Information;Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2020:608
Date: 2020-12-16
Language of the case: French
Court formation: Fourth Chamber
Subject matter: External relations;Common foreign and security policy
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded;Action for damages

summary statement of reasons sufficient (Art. 296 TFEU; Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, Arts 27(2)(a) and 28(2)(a), as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2015/1836, (CFSP) 2019/806 and (CFSP) 2020/719, Annex I; Council Regulation No 36/2012, as amended by Regulations 2019/798 and 2020/716, Annex II) (see paras 109-114, 118-121) 7. European Union – Judicial review of the legality of the acts of the institutions – Restrictive measures against 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 grounds held against the persons or entities concerned are well founded (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 47; Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2019/806 and (CFSP) 2020/719, Annex I; Council Regulation No 36/2012, as amended by Regulations 2019/798 and 2020/716, Annex II) (see paras 128-133, 141) 8. European Union – Judicial review of the legality of the acts of the institutions – Restrictive measures against Syria – Scope of the review – Inclusion of the applicant in the list annexed to the contested decision by virtue of his status as a leading businessperson operating in Syria – Publicly accessible documents – Probative value (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 47; Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2019/806 and (CFSP) 2020/719, Annex I; Council Regulation No 36/2012, as amended by Regulations 2019/798 and 2020/716, Annex II) (see paras 138, 142, 143, 147) 9. Common foreign and security policy – Restrictive measures against Syria – Freezing of funds and economic resources – Action for annulment brought by a leading businessperson operating in Syria who is subject to a decision to freeze funds – Allocation of the burden of proof – Decision based on a series of indicators – Probative value (Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2019/806 and (CFSP) 2020/719, Annex I; Council Regulation No 36/2012, as amended by Regulations 2019/798 and 2020/716, Annex II) (see paras 149-151, 153) 10. Common foreign and security policy – Specific restrictive measures against certain persons and bodies in view of the situation in Syria – Decision 2013/255/CFSP and Regulation No 36/2012 – Presumption of support for the Syrian regime in the case of leading businesspersons operating in Syria – Whether permissible – Conditions – Rebuttable presumption – Evidence to the contrary – None (Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, as amended by Decision (CFSP) 2015/1836, Arts 27(2)(a), and (3), and 28(2)(a) and (3)) (see paras 157, 158, 160, 161, 165, 166) 11. Common foreign and security policy – Restrictive measures against Syria – Freezing of the funds of and restrictions on the admission of persons, entities or organisations associated with the Syrian regime – Restriction of the right to property and the free exercise of an economic activity – Breach of principle of proportionality – None (Art. 5(4) TEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Arts 15, 16 and 17; Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, Art. 28(6) and (7), as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2015/1836, (CFSP) 2019/806 and (CFSP) 2020/719, Annex I; Council Regulations 2019/798 and 2020/716, Annex II) (see paras 170-180) 12. Non-contractual liability – Conditions – Unlawfulness – Damage – Causal link – Cumulative conditions – Obligation on the court to examine in a given order – None (Art. 340, second para., TFEU) (see paras 184-186) Re: Application under Article 263 TFEU seeking the annulment of Council Decision (CFSP) 2016/850 of 27 May 2016 amending Decision 2013/255/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Syria (OJ 2016 L 141, p. 125), of Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/840 of 27 May 2016 implementing Regulation (EU) No 36/2012 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria (OJ 2016 L 141, p. 30), of Council Decision (CFSP) 2017/917 of 29 May 2017 amending Decision 2013/255/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Syria (OJ 2017 L 139, p. 62), of Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/907 of 29 May 2017 implementing Regulation (EU) No 36/2012 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria (OJ 2017 L 139, p. 15), of Council Implementing Decision (CFSP) 2017/1245 of 10 July 2017 implementing Decision 2013/255/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Syria (OJ 2017 L 178, p. 13), of Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1241 of 10 July 2017 implementing Regulation (EU) No 36/2012 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria (OJ 2017 L 178, p. 1), of Council Decision (CFSP) 2018/778 of 28 May 2018 amending Decision 2013/255/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Syria (OJ 2018 L 131, p.16), of Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/774 of 28 May 2018 implementing Regulation (EU) No 36/2012 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria (OJ 2018 L 131, p. 1), of Council Decision (CFSP) 2019/806 of 17 May 2019 amending Decision 2013/255/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Syria (OJ 2019 L 132, p. 36), of Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/798 of 17 May 2019 implementing Regulation (EU) No 36/2012 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria (OJ 2019 L 132, p. 1), of Council Decision (CFSP) 2020/719 of 28 May 2020 amending Decision 2013/255/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Syria (OJ 2020 L 168, p. 66), and of Council Regulation (EU) 2020/716 of 28 May 2020 implementing Regulation (EU) No 36/2012 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria (OJ 2020 L 168, p. 1) in so far as those measures apply to the applicant and, moreover, application under Article 268 TFEU seeking compensation for the damage that that applicant allegedly suffered as a result of those acts. Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Mr. George Haswani to pay the costs.