On January 24, 2023, EECARO held its 1st Conference at imec (Leuven, Belgium) with participation of nearly 60 representatives from European research organisations, export control authorities and similar associations from the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

Together they debated the outreach efforts, including guidance, from authorities to the research community and topics that are particularly challenging to implement for research organisations, such as ‘technical assistance’, ‘emerging technologies’, ‘item classification’, ‘intangible technology transfers’, and ‘publications’.

The discussions highlighted that the awareness about the (basics of) dual-use export controls and about the potential impact on research related activities highly varies amongst research organisations. This applies as well to the level of the implementation of internal compliance measures for export controls. Particularly interesting were the experiences from the similar associations from the United Kingdom and the United States of America on how to organise the interactions with the research community and the relevant authorities.

The event marked the start for research organisations to join EECARO. Members will be able to learn from other export control practitioners via trainings and Q&As, and they will be invited to join workshops to share information and best compliance practices.