EU Court dismisses Dana Astra appeal and upholds Belarus sanctions listing

The Court of Justice of the European Union has dismissed the appeal brought by the Belarusian property developer Dana Astra IOOO against the maintenance of its name on the EU sanctions lists for Belarus. The judgment of the Fifth Chamber, dated 16 July 2026, was published in the Official Journal of the European Union of 5 October 2026 under reference C/2026/4938. The ruling consolidates the freezing of the company’s funds and economic resources.

The case, registered as C-363/25 P, concerns the restrictive measures adopted in view of the situation in Belarus and the involvement of Belarus in the Russian aggression against Ukraine. Those measures include lists of persons, entities and bodies subject to the freezing of funds and economic resources, applied under the criterion of benefiting from or providing support to the regime of Alexander Lukashenko. Dana Astra IOOO is a Belarusian company active in the property development and construction sector.

What the Court decided

The operative part of the judgment is limited to two points:

• The appeal is dismissed.
• Dana Astra IOOO must bear its own costs and pay those incurred by the Council of the European Union.

The decision therefore leaves the company’s listing in place and closes the appeal route before the Court of Justice.

Time limits and grounds of the appeal

The appeal turned on the sixth paragraph of Article 263 TFEU and on the point from which the time limit for bringing proceedings starts to run. The dispute concerned the notification of the restrictive measures at issue to the appellant’s lawyers, and the resulting finding that the action had been brought out of time.

The judgment records that the merits of the action were nonetheless examined for reasons relating to the sound administration of justice. The appellant’s plea in law alleged errors of assessment vitiating the grounds for maintaining the listing, an argument the Court of Justice did not accept.

Parties and procedural details

• Appellant: Dana Astra IOOO, represented by M. Birdling, Barrister-at-Law, M. Lester, Barrister-at-Law, and K. Van Maldegem, advocaat.
• Other party to the proceedings: Council of the European Union, represented by L. Berger and S. Van Overmeire, acting as Agents.
• Language of the case: English.
• Earlier publication of the case: OJ C, C/2025/3638.

The judgment is identified by the European Legislation Identifier http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2026/4938/oj.

Why it matters

The ruling reinforces the legal durability of the EU’s Belarus sanctions framework, which links Minsk to the Russian aggression against Ukraine. For companies and investors exposed to listed Belarusian entities, it confirms that fund-freezing measures survive judicial challenge and that procedural deadlines before the EU courts are applied strictly.

Source: Official Journal of the European Union, C series, C/2026/4938, 5 October 2026, section I (official reference: C/2026/4938).