Information;Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2025:445
Date: 2025-05-07
Language of the case: Bulgarian
Court formation: Fifth Chamber
Subject matter: External relations;Common foreign and security policy
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded;Action for annulment

summary statement of reasons sufficient (Art. 296 TFEU; Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2023/1035 and (CFSP) 2024/1510, Annex I; Council Regulations No 36/2012, 2023/1027 and 2024/1517, Annex II) (see paragraphs 24, 25, 29) 2. 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 – Leading businesspersons operating in Syria – Association with the Syrian regime – Concepts – Effects on the grounds for inclusion (Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, as amended by Decision (CFSP) 2015/1836, Arts 27(1), (2)(a) and (3) and 28(1), (2)(a), and (3); Council Regulation No 36/2012, as amended by Regulation 2015/1828, Art. 15(1)(a), (1a)(a) and (1b)) (see paragraphs 26-28) 3. EU law – Principles – Rights of the defence – Right to effective judicial protection – Restrictive measures against Syria – Prohibition of entry and transit and freezing of funds of certain persons and entities responsible for violent repression against the civilian population – Obligation to disclose incriminating evidence – Scope (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Arts 41(2)(a) and 47; Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2023/1035 and (CFSP) 2024/1510, Annex I; Council Regulations No 36/2012, 2023/1027 and 2024/1517, Annex II) (see paragraphs 33-36) 4. 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 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) 2023/1035 and (CFSP) 2024/1510, Annex I; Council Regulations No 36/2012, 2023/1027 and 2024/1517, Annex II) (see paragraphs 42-47, 57, 71, 74-78) 5. 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 set of indicia – Probative value – Scope – Evidence to the contrary – Absence – Error of assessment – None (Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2015/1836, (CFSP) 2023/1035 and (CFSP) 2024/1510, Arts 27(2)(a) and (3) and 28(2)(a) and (3), and Annex I; Council Regulations No 36/2012, 2023/1027 and 2024/1517, Art. 15(1a)(a) and (1b), and Annex II) (see paragraphs 48, 89, 96-100, 105-107, 121) 6. 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 and of his association with the Syrian regime – Publicly available documents – Probative value – Principle of the unfettered evaluation of evidence (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 47; Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2023/1035 and (CFSP) 2024/1510; Council Regulations No 36/2012, 2023/1027 and 2024/1517) (see paragraphs 49, 50, 58-61, 64-68, 108) 7. 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 – Leading businesspersons operating in Syria – Concept – Autonomous, objective and sufficient legal criterion (Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2015/1836, (CFSP) 2023/1035 and (CFSP) 2024/1510; Council Regulations No 36/2012, 2023/1027 and 2024/1517) (see paragraph 109) 8. 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 – Presumption of a link with the Syrian regime – Whether permissible – Conditions – Rebuttable presumption – Evidence to the contrary – Absence (Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2015/1836, (CFSP) 2023/1035 and (CFSP) 2024/1510, Arts 27(3) and 28(3), and Annex I) (see paragraphs 110-112, 116-120) 9. European Union – Judicial review of the legality of the acts of the institutions – Restrictive measures against Syria – Freezing of funds of certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Syria – Scope of the review – Measures capable of being supported by some grounds and not others – Validity of those measures (Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2015/1836, (CFSP) 2023/1035 and (CFSP) 2024/1510; Council Regulations No 36/2012, 2023/1027 and 2024/1517) (see paragraphs 122, 123) 10. Common foreign and security policy – Restrictive measures against Syria – Freezing of funds of persons, entities or bodies associated with the Syrian regime – Restrictions on the right to respect for private and family life, on the freedom to pursue an economic activity and on the right to property – Breach of the principle of proportionality – None (Art. 5(4) TEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Arts 7, 15, 16 and 17; Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP, as amended by Decisions (CFSP) 2023/1035 and (CFSP) 2024/1510; Council Regulations No 36/2012, 2023/1027 and 2024/1517) (see paragraphs 127-136) Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Mr Hashem Anwar Akkad to pay the costs.