AUSTRIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Anna Zeitlinger, Gabriel Lansky, Philip Goeth and Konstantin Oppolzer, Lansky Ganzger Goeth + Partner Rechtsanwälte GmbH
the respective sanctions list. However, if the desig - nated person prevails in court, the respective person will not be automatically delisted by the Council of the European Union. In practice, a situation may occur where the Council of the European Union maintains the designation of the concerned person by slight - ly amending the reasons for the designation upon the extension of sanctions (which occurs every six months in case of individual sanctions against Russia and Belarus [on 18 June 2026 the sectoral sanctions on Russia were for the first time extended for a full 12 months]). However, in a recent judgement the General Court of the European Union ruled in a ‘re-listing’ case that the Council of the European Union failed to fulfil its duty and to comply with the delisting decision (see T 693/25, Maya Tokareva v Council ). It remains to be seen if the Council of the European Union will in future be more amenable to follow del - isting decisions of the General Court of the European Union. Therefore, it is recommended for designated persons to request from the Council of the European Union a reconsideration of the designation. The action for annulment to the General Court and the request for reconsideration to the Council are two separate procedures and can run simultaneously. Unlike in other jurisdictions (such as the UK or the US), it is not required to complete the request for reconsideration before addressing the General Court with an action for annulment of the designation. 4.3 Timing The duration of the delisting process depends on which route one has taken to obtain a delisting. The fastest is through the Council of the European Union by way of a request for reconsideration. If one can convince the Council of the European Union that a designation occurred without sufficient grounds, the Council of the European Union will not extend the sanctions upon its re-evaluation of the sanctions. However, such cases are rather rare, and a delisting usually requires a successful challenge of the listing in court. From the date of listing until the judgement, one should expect an average of one and a half years if only one relisting is challenged. An appeal will last at least another year.
Note in this context, that if a designated person has successfully challenged a delisting act, the Council of the European Union may still re-list the designated person under the same or slightly amended listing grounds. Finally, some member states (ie, Poland, the Czech Republic, Croatia and, to a certain extent, Lithuania) adopt unilateral national sanctions lists and impose sanctions against the persons, who are not sanctioned by the European Union. In practice, such national list - ing has often the same effects as an EU listing within the territory of the respective member state, especially when dealing with banks. The legality of such national measures is questionable in light of the EU treaties and case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, and is disputed in many cases. The judicial challenge and the administrative review in such cases should be made to the national competent courts and sanctions authorities in the member state. 5. Trade and Export Restrictions 5.1 Services EU sanctions apply directly in Austria and, therefore, the EU service restrictions apply in Austria. The pro - hibitions depend on the exact sanctions regime. For example, under the Russian and Belarusian sanctions regime, Austrian service providers are prohibited from providing several services to Russian/Belarusian legal entities or to the Russian/Belarusian government. Scope of the Service Restrictions The prohibition covers services regarding accounting, business consultancy, tax, public relations, architec - ture and engineering, legal advisory, cyber security, marketing and sales, artificial intelligence and IT con - sultancy services. In relation to the Iranian sanctions regime, the provision of services that contribute to Iran’s nuclear capabilities are prohibited. Derogations and Exceptions Derogations and legal exceptions exist. The right to a lawyer especially cannot be infringed and, there - fore, the prohibition to provide legal advisory services essentially does not apply to legal advisory services that are strictly necessary for the exercise of the right
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