Brussels, 17/12/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 17 December, the General Court of the EU decided, on “procedural grounds”, to annul the decision of the Council of the EU to maintain Hamas on the European list of terrorist organisations.
By basing itself on factual imputations derived from the press and the internet, the Council of the EU committed a serious error of procedure because it should have based itself on acts examined and confirmed by competent national authorities. This has resulted in the General Court annulling the Council decision to maintain Hamas on the EU's list - a list which groups together organisations accused of terrorist activities, the funds of which (including those of individuals belonging to these organisations) are frozen in the EU.
The General Court nevertheless stated that the effects of the Council decision are maintained for a period of three months or, if an appeal is brought before the Court of Justice, until the appeal is closed. The General Court also said that its decision does not constitute any substantive assessment of the question of the classification of Hamas as a terrorist group. It did not therefore accept the argument put forward by Hamas that Hamas is a sovereignly elected government which, in line with the principle of non-interference, cannot be placed on lists of terrorist organisations (see EUROPE 11218). (JK)