Case T-518/23: Judgment of the General Court of 10 December 2025 – Middle East Bank, Munich Branch v Commission (Commercial policy – Protection against the effects of the extraterritorial application of legislation adopted by a third country – Restrictive measures taken by the United States against Iran – Secondary sanctions preventing natural or legal persons of the European Union from having commercial relationships with undertakings targeted by those measures – Prohibition on complying with such legislation – Second paragraph of Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 2271/96 – Commission decision authorising a legal person of the European Union to comply with that legislation – Notification of the decision to the undertaking targeted by the restrictive measures of the third country – Retroactive effect – Account taken of that undertaking’s activities excluded from the scope of those measures)
Date: 2025-12-10
Institutions: General Court
Subjects: Germany, Iran, United States, bank, economic sanctions, international sanctions, retroactivity of a law, trade restriction








C_202600642EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2026/642


9.2.2026






Judgment of the General Court of 10 December 2025 – Middle East Bank, Munich Branch v Commission


(Case T-518/23)
                (1)

(Commercial policy - Protection against the effects of the extraterritorial application of legislation adopted by a third country - Restrictive measures taken by the United States against Iran - Secondary sanctions preventing natural or legal persons of the European Union from having commercial relationships with undertakings targeted by those measures - Prohibition on complying with such legislation - Second paragraph of Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 2271/96 - Commission decision authorising a legal person of the European Union to comply with that legislation - Notification of the decision to the undertaking targeted by the restrictive measures of the third country - Retroactive effect - Account taken of that undertaking’s activities excluded from the scope of those measures)
(C/2026/642)
Language of the case: German

Parties


Applicant: Middle East Bank, Munich Branch (Munich, Germany) (represented by: C. Franz and N. Bornemann, lawyers)

Defendant: European Commission (represented by: M. Kellerbauer and L. Puccio, acting as Agents)

Intervener in support of the defendant: Clearstream Banking AG (Eschborn, Germany) (represented by: C. Schmitt and T. Bastian, lawyers)

Re:

By its action based on Article 263 TFEU, the applicant seeks the annulment of Commission Implementing Decision C(2023) 2963 final of 27 April 2023 granting an authorisation to the intervener, Clearstream Banking AG, pursuant to the second paragraph of Article 5 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2271/96 of 22 November 1996 protecting against the effects of the extra-territorial application of legislation adopted by a third country, and actions based thereon or resulting therefrom (OJ 1996 L 309, p. 1) (‘the first contested decision’), and of Commission Implementing Decision C(2024) 4478 final of 24 June 2024 granting a new authorisation to the intervener pursuant to the same provision concerning certain securities and funds in the custody of, or deposited with, the intervener (‘the second contested decision’).

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.


Dismisses the action;










2.


Orders Middle East Bank, Munich Branch to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission and by Clearstream Banking AG.






(1)  
            OJ C, C/2023/67, 9.10.2023.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2026/642/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)