Case C‑44/23 P

Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)

v

Council of the European Union

Judgment of the Court (Seventh Chamber) of 13 March 2025

(Appeal – Common foreign and security policy – Combating terrorism – Restrictive measures taken against certain persons and entities – Freezing of funds – Common Position 2001/931/CFSP – Article 1(3), (4) and (6) – Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001 – Article 2(3) – Maintenance of an organisation on the list of persons, groups and entities involved in terrorist acts – Applicability to situations of armed conflict – Terrorist group – Nature of, and underlying reasons for, the acts carried out – Distance in time – Ongoing risk of involvement in terrorist activities – Proportionality – Obligation to state reasons)

  1. Common foreign and security policy – Specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a view to combating terrorism – Freezing of funds – Common Position 2001/931 – Scope – Persons, groups and entities involved in terrorist acts – Terrorist act – Definition – Cumulative conditions

    (Council Common Position 2001/931, Art. 1(3), first subpara., (i) to (iii), (a) to (k))

    (see paragraphs 59-67, 73-76)

  2. Common foreign and security policy – Specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a view to combating terrorism – Freezing of funds – Scope – Principle of self-determination – Distinction between the objectives specific to the exercise of the right to self-determination and the behaviour adopted to achieve them

    (Council Common Position 2001/931, Art. 1(3), first subpara., (i) to (iii), (a) to (k))

    (see paragraphs 69-72)

  3. Common foreign and security policy – Specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a view to combating terrorism – Duty of sincere cooperation between Member States and the EU institutions – Decision to freeze funds – Adoption or maintenance on the basis of a national decision to investigate, prosecute or convict – National decision to convict – Serious and credible evidence or clues underlying the national decision

    (Council Common Position 2001/931, Art. 1(4); Council Decisions (CFSP) 2019/25 and (CFSP) 2019/1341; Council Regulations No 2580/2001, 2015/513, 2015/1325, 2015/2425, 2016/1127, 2017/150 and 2017/1420)

    (see paragraphs 87-91)

  4. Common foreign and security policy – Specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a view to combating terrorism – Decision to freeze funds – Adoption or maintenance on the basis of a national decision to investigate, prosecute or convict – Re-examination in order to justify maintaining a person’s name on the fund-freezing list – Cooperation between the Council and competent authorities – Scope – Distinction between initial adoption and review of measures

    (Council Common Position 2001/931, Art. 1(3) and (4))

    (see paragraphs 92-94)

  5. Common foreign and security policy – Specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a view to combating terrorism – Freezing of funds – Scope – Persons, groups and entities involved in terrorist acts – Initial listing – Terrorist acts – Definition – Classification by national authorities – Distance in time between the facts on which the decision of the competent authorities is based and that decision

    (Council Common Position 2001/931, Art. 1(3) and (4))

    (see paragraphs 95-96)

  6. Common foreign and security policy – Specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a view to combating terrorism – Freezing of funds – Common Position 2001/931 – Scope – Persons, groups and entities involved in terrorist acts – Terrorist acts – Concept of ‘threat’ – No attacks over a given period of time – Irrelevant

    (Council Common Position 2001/931, Art. 1(3), first subpara., (i))

    (see paragraphs 98-100)

  7. Common foreign and security policy – Specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a view to combating terrorism – Decision to freeze funds – Maintenance on the basis of a national decision to freeze funds – National decision no longer by itself supporting the conclusion that there is an ongoing risk of involvement in acts of terrorism – Obligation of the Council to take into account more recent facts which demonstrate that that risk is ongoing

    (Council Common Position 2001/931, Art. 1(3), first subpara., and (6); Council Decisions (CFSP) 2019/25 and (CFSP) 2019/1341; Council Regulations No 2580/2001, 2015/513, 2015/1325, 2015/2425, 2016/1127, 2017/150 and 2017/1420)

    (see paragraphs 112-117)

  8. Common foreign and security policy – Specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a view to combating terrorism – Freezing of the funds of an organisation involved in acts of terrorism – Breach of the principle of proportionality – None

    (Art. 21 TEU; Council Common Position 2001/931; Council Decisions (CFSP) 2019/25 and (CFSP) 2019/1341; Council Regulations No 2580/2001, 2015/513, 2015/1325, 2015/2425, 2016/1127, 2017/150 and 2017/1420)

    (see paragraphs 134-137)

  9. Common foreign and security policy – Specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a view to combating terrorism – Decision to freeze funds – Adoption or maintenance on the basis of a national decision to investigate, prosecute or convict – Council’s obligation to state reasons – Scope

    (Art. 296 TFEU; Council Common Position 2001/931, Art. 1(4) et (6); Council Decisions (CFSP) 2019/25 and (CFSP) 2019/1341; Council Regulations No 2580/2001, No 125/2014, No 790/2014, 2015/513, 2015/1325, 2015/2425, 2016/1127, 2017/150 and 2017/1420)

    (see paragraphs 146-149)

See the text of the decision.