The European Commission has published a report on its use of delegated powers to amend EU dual-use export control lists, revealing that it adopted seven delegated acts between 9 September 2021 and 9 December 2025, and is now requesting a tacit five-year extension of that authority from the European Parliament and the Council. The report, dated 24 July 2026 and submitted under Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2021/821, covers amendments to Annexes I, II and IV of the Dual-Use Regulation, which list controlled dual-use items and general export authorisations.
The seven delegated acts include six routine list updates to align EU controls with decisions taken in multilateral export control regimes, and one politically significant act: Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/699 of 3 May 2022, which removed Russia from the list of destinations eligible for Union general export authorisations, a direct response to the war in Ukraine. The other updates were adopted on 20 October 2021, 21 October 2022, 23 February 2023, 15 September 2023, 5 September 2024, and 8 September 2025. Before each delegated act, the Commission consulted Member State experts as required by Article 18(4) of the regulation and the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016.
The initial five-year delegation of power runs from 9 September 2021 and is set to expire on 9 September 2026. The report, submitted more than nine months before the expiry, is a legal prerequisite for renewal. The Commission now asks the Parliament and Council to tacitly extend the delegation for another five years, meaning the power would automatically renew unless either institution objects within three months of receiving the report.
The Dual-Use Regulation (EU) 2021/821, adopted on 20 May 2021, recast earlier rules to strengthen controls on exports of goods and technology that can be used for both civilian and military purposes. The delegated power allows the Commission to update control lists swiftly to reflect changes in international regimes such as the Wassenaar Arrangement, the Australia Group, and the Missile Technology Control Regime, without requiring full co-decision procedures for each technical update.
EU exporters of dual-use goods benefit from timely alignment with multilateral controls, reducing legal uncertainty and maintaining a level playing field with other major exporting nations. However, the removal of Russia from general export authorisations imposes additional licensing burdens on companies trading with Russia or its neighbours. National licensing authorities in Member States must implement the updated lists, which can require administrative adjustments. Civil society groups focused on non-proliferation may view the active use of delegated powers as a positive sign of EU commitment to export control enforcement, though some may call for greater parliamentary scrutiny of individual delegated acts.
The European Parliament and the Council now have three months to object to the tacit extension. If neither institution objects, the delegation will automatically renew for another five years. If either objects, the Commission would lose the delegated power and future list updates would require ordinary legislative procedure, potentially slowing alignment with multilateral regime changes.