Council Decision (CFSP) 2025/1471 of 18 July 2025 amending Decision 2012/642/CFSP concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Belarus and the involvement of Belarus in the Russian aggression against Ukraine

1 It shall be prohibited to purchase, import or transfer, directly or indirectly, arms and related materiel of all types, including weapons and ammunition, military vehicles and equipment, paramilitary equipment and spare parts for the aforementioned, into the Union if they originate in Belarus or are exported from Belarus.

2 The prohibitions in paragraph 1 shall be without prejudice to the import, purchase or transfer related to: (a) the provision of spare parts and services necessary for the maintenance and safety of existing capabilities within the Union; or (b) the execution of contracts concluded before 20 July 2025, or ancillary contracts necessary for the execution of such contracts.’

1 No claims in connection with any contract or transaction the performance of which has been affected, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, by the measures imposed under this Decision, including claims for indemnity or any other claim of this type, such as a claim for compensation or a claim under a guarantee, notably a claim for extension or payment of a bond, guarantee or indemnity, particularly a financial guarantee or financial indemnity, of whatever form, shall be satisfied, if they are made by: (a) designated natural or legal persons, entities or bodies listed in Annex I; (b) any natural or legal person, entity or body referred to in Articles 2h, 2i, 2j or 2y, or listed in Annex II, III or V; (c) any other Belarussian person, entity or body, including the Belarusian government; (d) any person, entity or body acting through or on behalf of one of the persons, entities or bodies referred to in points (a), (b) or (c) of this paragraph.

2 No injunction, order, relief, judgment of a judicial court other than a court of a Member State or other court, arbitral or administrative decision issued in proceedings other than those in the Member States pursuant to or derived from investor-State dispute settlement proceedings against a Member State which could lead to the satisfaction of any claims in connection with measures imposed under this Decision shall be recognised, given effect or enforced in a Member State if it is invoked by any persons, entities or bodies referred to in paragraph 1, points (a), (b), (c) or (d), or persons, entities or bodies that own or control those persons, entities or bodies.

3 No request for assistance during an investigation or other proceedings, and no punishment or other penalty based on an injunction, order, relief, judgment of a court other than a court of a Member State or other court, arbitral or administrative decision issued in proceedings other than those in the Member States pursuant to or derived from investor-State dispute settlement proceedings against a Member State in connection with measures imposed under this Decision shall be recognised, given effect or enforced in a Member State if it is invoked by any persons, entities or bodies referred to in paragraph 1, points (a), (b), (c) or (d), or persons, entities or bodies that own or control those persons, entities or bodies.

4 In any proceedings for the enforcement of a claim, the onus of proving that satisfying the claim is not prohibited by paragraph 1 shall be on the person seeking the enforcement of that claim.

5 This Article is without prejudice to the right of the persons, entities and bodies referred to in paragraph 1 to judicial review of the legality of the non-performance of contractual obligations in accordance with this Decision.’

Any Member State shall, where applicable, take any appropriate measures to recover or be entitled to recover, in judicial proceedings before the competent courts of a Member State, any direct or indirect damages, including legal costs, incurred by that Member State as a consequence of investor-State dispute settlement proceedings brought against a Member State in connection with measures imposed under this Decision. The Member State shall, where applicable, be entitled to recover such damages from any persons, entities or bodies referred to in Article 2n(1), points (a), (b), (c) or (d), which initiated, intervened or participated in the investor-State dispute settlement or which seek to enforce any award, decision or judgment related to the investor-State dispute settlement and persons, entities or bodies that own or control any of those persons, entities or bodies. Where applicable, the Union shall be entitled to recover any damages incurred by it under the same conditions.

Member States shall raise any available objection to the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards that were rendered against them in investor-State dispute settlement proceedings in connection with measures imposed under this Decision.’

This Decision shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.