On 1 February 2026, measures to simplify and accelerate export control procedures came into force. The Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA) is implementing the 5th Export Control Measures Package in cooperation with the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE).
A key element of the package of measures is the strengthening of the BAFA's decision-making powers. This is intended to simplify and accelerate approval procedures. In particular, decisions on the exchange of technology within Europe and within corporations are to be made more quickly in future.
New general licences and extensions for technology and software exports
The new measures introduce further general licences and update existing ones. The simplifications concern, among other things, European armaments cooperation and the use of the cloud for technology exchange.
A new general licence will be introduced for applications for the transfer and export of technology and software within the framework of the European Defence Fund. In addition, uploading and data storage on certain servers in European countries will be more clearly regulated and simplified in future.
Existing AGGs will also be expanded. For example, AGG No. 21 will be made more applicable to protective equipment. With the United Kingdom's accession to the Arms Export Control Convention, AGG No. 28 will also be applicable to corresponding
In addition, temporary exports and transfers (AGG No. 24) will be extended to additional countries.
Finally, in order to quickly implement the Wassenaar Decision of 5 December 2025 to remove certain lasers from Annex I of the EU Dual-Use Regulation, AGG No. 17 will also be temporarily extended to include these lasers. This is intended to simplify procedures until the revised Annex I comes into force in 2026.
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Exportkontrolle: Maßnahmenpaket zur Beschleunigung und Vereinfachung der Genehmigungsverfahren
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