Judgment;Information — ECLI:EU:T:2024:888
Date: 2024-12-11
Language of the case: French
Court formation: First Chamber
Subject matter: External relations;Common foreign and security policy
Procedure: Action for annulment;Action for damages

summary statement of reasons sufficient (Art. 296 TFEU; Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2022/397, (CFSP) 2022/1530, (CFSP) 2023/572, (CFSP) 2023/1767 and (CFSP) 2024/847; Council Regulations No 269/2014, 2022/396, 2022/1529, 2023/571, 2023/1765 and 2024/849) (see paragraphs 47-51, 55-63) 2. EU law – Principles – Rights of the defence – Right to effective judicial protection – Restrictive measures taken in view of the situation in Ukraine – Obligation to disclose individual and specific grounds for the decisions adopted – Obligation to enable the person concerned effectively to put forward his or her point of view regarding the reasons relied on against him or her – Scope (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 41(2)(a); Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2022/397, (CFSP) 2022/1530, (CFSP) 2023/572, (CFSP) 2023/1767 and (CFSP) 2024/847; Council Regulations No 269/2014, 2022/396, 2022/1529, 2023/571, 2023/1765 and 2024/849) (see paragraphs 71-78) 3. Common foreign and security policy – Restrictive measures taken in view of the situation in Ukraine – Criteria for adopting restrictive measures – Businesspersons, legal persons, entities or bodies involved in economic sectors providing a substantial source of revenue to the Government of the Russian Federation and persons associated with them – Compliance with the principle of legal certainty requiring clarity, precision and foreseeability of the effects of legal rules – Respect for the principle of equal treatment (Art. 21 TEU; Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decision (CFSP) 2022/329, Art. 2(1)(g); Council Regulations No 269/2014, Art. 3(1)(g) and 2022/330) (see paragraphs 102-107) 4. Common foreign and security policy – Restrictive measures taken in view of the situation in Ukraine – Criteria for adopting restrictive measures – Leading businesspersons operating in Russia and their close family members or other natural persons benefiting from them – Businesspersons, legal persons, entities or bodies involved in economic sectors providing a substantial source of revenue to the Government of the Russian Federation and persons associated with them – Compliance with the principle of legal certainty requiring clarity, precision and foreseeability of the effects of legal rules – Respect for the principle of equal treatment (Art. 21 TEU; Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decision (CFSP) 2023/1094, Art. 2(1)(g); Council Regulations No 269/2014, Art. 3(1)(g) and 2023/1089) (see paragraphs 113-122) 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 – 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 – No error of assessment (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 47; Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decision (CFSP) 2022/397; Council Regulations No 269/2014 and 2022/396) (see paragraphs 128-130, 163, 165, 166) 6. Common foreign and security policy – Restrictive measures taken in view of the situation in Ukraine – Criteria for adopting restrictive measures – Leading businesspersons or legal persons, entities or bodies involved in economic sectors providing a substantial source of revenue to the Government of the Russian Federation and persons, entities or bodies associated with them – Council’s obligation to carry out an updated assessment in the course of the review of the restrictive measures – Evidence to the contrary – Change in the specific situation of the person covered by the restrictive measures – Error of assessment (Art. 275 TFEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 47; Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2022/397, (CFSP) 2022/1530, (CFSP) 2023/572, (CFSP) 2023/1767 and (CFSP) 2024/847; Council Regulations No 269/2014, 2022/396, 2022/1529, 2023/571, 2023/1765 and 2024/849) (see paragraphs 133, 167, 176-182, 188-195) 7. 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 economic sector providing a substantial source of revenue – Petrochemical sector – Included (Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decision (CFSP) 2022/329, Art. 2(1)(g); Council Regulations No 269/2014, Art. 3(1)(g), and 2022/330) (see paragraphs 158-161) 8. 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 – Breadth of the discretion of that competent authority – 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 – No changes in the applicant’s situation (Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2022/397, (CFSP) 2022/1530, (CFSP) 2023/572, (CFSP) 2023/1767 and (CFSP) 2024/847; Council Regulations No 269/2014, 2022/396, 2022/1529, 2023/571, 2023/1765 and 2024/849) (see paragraphs 167-170, 226-229) 9. Common foreign and security policy – Restrictive measures taken in view of the situation in Ukraine – Criteria for adopting restrictive measures – Leading businesspersons operating in Russia and their close family members or other natural persons benefiting from them – Businesspersons, legal persons, entities or bodies involved in economic sectors providing a substantial source of revenue to the Government of the Russian Federation and persons associated with them – Inclusion based on a specific, precise and consistent set of indicia – No error of assessment (Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2023/1767 and (CFSP) 2024/847; Council Regulations No 269/2014, 2023/1765 and 2024/849) (see paragraphs 217-222, 230) 10. Common foreign and security policy – Restrictive measures taken in view of the situation in Ukraine – Freezing of funds of leading businesspersons involved in economic sectors providing a substantial source of revenue to the Government of the Russian Federation and persons associated with them – Freezing of funds of leading businesspersons operating in Russia and of their close family members or other natural persons benefiting from them – Non-adoption by the Council of restrictive measures against non-Russian businesspersons – No breach of the principle of equal treatment (Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2022/397, (CFSP) 2022/1530, (CFSP) 2023/572, (CFSP) 2023/1767 and (CFSP) 2024/847; Council Regulations No 269/2014, 2022/396, 2022/1529, 2023/571, 2023/1765 and 2024/849) (see paragraphs 244, 245) 11. Common foreign and security policy – Restrictive measures taken 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, of the right to property and of the freedom to conduct a business – 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 (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Arts 7, 16, 17 and 52(1); Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2022/397, (CFSP) 2022/1530, (CFSP) 2023/572, (CFSP) 2023/1767 and (CFSP) 2024/847; Council Regulations No 269/2014, 2022/396, 2022/1529, 2023/571, 2023/1765 and 2024/849) (see paragraphs 263-268) 12. EU law – Principles – Fundamental rights – Presumption of innocence – Decision to freeze funds taken against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Ukraine – Compatibility with that principle – Conditions (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 48(1); Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2022/397, (CFSP) 2022/1530, (CFSP) 2023/572, (CFSP) 2023/1767 and (CFSP) 2024/847; Council Regulations No 269/2014, 2022/396, 2022/1529, 2023/571, 2023/1765 and 2024/849) (see paragraphs 273, 274) 13. Non-contractual liability – Conditions – Unlawfulness – Damage – Causal link – One of the conditions not satisfied – Action for damages dismissed in its entirety (Art. 340, second para., TFEU) (see paragraphs 285, 286, 290) 14. Non-contractual liability – Conditions – Actual and certain damage – Assessment – Criteria – No actual and certain damage (Art. 340, second para., TFEU; Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2022/397, (CFSP) 2022/1530, (CFSP) 2023/572, (CFSP) 2023/1767 and (CFSP) 2024/847; Council Regulations No 269/2014, 2022/396, 2022/1529, 2023/571, 2023/1765 and 2024/849) (see paragraphs 288, 289, 291-293) Operative part The Court: 1. Annuls Council Decision (CFSP) 2022/1530 of 14 September 2022 amending Decision 2014/145/CFSP concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1529 of 14 September 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, Council Decision (CFSP) 2023/572 of 13 March 2023 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) 2023/571 of 13 March 2023 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 the name of Mr Dmitry Konov was maintained on the list of persons, entities and bodies subject to those restrictive measures; 2. Dismisses the action as to the remainder; 3. Orders each party to bear their own costs.