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annul Council Decision (CFSP) 2024/2643 (1) of 8 October 2024 concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s destabilising activities, in so far as Article 4(1) provides for a decision ‘by unanimity’;

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order the Council to pay the costs.

1.

First plea in law, alleging infringement of Article 31(2) TEU

The Parliament submits that, in Article 4(1) of the contested decision, the Council confers an implementing power on itself to later establish and amend the list in the Annex, which is otherwise blank, thereby operationalising the restrictive measures in question in respect of specific natural and legal persons, entities and bodies. Article 31(2) TEU explicitly provides that certain acts shall be adopted ‘by qualified majority’, notably ‘any decision implementing a decision defining a Union action or position’. By including the words ‘by unanimity’ in Article 4, the Council thus acted in infringement of the express wording of Article 31(2) TEU.

2.

Second plea in law, alleging non-compliance with Article 40 TEU

The Parliament submits that the contested decision did not comply with Article 40 TEU, in so far as the words ‘by unanimity’ were added to Article 4(1) of the contested decision. The illegal procedural hurdle introduced by Council for itself under Article 4(1) of the contested decision adversely affects the subsequent decision-making procedure under Article 215 TFEU because the parallelism between the conditions under the CFSP in the TEU and the TFEU, both requiring qualified majority voting, is thereby set aside. The change from qualified majority voting to unanimity in the CFSP decision adopted on the basis of Article 29 TEU thus affects the balance foreseen in the Treaties for this case and thereby changes the conditions for the adoption of the Regulation to be adopted under Article 215 TFEU.