Judgments nº T-262/15 of Tribunal General de la Unión Europea, June 15, 2017

• Resolution Date: June 15, 2017
• Issuing Organization: Tribunal General de la Unión Europea
• Decision Number: T-262/15

In Case T-262/15,

Dmitrii Konstantinovich Kiselev, residing in Korolev (Russia), represented by J. Linneker, Solicitor, T. Otty, Barrister, and B. Kennelly QC,

applicant,

v

Council of the European Union, represented by V. Piessevaux and J.-P. Hix, acting as Agents,

defendant,

APPLICATION pursuant to Article 263 TFEU seeking the annulment of (i) Council Decision (CFSP) 2015/432 of 13 March 2015 amending Decision 2014/145/CFSP concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine (OJ 2015 L 70, p. 47) and Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/427 of 13 March 2015 implementing Regulation (EU) No 269/2014 concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine (OJ 2015 L 70, p. 1), (ii) Council Decision (CFSP) 2015/1524 of 14 September 2015 amending Decision 2014/145/CFSP concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine (OJ 2015 L 239, p. 157) and Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1514 of 14 September 2015 implementing Regulation No 269/2014 concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine (OJ 2015 L 239, p. 30), and (iii) Council Decision (CFSP) 2016/359 of 10 March 2016 amending Decision 2014/145/CFSP concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine (OJ 2016 L 67, p. 37) and Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/353 of 10 March 2016 implementing Regulation No 269/2014 concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine (OJ 2016 L 67, p. 1), in so far as those measures apply to the applicant,

THE GENERAL COURT (Ninth Chamber),

composed of G. Berardis (Rapporteur), President, V. Tomljenović and D. Spielmann, Judges,

Registrar: C. Heeren, Administrator,

having regard to the written part of the procedure and further to the hearing on 28 September 2016,

gives the following

Judgment

Background to the dispute

1 On 17 March 2014, the Council of the European Union adopted, on the basis of Article 29 TEU, Decision 2014/145/CFSP concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine (OJ 2014 L 78, p. 16).

2 On the same date, the Council adopted, on the basis of Article 215(2) TFEU, Regulation (EU) No 269/2014 concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine (OJ 2014 L 78, p. 6).

3 By Council Implementing Decision 2014/151/CFSP of 21 March 2014 implementing Decision 2014/145 (OJ 2014 L 86, p. 30) and by Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 284/2014 of 21 March 2014 implementing Regulation No 269/2014 (OJ 2014 L 86, p. 27), the name of the applicant, Dmitrii Konstantinovich Kiselev, was included on the lists of persons subject to the restrictive measures provided for in that regulation and that decision (‘the lists at issue’) for the following reasons:

‘Appointed by Presidential Decree on 9 December 2013 Head of the Russian Federal State news agency “Rossiya Segodnya”. Central figure of the government propaganda supporting the deployment of Russian forces in Ukraine.’

4 Subsequently, on 25 July 2014, the Council adopted Decision 2014/499/CFSP amending Decision 2014/145 (OJ 2014 L 221, p. 15) and Regulation (EU) No 811/2014 amending Regulation No 269/2014 (OJ 2014 L 221, p. 11) in order, inter alia, to amend the criteria by which natural or legal persons, entities or bodies could be made subject to the restrictive measures at issue.

5 Article 2(1) and (2) of Decision 2014/145, as amended by Decision 2014/499 (‘Decision 2014/145, as amended’), is worded as follows:

‘1. All funds and economic resources belonging to, or owned, held or controlled by:

(a) natural persons responsible for, actively supporting or implementing, actions or policies which undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, or stability or security in Ukraine, or which obstruct the work of international organisations in Ukraine, and natural or legal persons, entities or bodies associated with them;

...

as listed in the Annex, shall be frozen.

2. No funds or economic resources shall be made available, directly or indirectly, to or for the benefit of natural or legal persons, entities or bodies listed in the Annex.’

   6 The detailed rules for the freezing of those funds are set out in the subsequent paragraphs of that article.

   7 Article 1(1)(a) of Decision 2014/145, as amended, prohibits the entry into or transit through the territories of the Member States of natural persons who satisfy essentially the same criteria as those set out in Article 2(1)(a) of that decision.

   8 Regulation No 269/2014, as amended by Regulation No 811/2014 (‘Regulation No 269/2014, as amended’), requires the adoption of measures to freeze funds and lays down the detailed rules governing that freezing in terms essentially identical to those of Decision 2014/145, as amended. Article 3(1)(a) of that regulation largely reproduces Article 2(1)(a) of that decision.

   9 By letter of 4 February 2015 (‘the letter of 4 February 2015’), the applicant, through his lawyers, made a request to the Council pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (OJ 2001 L 145, p. 43) for, inter alia, access to the documents on which his inclusion on the lists at issue had been based.

   10 By letter of 13 February 2015, sent to the applicant’s lawyers, the Council informed the applicant, inter alia, that it intended to extend the duration of the restrictive measures against him until September 2015 and invited him to present observations in that regard by 26 February 2015 at the latest.

   11 By letter of 25 February 2015 (‘the letter of 25 February 2015’), the applicant, through the same lawyers, replied to that invitation, asserting that the adoption of restrictive measures against him was not justified.

   12 On 13 March 2015, the Council adopted Decision (CFSP) 2015/432 amending Decision 2014/145 (OJ 2015 L 70, p. 47) and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/427 implementing Regulation No 269/2014 (OJ 2015 L 70, p. 1) (‘the measures of March 2015’), by which, after reviewing the individual designations, it maintained the applicant’s name on the lists at issue until 15 September 2015, without amending the statement of reasons in respect of the applicant.

   13 By letter of 16 March 2015 (‘the letter of 16 March 2015’), the Council notified the measures of March 2015 to the applicant’s lawyers, stating in particular that the arguments which the applicant had raised in the letter of 25 February 2015 did not cast doubt on the validity of the reasons adopted in his case, since the State news agency of the Russian Federation Rossiya Segodnya (‘RS’) had given coverage of the events in Ukraine which was favourable to the Russian Government and had thus provided support to the policy of that government in relation to the situation in Ukraine.

   Procedure and forms of order sought

   14 By application lodged at the Court Registry on 22 May 2015, the applicant brought an action for annulment of the March 2015 measures, in so far as they concerned him.

   15 On 14 September 2015, by Decision (CFSP) 2015/1524 amending Decision 2014/145 (OJ 2015 L 239, p. 157) and by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1514 implementing Regulation No 269/2014 (OJ 2015 L 239, p. 30) (‘the September 2015 measures’), the application of the restrictive measures at issue was extended by the Council until 15 March 2016, without any amendment to the statement of reasons in respect of the applicant.

   16 By document lodged at the Court Registry on 24 November 2015, the applicant, in accordance with Article 86 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Court, modified the application so as to cover also the annulment of the September 2015 measures, in so far as they concerned him.

   17 The Council submitted observations on that request by document lodged at the Court Registry on 6 January 2016.

   18 On 10 March 2016, by Decision (CFSP) 2016/359 amending Decision 2014/145 (OJ 2016 L 67, p. 37) and by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/353 implementing Regulation No 269/2014 (OJ 2016 L 67, p. 1) (‘the March 2016 measures’), the Council extended the application of the restrictive measures at issue until 15 September 2016, without amending the statement of reasons concerning the applicant.

   19 By a statement lodged at the Court Registry on 20 May 2016, the applicant modified the application so as to cover also the annulment of the March 2016 measures, in so far as they concerned him.

   20 The Council submitted observations on that request by document lodged at the Court Registry on 14 June 2016.

   21 Acting upon a proposal of the Judge-Rapporteur, the Court (Ninth Chamber) decided to open the oral part of the procedure and, by way of measures of organisation of procedure under Article 89(3) of the Rules of Procedure, put questions to the parties, requesting them to reply to some in writing, and to the others at the hearing.

   22 The parties’ written replies were lodged at the Court Registry within the prescribed period.

   23 The parties presented oral argument and answered the questions put to them by the Court at the hearing on 28 September 2016. At that hearing, the Court authorised the applicant to submit a document, which the applicant lodged the following day. The Council submitted its written observations on that...