The General Court of the European Union on Wednesday 9 June annulled the 2019 EU Council acts that extended the freezing of funds of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and his son Oleksandr (cases T-302/19 and T-303/19).
According to the Court, the EU Council has not demonstrated that in the criminal proceedings underlying the extension and conducted by the Ukrainian authorities against the two men, the rights of defence and the right to effective judicial protection have been respected.
“While the EU Council can base restrictive measures on the decision of a third State, which was competent to make it, to initiate and conduct criminal-investigation proceedings concerning that person and relating to an offence of misappropriation of public funds of that State, it is nevertheless the obligation of that institution to respect the rights of the defence and the right to effective judicial protection”, the Court considers.
According to the Court, the EU Council must state in the act imposing these measures that it has verified that the decision in question by the authority of the third State was adopted in compliance with these rights. The EU Council therefore committed “an error of assessment”.
This is not the first time that the General Court has annulled EU Council acts concerning the two men (see EUROPE 12334/16, 11625/28).
Asked about the Court’s decision, European External Action Service (EEAS) spokesman Peter Stano said the EEAS takes “good note” of the judgments. “The EU Council will carefully analyse this judgment and its implications. But Mr Yanukovych and his son remain subject to EU restrictive measures based on legal acts adopted in 2021 and an amended statement of reasons which are not part of Yanukovych’s challenge initiated in 2019”, he argued.
The sanctions against both men were renewed in March for one year, until 6 March 2022 (see EUROPE 12672/32).
See judgments in Case T-302/19: https://bit.ly/3v6TPg4; and in Case T-303/19: https://bit.ly/3grf7zY (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)