Judgment;Information — ECLI:EU:T:2023:670
Date: 2023-10-25
Language of the case: French
Court formation: First Chamber
Subject matter: External relations;Common foreign and security policy
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded;Action for annulment - successful

Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 25 October 2023 – QF v Council (Case T‑386/22) (1) (Common foreign and security policy – Restrictive measures adopted in respect of Russia’s actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine – Freezing of funds and economic resources – Inclusion of the applicant’s name on the lists of persons, entities and bodies concerned – Concept of ‘association’ – Error of assessment) 1. European Union – Judicial review of the legality of the acts of the institutions – Restrictive measures taken in view of the situation in Ukraine – Scope of the review – Inclusion of the applicant on the list annexed to the contested decision due to her association with a leading businessperson involved in economic sectors providing a substantial source of revenue to the Government of Russia – Publicly available documents – Probative value (Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decision (CFSP) 2022/582, Annex; Council Regulations No 269/2014 and No 2022/581, Annex) (see paragraphs 30-32, 36, 37) 2. European Union – Judicial review of the legality of the acts of the institutions – Restrictive measures taken 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 set of indicia (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 47; Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decision (CFSP) 2022/582, Annex; Council Regulations No 269/2014 and No 2022/581, Annex) (see paragraphs 45-51) 3. Common foreign and security policy – Restrictive measures taken in view of the situation in Ukraine – Criteria for adopting restrictive measures – Leading businesspersons involved in economic sectors providing a substantial source of revenue to the Government of the Russian Federation and persons associated with them – Concept of association – Common interests – Family connection (Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decision (CFSP) 2022/582, Art. 2(1); Council Regulations No 269/2014, Art. 3(1), and No 2022/581) (see paragraphs 53-55) 4. Common foreign and security policy – Restrictive measures taken in view of the situation in Ukraine – Freezing of funds of persons responsible for, supporting or implementing actions or policies which undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence of Ukraine, and of natural or legal persons, entities or bodies associated with them – Application to natural persons due to their family connection with persons subject to restrictive measures – Examination of the evidence – Association – None – Error of assessment (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 47; Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decision (CFSP) 2022/582, Art. 2(1), and Annex; Council Regulations No 269/2014, Art. 3(1), and No 2022/581, Annex) (see paragraphs 56, 59, 63-65, 71, 72) 5. European Union – Judicial review of the legality of the acts of the institutions – Restrictive measures taken in view of the situation in Ukraine – Scope of the review – Assessment of the legality by reference to the information available at the time of adoption of the decision (Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decision (CFSP) 2022/582, Annex; Council Regulations No 269/2014 and No 2022/581, Annex) (see paragraphs 68, 69) Operative part The Court: 1. Annuls Council Decision (CFSP) 2022/582 of 8 April 2022 amending Decision 2014/145/CFSP concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine and Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/581 of 8 April 2022 implementing Regulation (EU) No 269/2014 concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, in so far as they concern QF; 2. Orders the Council of the European Union to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by QF. 1 OJ C 318, 22.8.2022.