Non-Member States and Access to the Union Courts

On 22 June 2021, the Court of Justice gave judgment in Venezuela v Council of the European Union (C-872/19 P).(1) This unusual and important case involved a challenge by Venezuela to a series of restrictive measures taken against that state by the European Union due to its worsening human rights record. The case took the form of an action for annulment under art. 263 TFEU and raised the question whether such an action could be brought before the Union Courts by a non Member State. The General Court had dismissed the action as inadmissible on the basis that Venezuela had not shown that it was directly concerned by the contested measures for the purposes of the fourth paragraph of art. 263 TFEU. Venezuela appealed to the Court of Justice, which raised of its own motion the question whether Venezuela constituted a "legal person" within the meaning of that provision. Observations on that question were submitted by the parties to the appeal, 11 Member States and the European Commission.