Libertatea de a desfăşura o activitate comercială între Scila şi Caribda – Bank Melli Iran
Freedom to conduct business between Scila and Caribda – Bank Melli Iran

Summary/Abstract: The tension between the restrictive measures imposed by the United States against Iran and EU legislation has been a source of difficulty for the European business community in recent years. At the same time, it is a good opportunity for European decision-makers to ensure a balance between the freedom to conduct business guaranteed by Article 16 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the prohibition imposed by EU law to comply with secondary sanctions adopted by the US against Iran. Whereas, over time, attempts to exercise extraterritorial US jurisdiction have been met with reluctance, the EU legislator has put in place a protective legal framework prohibiting European companies from complying with measures adopted by the Washington administration. Specifically, Council Regulation (EC) No 2271/96 of 22 November 1996 protecting against the last amended by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/1100 of 6 June 2018, known as the European Blocking Regulation, was adopted. With the recent judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered on 21 December 2021 in the case Bank Melli Iran v Telekom Deutschland GmbH, the Grand Chamber had the opportunity for the first time to provide guidance on the interpretation of the European Blocking Regulation and to critically assess its vulnerabilities. The study aims not so much at a detailed description of the case, but at analysing the novel elements of the judgment which can serve a more articulated and effective vision of the means by which the Union protects the business environment from the intrusive impact of sanctions (even legitimate ones) adopted by a third country.

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