Information;Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2026:14
Date: 2026-01-14
Language of the case: English
Procedure: Action for annulment
Origin: Belgium

summary or implied statement of reasons (Art. 296 TFEU; Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2024/380 and (CFSP) 2024/1510, Arts 27(1) and 28(1) and Annex I; Council Regulations No 36/2012, Art. 15(1)(a) and Annex II, 2024/362 and 2024/1517) (see paragraphs 37-42, 51-59, 72-76, 81-85, 93) 3. Common foreign and security policy – Specific restrictive measures against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Syria – Decision 2013/255/CFSP and Regulation No 36/2012 – Criteria for adopting restrictive measures – Association with the Syrian regime – Association with a member of the Assad or Makhlouf families – Concepts – Autonomous legal criteria – Effects on the grounds for inclusion (Art. 296 TFEU; Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2015/1836, (CFSP) 2024/380 and (CFSP) 2024/1510, Arts 27(1), (2) and (3) and 28(1), (2) and (3) and Annex I; Council Regulations No 36/2012, Art. 15(1a) and Annex II, 2015/1828, 2024/362 and 2024/1517) (see paragraphs 60-66, 70, 71) 4. Common foreign and security policy – Specific restrictive measures against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Syria – Decision 2013/255/CFSP and Regulation No 36/2012 – Criteria for adopting restrictive measures – Association with the Syrian regime – Association with a member of the Assad or Makhlouf families – Concepts – Situations in which the person concerned meets multiple criteria simultaneously (Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2015/1836, (CFSP) 2024/380 and (CFSP) 2024/1510, Arts 27(1), (2) and (3) and 28(1), (2) and (3); Council Regulations No 36/2012, Art. 15(1a), 2015/1828, 2024/362 and 2024/1517) (see paragraphs 67-69) 5. EU law – Principles – Rights of the defence – Right to effective judicial protection – Restrictive measures in respect of Syria – Freezing of funds of persons, entities or bodies associated with the Syrian regime – Obligation to disclose individual and specific grounds for the decisions adopted – Scope – Notification of the person concerned by means of a publication in the Official Journal – Council not able to effect notification – Whether permissible (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 47; Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2015/1836, (CFSP) 2024/380 and (CFSP) 2024/1510, Art. 30(2) and (3); Council Regulations No 36/2012, Art. 32(2) and (3), 2015/1828, 2024/362 and 2024/1517) (see paragraphs 100, 114) 6. EU law – Principles – Rights of the defence – Right to effective judicial protection – Restrictive measures in respect of Syria – Freezing of the funds of and restrictions on the admission of persons, entities or bodies associated with the Syrian regime – Obligation to disclose individual and specific grounds for the decisions adopted – Scope – Unlawfulness of the act depending on proving the procedural relevance of the infringement of that obligation – Burden of proof on the person claiming infringement – Infringement – None (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 47; Council Decision 2013/255CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2015/1836, (CFSP) 2024/380 and (CFSP) 2024/1510; Council Regulations No 36/2012, 2015/1828, 2024/362 and 2024/1517) (see paragraphs 101-110) 7. Plea of illegality – Scope – Measures the illegality of which may be pleaded – General measure providing the basis of the contested decision – Need for a legal connection between the contested measure and the contested general measure – No such connection – Inadmissibility (Art. 277 TFEU; Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2015/1836, (CFSP) 2024/380 and (CFSP) 2024/1510, Arts 27(2)(b) and 28(2)(b); Council Regulations No 36/2012, Art. 15, 2015/1828, 2024/362 and 2024/1517) (see paragraphs 121-127) 8. Action for annulment – Jurisdiction of the EU judicature – Scope – Prohibition on ruling ultra petita – Obligation to comply with the framework of the dispute defined by the parties (Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 21, first para.; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Arts 76 and 84(1)) (see paragraph 129) 9. Judicial proceedings – Application initiating proceedings – Formal requirements – Setting out of the pleas in law put forward – General reference to other documents annexed to the application – Inadmissibility (Statute of the Court of Justice, Arts 21, first para., and 53, first para.; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 76(d)) (see paragraph 130) 10. Common foreign and security policy – Specific restrictive measures against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Syria – Decision 2013/255/CFSP and Regulation No 36/2012 – Assumption that persons and entities associated with members of the Assad and Makhlouf families support the Syrian regime – Whether permissible – Conditions – Proportionality – Public interest objective – Necessary and appropriate nature of the measure (Art. 21 TEU; Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, as amended by Decision (CFSP) 2015/1836, Arts 27(2)(b) and 28(2)(b); Council Regulations No 36/2012, Art. 15(1a), and 2015/1828) (see paragraphs 137-151) 11. Common foreign and security policy – Specific restrictive measures against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Syria – Decision 2013/255/CFSP and Regulation No 36/2012 – Assumption that persons and entities associated with members of the Assad and Makhlouf families support the Syrian regime – Whether permissible – Conditions – Rebuttable presumption – Evidence to the contrary – Lack of evidence to the contrary (Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, as amended by Decision (CFSP) 2015/1836, Arts 27(2)(b) and (3) and 28(2)(b) and (3); Council Regulations No 36/2012, Art. 15(1a) and (1b), and 2015/1828) (see paragraphs 152-157, 189-196) 12. Common foreign and security policy – Specific restrictive measures against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Syria – Decision 2013/255/CFSP and Regulation No 36/2012 – Assumption that persons and entities associated with members of the Assad and Makhlouf families support the Syrian regime – Whether permissible – Conditions – Rebuttable presumption – Observance of the rights of the defence (Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2015/1836, (CFSP) 2024/380 and (CFSP) 2024/1510, Arts 27(2)(b), 28(2)(b) and 30(2) and (3); Council Regulations No 36/2012, Arts 15(1a) and 32(2) and (3), and 2015/1828) (see paragraphs 160-165) 13. European Union – Judicial review of the legality of the acts of the institutions – Restrictive measures in respect of Syria – 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 – Error of assessment – None (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 47; Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2015/1836, (CFSP) 2024/380 and (CFSP) 2024/1510, Arts 27(2)(b) and 28(2)(b) and Annex I; Council Regulations No 36/2012, Art. 15(1a) and Annex II, 2015/1828, 2024/362 and 2024/1517) (see paragraphs 170-176, 186-188, 197) 14. European Union – Judicial review of the legality of the acts of the institutions – Restrictive measures in respect of Syria – Scope of the review – Inclusion of the applicant’s name on the list annexed to the contested decision as a result of his association with the Assad or Makhlouf families – Publicly available documents – Probative value (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 47; Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2015/1836, (CFSP) 2024/380 and (CFSP) 2024/1510, Arts 27(2)(b) and 28(2)(b) and Annex I; Council Regulations No 36/2012, Art. 15(1a) and Annex II, 2015/1828, 2024/362 and 2024/1517) (see paragraphs 177, 181) 15. European Union – Judicial review of the legality of the acts of the institutions – Restrictive measures in respect of Syria – 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 Syria (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 47; Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2015/1836, (CFSP) 2024/380 and (CFSP) 2024/1510, Arts 27(2)(b) and 28(2)(b) and Annex I; Council Regulations No 36/2012, Art. 15(1a) and Annex II, 2015/1828, 2024/362 and 2024/1517) (see paragraph 178) 16. EU law – Principles – Proportionality – Whether a measure is proportionate to its aim – Criteria for assessment – Public interest objective – Whether necessary – Assessment in the light of the Council’s obligation in relation to periodic re-examination – Breach – None (Art. 5(4) TEU; Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2024/380 and (CFSP) 2024/1510, Arts 28(6) and 34; Council Regulations No 36/2012, Arts 16 and 32(4), 2024/362 and 2024/1517) (see paragraphs 209-217) 17. Common foreign and security policy – Restrictive measures in respect of Syria – Freezing of funds of persons, entities or bodies associated with the Syrian regime – Restriction of the right to property – Restriction on 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 (Arts 5(4) and 29 TEU; Art. 215 TFEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Arts 16 and 52(1); Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2024/380 and (CFSP) 2024/1510, Arts 28(1) and (6) and 34; Council Regulations No 36/2012, Arts 15, 16 and 32(4), 2024/362 and 2024/1517) (see paragraphs 221-228) Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Mr Feras Al Akhras to pay the costs.