EU Court Approves Seizure of Material That Contravenes Sanctions Imposed on Russia
EU Court of Justice, Luxemburg, 2024. X/ @JusticeNews247
September 10, 2024 Hour: 9:13 am
The ban on providing intermediary services applies even when the products have never been imported into a EU country.
On Tuesday, the Court of Justice of the European Union upheld the seizure of all materials in an operation subject to the ban on providing brokerage services for military equipment to Russia, even if the equipment had not been imported into a member state.
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The Luxembourg-based court addressed the case of Neves, a Romanian aerospace company that acted as an intermediary in a transaction between a Ukrainian company and an Indian company for the sale of around thirty radio transmitters, twenty of which were manufactured in Russia.
In the summer of 2019, Romanian authorities informed Neves that brokerage activities related to military equipment involving any operator in Russia were prohibited, as part of the EU’s response to Russia’s actions leading up to the special military operation that began in 2022.
However, shortly afterward, Neves received nearly three million euros from the Ukrainian company for its brokerage services, prompting Romanian authorities to fine the company about 6,000 euros and seize the amount received for those services.
A Romanian court then asked the Court of Justice whether the ban applies when the military equipment in question has never been imported into the Union. It also asked whether the national penalties imposed for violating the ban are compatible with the company’s property rights.
First, the CJEU confirmed its competence to interpret a general provision of a Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) decision that serves as the basis for national sanctions imposed on a company.
On the substance, the court ruled that the ban on providing brokerage services related to military equipment to an operator in Russia applies even when the products have never been imported into a member state. It stated that the prohibition could be easily circumvented if it could be avoided simply by having the equipment transit without passing through Union territory.
The Court of Justice also emphasized that European law allows for the automatic seizure of all amounts received in connection with the provision of brokerage services related to military equipment for an operator in Russia. Although the court acknowledged that this limits the provider’s property rights over these amounts, it clarified that this limitation is appropriate to ensure the effectiveness of the ban.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE
