EU Court rejects 2 Tunisia delisting applications as inadmissible

30 April 2026

The EU General Court has rejected as inadmissible delisting applications by Nesrine Ben Ali (Case T-216/25) and Belhassen Trabelsi (Case T-207/25), who are on the EU’s Tunisia sanctions list. Their previous applications were rejected in 2025 as inadmissible; see our previous coverage.

Both are designated since 2011 under Regulation (EU) 101/2011 for their involvement in the misappropriation of Tunisian public funds and for association with a person responsible for misappropriation. They are both related to former Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

The EU Council sent Ms Ben Ali and Mr Trabelsi letters on 28 January 2025 to inform them that their designation on the EU’s Tunisia sanctions list would be maintained for another year. They both challenged these letters, saying that the letters were legal decisions which could be challenged before the EU Courts. The General Court said the letters of 28 January 2025 were “purely informative” and produced no binding legal effects, which meant they could not be challenged in the EU Courts.

This is the second time Ms Ben Ali and Mr Trabelsi’s delisting applications have been rejected as inadmissible. In their 2025 challenge, the court said their applications were inadmissible because they challenged acts that did not exist. All delisting judgments are on our EU judgments pages.