On November 8, 2017, the European Commission published Directive (EU)2017/2054 which amends directive 2009/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the council as regards to the list of defence related products.

Originally, the 2009 Directive had been put in place to harmonize the rules and procedures as it relates to defence-related products in order to simplify the intra-Community transfer of defence-related products to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market .

Member states must adopt and publish, by February 28, 2018 at the latest, the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Directive (EU)2017/2054 and must apply these provisions by March 5, 2018 after initially communicating the text of these provisions with the commission.