The General Court of the European Union, in a judgment delivered on Wednesday 18 December (Case T-493/23), has rejected the appeals lodged by Moldovan-Israeli businessman Ilan Mironovich Shor, former leader of the ȘOR political party, and Marina Tauber, former deputy leader of the same party, against the sanctions that the EU has imposed on them since 2023 (see EUROPE 13191/3) for their role in organising violent anti-government demonstrations aimed at destabilising Moldova.
The General Court finds that, in 2022 and 2023, the ȘOR party, under the leadership of Mr Shor and Ms Tauber, organised violent rallies in Chișinău, with the assistance of demonstrators selected, trained and paid by that same party in an attempt to cause disorder and intimidate the Moldovan government. In its view, these demonstrations were organised in the interests of and with the assistance of Russia, so that they are fully in line with actions to destabilise the Moldovan government to which the restrictive measures in question are intended to respond.
Finally, the General Court notes that the ȘOR party’s dissolution is not sufficient, on its own, to render the EU sanctions against Mr Shor and Ms Tauber obsolete. They remain likely to organise or take part in violent demonstrations or other acts of violence in Moldova.
See the General Court’s judgment (in French): https://aeur.eu/f/ev5 (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)