen the effectiveness, consistency and proportionality of the EU export control framework while supporting the objectives of the EU’s Economic Security agenda.

In particular:

• Multilateral frameworks help avoid the pitfalls of unilateral controls. Commission Expert Groups should be used for EU internal alignment, while platforms such as the G7, EU-US cooperation frameworks, Pax Silica, High-Level Economic Dialogues, and other partnerships with like-minded countries should be leveraged for external coordination towards convergence of export controls.
• When extending export controls, evaluation criteria should look at foreign availability, enforceability, impact on EU competitiveness, alignment with key partners, and likelihood of retaliatory responses. Redundant controls of technologies that are now globally available, such as widely available mass-market commercial encryption, should be removed when possible.
• Economic security initiatives should prevent overlap and complexity, ensuring coherent implementation of sanctions and export controls, with clear guidance on their respective requirements. Existing tools should be reviewed before creating new regulatory structures.
• Human rights impact and misuse potential should be considered when regulating cyber-surveillance items. The Dual-Use Regulation should reflect the clarifications provided in the Commission guidelines published in October 2024, ensuring their consistent application across the EU.
• The Dual-Use Regulation’s vague definitions for intangible transfers have created a patchwork of divergent national approaches, increasing costs for EU exporters, and leaving the EU at a competitive disadvantage. Certainty for remote maintenance, diagnostics, software support and cybersecurity updates that rely on cross-border digital connectivity is essential. To support a clear and consistent application of the existing framework, upcoming Commission guidelines should clarify how the Regulation’s definition of ‘export’ applies to intangible transfers, including that an export of controlled technology occurs only when the technology is decrypted and accessed outside the EU, and that the provision of SaaS does not in itself constitute an export of software.
• A forum for political coordination on export controls should be established, with private sector involvement and technical expertise.
• Enhanced cooperation between Member States and industry, supported by technical expertise, is essential. The Commission should strengthen its internal expertise and establish formal expert groups with industry representation.
• Greater harmonisation is also needed to facilitate compliance, including through an EU-wide mechanism for identifying excluded parties and countries that supports due diligence and enables greater automation.
• The use of Union General Export Authorisations (UGEAs) should be improved by expanding the range of eligible destinations, where appropriate, while maintaining proportionate and risk-based safeguards.