EU in the abyss of lawlessness

Brussels, 15 December 2025

The decision by the EU Foreign Affairs Council to impose sanctions on further European citizens – including former Swiss intelligence officer and retired colonel Jacques Baud – represents another serious blow to the rule of law in the European Union. With the measures now adopted against Jacques Baud for alleged “disinformation activities”, the EU’s political elite is attempting to silence one of the most renowned analysts of the war in Ukraine, says von der Schulenburg. “The EU is using the sanctions list as a tool against critics and is manoeuvring itself further and further into an abyss of lawlessness,” says Ruth Firmenich.
  Without a solid legal basis, European citizens are being sanctioned for “disinformation”. At the same time, the illegal conversion of permanently frozen assets of the Russian central bank into collateral for loans to Ukraine is to take place this week. In parallel, proceedings are underway before the European Court of Justice concerning the unlawful application of Article 122 as the legal basis for the 150 billion euros SAFE Regulation. With its measures, the EU is threatening the rule of law. Schulenburg and Firmenich demand: “The European Parliament must act now. It can request the lifting of the sanctions regime for ‘disinformation’ – and it must make use of this option.”
  A recent legal opinion commissioned by MEPs Michael von der Schulenburg and Ruth Firmenich – available at tinyurl.com/4pkttj6z – supports this critique. In it, Professor Dr Ninon Colneric, former judge at the European Court of Justice (formerly: Court of Justice of the European Communities), and Prof. Dr. Alina Miron, professor of international law at the University of Angers, conclude that numerous elements of the EU sanctions framework against “disinformation” are incompatible with EU law. They also identify significant shortcomings in the protection of minimum fundamental rights standards.
  The experts are particularly critical of the denial of the right to a hearing for individuals accused of disinformation before sanctions are imposed on them. They argue that this approach is disproportionate and therefore unlawful. The damage caused to “one of the cornerstones of democracy – freedom of expression” is disproportionate to the objective of combating disinformation. The measures violate both the proportionality requirements of EU law and Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
  Furthermore, the restrictions on the freedom of movement of EU citizens provided for under the sanctions regime are unlawful, while the legal safeguards for those affected are insufficient overall. The terms used, such as “information manipulation and interference”, are so broad that they effectively give the Council almost unlimited discretion in imposing sanctions. This opens up the risk of politically motivated persecution.
  Finally, the authors emphasise the deterrent effect of the new sanctions regime on journalists. It makes it risky to take up topics of public controversy, as information could be classified as “disinformation” at any time. The regime could deter journalists and other actors from exercising their right to freedom of expression and information without restriction. •

Source: https://www.nachdenkseiten.de/upload/pdf/251216-Firmenich-Schulenburg-EU.pdf

(Translation Current Concerns)

Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union

Freedom of expression and information

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.
2. The freedom and pluralism of the media shall be respected.