INTA supports export authorisation for PPE, but asks EC to exempt the Western Balkans

On 2 April, the Chair and the Coordinators of the INTA committee sent a letter to Trade Commissioner Hogan to express the committee's support for the Commission's implementing regulation on export authorisations for personal protective equipment. While the INTA leadership acknowledges the need for this measure, it stresses the importance of avoiding an outright export ban. Given the close connections with important partners in the EU's neighbourhood, INTA calls for extending the exemption from the authorisation requirement to the countries of the Western Balkans. INTA urges Member States to implement the measure transparently and with the least bureaucratic burden, notably by making use of novel elements brought up during the modernisation of the EU dual-use regulation. The Commission and Member States need to keep in mind the importance of international cooperation and solidarity, notably by ensuring the measure does not negatively impact the world's economically weakest countries.