L’effettività del cd. ‘regolamento di blocco’ tra coercizione straniera e libertà di impresa: la Corte di giustizia si pronuncia nel caso Bank Melli Iran

On 21 December 2021, the Court of Justice decided the case Bank Melli Iran v Telekom Deutschland GmbH (case C-124/20, ECLI:EU:C:2021:1035), relating to the interpretation of Regulation 2271/96 protecting against the effects of extraterritorial application of legislation adopted by a third country, better known as the “blocking regulation”. According to this Regulation, EU operators are inter alia bound to disregard the extraterritorial effects of US restrictive measures against Iran, and thus continue contractual relationship with Iranian counter-parts, irrespective of the risk of undergo-ing severe economic consequences under US law. In this context, the Court is required inter alia to strike a fair balance between the freedom to conduct business, including freedom of (and from) con-tract, as protected under art. 16 of the Charter of fundamental rights of the EU and the effectiveness of the blocking Regulation. A fundamental role, in this respect, rests on the judges of the Member States. As the Insight highlights, the case illustrates some of the main flaws in the application of the Regulation. More generally, it is pointed out that the protection afforded by the Regulation seems implemented mainly through “punitive” tools (such as direct effect and national sanctions) vis-à-vis the beneficiaries of the protection, i.e. EU operators. Also for this reason, the revision process of the blocking Regulation currently pending at EU level should be welcome, with a view to provide the EU legal system with more effective instruments to protect EU industry and citizens from the increasing pressure deriving from coercive practices and policies implemented by third countries.