1.   Member States shall take the measures necessary to prevent the entry into, or transit through, their territories of natural persons:

as listed in the Annex.

2.   Paragraph 1 shall not oblige a Member State to refuse its own nationals entry into its territory.

3.   Paragraph 1 shall be without prejudice to the cases where a Member State is bound by an obligation of international law, namely:

4.   Paragraph 3 shall be considered as applying also in cases where a Member State is host country of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

5.   A Member State that grants an exemption pursuant to paragraph 3 or 4 shall duly inform the Council in any such case.

6.   Member States may grant exemptions from the measures imposed under paragraph 1 where travel is justified on the grounds of urgent humanitarian need, or on grounds of attending intergovernmental meetings and those promoted or hosted by the Union, or hosted by a Member State holding the Chairmanship in office of the OSCE, where a political dialogue is conducted that directly promotes the policy objectives of restrictive measures, including promoting human rights and the rule of law in Nicaragua.

7.   A Member State wishing to grant exemptions referred to in paragraph 6 shall notify the Council in writing. The exemption shall be deemed to be granted unless one or more of the Council members raises an objection in writing within two working days of receiving notification of the proposed exemption. Should one or more of the Council members raise an objection, the Council, acting by a qualified majority, may decide to grant the proposed exemption.

8.   Where, pursuant to paragraph 3, 4, 6 or 7, a Member State authorises the entry into, or transit through, its territory of persons listed in the Annex, the authorisation shall be strictly limited to the purpose for which it is given and to the persons directly concerned thereby.

1.   All funds and economic resources belonging to, owned, held or controlled by, natural or legal persons, entities or bodies:

as listed in the Annex, shall be frozen.

2.   No funds or economic resources shall be made available directly or indirectly to or for the benefit of the natural or legal persons, entities or bodies listed in the Annex.

3.   The competent authority of a Member State may authorise the release of certain frozen funds or economic resources, or the making available of certain funds or economic resources, under such conditions as it deems appropriate, after having determined that the funds or economic resources concerned are:

The Member State concerned shall inform the other Member States and the Commission of any authorisation granted under this paragraph.

4.   By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the competent authorities of a Member State may authorise the release of certain frozen funds or economic resources, provided that the following conditions are met:

The Member State concerned shall inform the other Member States and the Commission of any authorisation granted under this paragraph.

5.   Paragraph 1 shall not prevent a natural or legal person, entity or body listed in the Annex from making a payment due under a contract or agreement entered into, or an obligation that arose, prior to the date on which such natural or legal person, entity or body was listed therein, provided that the Member State concerned has determined that the payment is not, directly or indirectly, received by a natural or legal person, entity or body referred to in paragraph 1.

6.   Paragraph 2 shall not apply to the addition to frozen accounts of:

provided that any such interest, other earnings and payments remain subject to the measures provided for in paragraph 1.

1.   The Council, acting by unanimity upon a proposal from a Member State or from the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (the "High Representative"), shall establish and amend the list set out in the Annex.

2.   The Council shall communicate the decision referred to in paragraph 1, including the grounds for the listing, to the natural or legal person, entity or body concerned, either directly, if the address is known, or through the publication of a notice, providing such person, entity or body with an opportunity to present observations.

3.   Where observations are submitted, or where substantial new evidence is presented, the Council shall review the decision referred to in paragraph 1 and inform the natural or legal person, entity or body concerned accordingly.

1.   The Annex shall include the grounds for listing the natural and legal persons, entities and bodies referred to in Article 1(1) and Article 2(1).

2.   The Annex shall also contain available information necessary to identify the natural or legal persons, entities or bodies concerned. With regard to natural persons, such information may include names and aliases, date and place of birth, nationality, passport and identity card numbers, gender, address if known, and function or profession. With regard to legal persons, entities or bodies, such information may include names, place and date of registration, registration number and place of business.

1.   The Council and the High Representative shall process personal data in order to carry out their tasks under this Decision, in particular:

2.   The Council and the High Representative may process, where applicable, relevant data relating to criminal offences committed by listed natural persons, and to criminal convictions or security measures concerning such persons, only to the extent that such processing is necessary for the preparation of the Annex.

3.   For the purposes of this Decision, the Council and the High Representative are designated as ‘controller’ within the meaning of Article 3(8) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1), in order to ensure that the natural persons concerned can exercise their rights under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.