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Document 62024CA0084
Case C-84/24, EM System: Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 12 March 2026 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Lietuvos Aukščiausiasis Teismas (Lithuania)) – EM SYSTEM UAB v SEB bankas AB, Citadele banka Lietuvos filialas AS (Reference for a preliminary ruling – Common foreign and security policy – Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 – Restrictive measures in view of the situation in Belarus – Article 2(1) – Annex I – List of persons, entities and bodies subject to restrictive measures – Inclusion of the name of the shareholder of a company on that list – 50 % stake in the capital of that company held by that shareholder – Freezing of the funds of the company, which is not included on the list – Control by a person or entity included on the list of a legal person not included on the list – Criteria for assessment – Right to effective judicial protection – Rights of the defence)
Case C-84/24, EM System: Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 12 March 2026 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Lietuvos Aukščiausiasis Teismas (Lithuania)) – EM SYSTEM UAB v SEB bankas AB, Citadele banka Lietuvos filialas AS (Reference for a preliminary ruling – Common foreign and security policy – Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 – Restrictive measures in view of the situation in Belarus – Article 2(1) – Annex I – List of persons, entities and bodies subject to restrictive measures – Inclusion of the name of the shareholder of a company on that list – 50 % stake in the capital of that company held by that shareholder – Freezing of the funds of the company, which is not included on the list – Control by a person or entity included on the list of a legal person not included on the list – Criteria for assessment – Right to effective judicial protection – Rights of the defence)
Case C-84/24, EM System: Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 12 March 2026 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Lietuvos Aukščiausiasis Teismas (Lithuania)) – EM SYSTEM UAB v SEB bankas AB, Citadele banka Lietuvos filialas AS (Reference for a preliminary ruling – Common foreign and security policy – Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 – Restrictive measures in view of the situation in Belarus – Article 2(1) – Annex I – List of persons, entities and bodies subject to restrictive measures – Inclusion of the name of the shareholder of a company on that list – 50 % stake in the capital of that company held by that shareholder – Freezing of the funds of the company, which is not included on the list – Control by a person or entity included on the list of a legal person not included on the list – Criteria for assessment – Right to effective judicial protection – Rights of the defence)
OJ C, C/2026/2677, 26.5.2026, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2026/2677/oj (BG, ES, CS, DA, DE, ET, EL, EN, FR, GA, HR, IT, LV, LT, HU, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SK, SL, FI, SV)
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Official Journal |
EN C series |
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C/2026/2677 |
26.5.2026 |
Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 12 March 2026 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Lietuvos Aukščiausiasis Teismas (Lithuania)) – EM SYSTEM UAB v SEB bankas AB, Citadele banka Lietuvos filialas AS
(Case C-84/24, (1) EM System)
(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Common foreign and security policy - Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 - Restrictive measures in view of the situation in Belarus - Article 2(1) - Annex I - List of persons, entities and bodies subject to restrictive measures - Inclusion of the name of the shareholder of a company on that list - 50 % stake in the capital of that company held by that shareholder - Freezing of the funds of the company, which is not included on the list - Control by a person or entity included on the list of a legal person not included on the list - Criteria for assessment - Right to effective judicial protection - Rights of the defence)
(C/2026/2677)
Language of the case: Lithuanian
Referring court
Lietuvos Aukščiausiasis Teismas
Parties to the main proceedings
Applicant: EM SYSTEM UAB
Defendants: SEB bankas AB, Citadele banka Lietuvos filialas AS
Operative part of the judgment
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1. |
Article 2(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 of 18 May 2006 concerning restrictive measures in respect of Belarus, as amended by Council Regulation (EU) No 1014/2012 of 6 November 2012, must be interpreted as meaning that assets deposited in the bank accounts of a company which is not included on the list in Annex I to Regulation No 765/2006 but in which a person included on that list has a 50 % shareholding must be presumed to be funds held or controlled by that person and, therefore, must be frozen, within the meaning of that provision. |
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2. |
EU law must be interpreted as meaning that a company which is not included on the list in Annex I to Regulation No 765/2006, whose funds have been frozen by private entities pursuant to Article 2(1) of that regulation on the ground that those funds are presumed to be held or controlled by a person which is included on that list, must, in order to safeguard that company’s right to effective judicial protection, be afforded the opportunity to challenge, in an action before the national authorities and subsequently, if necessary, before the national courts with jurisdiction, the measure freezing its funds, and to have that measure lifted if it demonstrates that those funds are not actually held or controlled by the person included on that list. |
(1) OJ C, C/2024/3308.
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2026/2677/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)