Information;Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2025:1082
Date: 2025-12-03
Language of the case: French
Court formation: First Chamber
Procedure: Action for annulment;Action for damages

summary statement of reasons sufficient (Art. 29 TEU; Arts 215 and 296 TFEU; Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2023/1767 and (CFSP) 2024/847, Art. 2(1) and (2), and Annex; Council Regulations No 269/2014, Art. 3(1), Annex I, 2023/1765 and 2024/849) (see paragraphs 35-46) 2. EU law – Principles – Rights of the defence – Right to effective judicial protection – Restrictive measures adopted in view of the situation in Ukraine – Freezing of funds and economic resources – Obligation to disclose incriminating evidence – Limits – Safety of the Union and the Member States or conduct of their international relations (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Arts 41(2) and 47; Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2023/1767 and (CFSP) 2024/847, Annex; Council Regulations No 269/2014, Annex I, 2023/1765 and 2024/849) (see paragraphs 47-49) 3. Common foreign and security policy – Restrictive measures adopted in view of the situation in Ukraine – Freezing of funds – Rights of the defence – Subsequent decision maintaining the name of the applicant on the list of persons covered by those measures – Disclosure by the Council to the person concerned of new evidence taken into account during the periodic review of the restrictive measures – Duty to act within a reasonable time – Infringement of the right to be heard – None (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 41(2)(a); Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2023/1767 and (CFSP) 2024/847, Annex; Council Regulations No 269/2014, Annex I, 2023/1765 and 2024/849) (see paragraphs 55-58, 63, 65) 4. European Union – Judicial review of the legality of the acts of the institutions – Restrictive measures adopted in view of the situation in Ukraine – Scope of the review – Proof that the measure is well founded – Obligation on the competent EU authority to establish, in the event of challenge, that the reasons relied on against the persons or entities concerned are well founded – Inclusion on the lists based on a specific, precise and consistent body of evidence – Error of assessment –None (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 41(2)(a); Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2023/1767 and (CFSP) 2024/847, Annex; Council Regulations No 269/2014, Annex I, 2023/1765 and 2024/849) (see paragraphs 55-58, 63, 65) 5. European Union – Judicial review of the legality of the acts of the institutions – Restrictive measures adopted in view of the situation in Ukraine – Scope of the review – Proof that the measure is well founded – Obligation on the competent EU authority to establish, in the event of challenge, that the reasons relied on against the persons or entities concerned are well founded – Breadth of the discretion of that competent authority – Council’s obligation to carry out an updated assessment in the course of the review of the restrictive measures – Relevance of evidence produced on the basis of a previous inclusion where there are no amendments to the grounds for inclusion or changes in the applicant’s situation or in the context in Ukraine (Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2023/1767 and (CFSP) 2024/847, Annex; Council Regulations No 269/2014, Annex I, 2023/1765 and 2024/849) (see paragraphs 77, 78, 96) 6. European Union – Judicial review of the legality of the acts of the institutions – Restrictive measures adopted in view of the situation in Ukraine – Scope of the review – Inclusion of the application on the list annexed to the contested decision – Publicly available documents – Probative value – Principle of the unfettered evaluation of evidence (Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2023/1767 and (CFSP) 2024/847, Annex; Council Regulations No 269/2014, Annex I, 2023/1765 and 2024/849) (see paragraphs 83-85) 7. Common foreign and security policy – Restrictive measures adopted in view of the situation in Ukraine – Criteria for adopting restrictive measures – Person, entity or body associated with a person included on the list annexed to the contested decision – Concept of association – Common interests – Link going beyond a family relationship (Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2022/582, (CFSP) 2023/1767 and (CFSP) 2024/847, Art. 2(1); Council Regulations No 269/2014, Art. 3(1), 2023/1765 and 2024/849) (see paragraphs 97, 104-107, 120, 121) 8. Common foreign and security policy – Restrictive measures adopted in view of the situation in Ukraine – Prohibition on entry and transit and freezing of funds of certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Ukraine – Restriction of the right to respect for private life, the right to property, and the right to free movement within the European Union – Whether permissible – Conditions – Restriction laid down by law – Respect for the essence of the right invoked – Pursuit of an objective of general interest recognised as such by the European Union – Observance of the principle of proportionality – Conditions met (Arts 21(2) and 29 TEU; Arts 20(2)(a) and 21(1) TFEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Arts 7, 17, 45(1) and 52(1); Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2023/1767 and (CFSP) 2024/847, Art. 1(6), Annex, Council Regulations No 269/2014, Annex I, 2023/1765, and 2024/849, European Parliament and Council Directive 2004/38/EC) (see paragraphs 136-147, 154-160, 166-169) 9. Common foreign and security policy – Restrictive measures adopted in view of the situation in Ukraine – Freezing of funds – Obligations to report funds and to cooperate with the competent national authorities – Infringement of those obligations – Penalties – Confiscation of the proceeds of infringements – Different subject matter from that of the restrictive measures freezing funds and economic resources (Council Regulations No 269/2014, Arts 2(1), 9(2) and 15(1), 2022/880 and 2022/1273; European Parliament and Council Directive (EU) 2024/1226) (see paragraph 153) 10. Non-contractual liability – Conditions – Unlawfulness – Damage – Causal link – One of those conditions not met – Action for damages dismissed in its entirety (Art. 340, second para., TFEU) (see paragraphs 173-178) Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Ms Elena Petrovna Timchenko to bear her own costs and pay those incurred by the Council of the European Union; 3. Orders the European Commission to bear its own costs.