Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2017:792
Date: 2017-11-08
Language of the case: English
Court formation: Sixth Chamber
Subject matter: External relations;Common foreign and security policy
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded

summary statement of reasons sufficient — Limits — Statement of reasons not capable of consisting of a general and stereotyped formulation (Art. 296 TFEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 41(2)(c); Council Decisions (CFSP) 2015/364 and (CFSP) 2016/318; Council Regulations No 2015/357 and No 2016/311) (see paras 52-54) 2. Actions for annulment — Pleas in law — Lack of or inadequate statement of reasons — Separate ground from the one concerning substantive legality (Art. 263 TFEU and 296 TFEU) (see para. 55) 3. EU law — Values and objectives of the Union — Values — Respect for the rule of law — Rule of law — Meaning (Arts 2 TEU and 49 TEU) (see paras 73-75) 4. Common foreign and security policy — Restrictive measures taken against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Ukraine — Freezing of funds of persons involved in the misappropriation of public funds belonging to the Ukrainian State — Misappropriation of public funds — Meaning — Acts of misappropriation of public funds or assets capable of undermining the institutional and legal foundations of Ukraine and respect for the rule of law in that country — Broad interpretation (Council Decisions 2014/119/CFSP, Art. 1(1)(a), and (CFSP) 2015/143) (see paras 76-78, 80-82) 5. European Union — Judicial review of the legality of the acts of the institutions — Restrictive measures taken having regard to the situation in Ukraine — Ambit of the review — Proof the measure well-founded — Obligation on the Council systematically to verify evidence submitted by the authorities of a non-Member country — None — Obligation, for the Council, to assess whether it is necessary to seek disclosure of further information or evidence from the national authorities — Scope (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Arts 41 and 47; Council Decisions (CFSP) 2015/364 and (CFSP) 2016/318; Council Regulations No 2015/357 and No 2016/311) (see paras 98, 99, 113, 114, 116, 117, 125, 126, 262) 6. Fundamental rights — Rights of defence — Right to effective judicial protection — Restrictive measures taken having regard to the situation in Ukraine — Obligation to disclose individual and specific grounds for the decisions adopted — Obligation to disclose incriminating evidence — Scope (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Arts 41(2)(a) and 47; Council Decisions (CFSP) 2015/364 and (CFSP) 2016/318; Council Regulations No 2015/357 and No 2016/311) (see paras 176-178) 7. Common foreign and security policy — Restrictive measures taken against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Ukraine — Freezing of funds of persons involved in the misappropriation of public funds –Restriction on the right to property and reputation — Breach of principle of proportionality — None (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 17; Council Decisions (CFSP) 2015/364 and (CFSP) 2016/318; Council Regulations No 2015/357 and No 2016/311) (see paras 199-216) 8. Judicial proceedings — Modification of the pleas in the course of proceedings — Formal requirements — Brief summary of the pleas in law on which the application is based — Transposition of the initial pleas in law — Conditions — Reference to the whole of the annexes — Inadmissibility (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 7(d)) (see paras 235, 236, 246) Re: APPLICATION under Article 263 TFEU seeking the annulment of (i) Council Decision (CFSP) 2015/364 of 5 March 2015 amending Decision 2014/119/CFSP concerning restrictive measures directed against certain persons, entities and bodies in view of the situation in Ukraine (OJ 2015, L 62, p. 25) and Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/357 of 5 March 2015 implementing Regulation (EU) No 208/2014 concerning restrictive measures directed against certain persons, entities and bodies in view of the situation in Ukraine (OJ 2015, L 62, p. 1); (ii) Council Decision (CFSP) 2016/318 of 4 March 2016 amending Decision 2014/119/CFSP concerning restrictive measures directed against certain persons, entities and bodies in view of the situation in Ukraine (OJ 2016 L 60, p. 76) and Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/311 of 4 March 2016 implementing Regulation (EU) No 208/2014 concerning restrictive measures directed against certain persons, entities and bodies in view of the situation in Ukraine (OJ 2016 L 60, p. 1), and (iii) Council Decision (CFSP) 2017/381 of 3 March 2017 amending Decision 2014/119/CFSP concerning restrictive measures directed against certain persons, entities and bodies in view of the situation in Ukraine (OJ 2017 L 58, p. 34) and Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/374 of 3 March 2017 implementing Regulation (EU) No 208/2014 concerning restrictive measures directed against certain persons, entities and bodies in view of the situation in Ukraine (OJ 2017 L 58, p. 1), in so far as the applicant’s name was retained on the list of persons, entities and bodies subject to those restrictive measures. Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Mr Oleksandr Viktorovych Klymenko to pay the costs.