俄羅斯石油公司因制裁起訴歐盟

Moscow is taking the EU to court over the sanctions slapped on some of its largest companies, in a sign of the pain their exclusion from global capital markets is inflicting on the Russian economy.

針對歐盟制裁俄羅斯一些大企業，莫斯科方面正把歐盟告上法庭。這個跡象表明，把這些企業擋在全球資本市場門外，正給俄羅斯經濟帶來極大痛苦。

Rosneft, the state oil company, and Arkady Rotenberg, a long-time friend and former judo sparring partner of President Vladimir Putin, have both launched legal challenges to the sanctions, imposed over Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

國營的俄羅斯石油公司(Rosneft)以及俄羅斯總統弗拉基米爾•普京(Vladimir Putin)長期好友、前柔道陪練夥伴阿爾卡季•羅滕貝格(Arkady Rotenberg)都向制裁措施發起法律挑戰。這些制裁是因爲俄羅斯插手烏克蘭事務而實施的。

The EU bans, together with similar measures adopted by the US, have all but frozen Russian companies and banks out of western capital markets, at a time when they have to refinance more than $130bn of foreign debt due for redemption by the end of 2015.

與美國採取的類似措施相互配合，歐盟的禁令基本上把俄羅斯企業和銀行擋在西方資本市場門外，而後者在2015年底之前必須爲1300多億美元的到期外債安排再融資。

Rosneft filed a case against the European Council in the general court under the European Court of Justice last week, requesting an annulment of the council’s July decision that largely barred it and other Russian energy companies and state banks from raising funds on European capital markets. Mr Rotenberg, who was hit with an EU visa ban and asset freeze in July, filed a legal case in the same court a day later challenging the move.

俄羅斯石油公司上週在歐洲法院(European Court of Justice)的普通法院對歐洲理事會(European Council)提起訴訟，請求廢除後者在7月份作出的決定，即禁止該公司、俄羅斯其它能源企業以及國有銀行在歐洲資本市場上籌集資金。次日，7月遭遇歐盟簽證禁令和資產凍結的羅滕貝格在同一法院提起訴訟，挑戰針對他的制裁措施。

A Russian lawyer who advises one company on legal strategies over sanctions said the challenges might help sway some EU member states when the bloc discusses whether to renew its sanctions against Russia next spring. However, as the sanctions generally remain in place during the often lengthy appeals process, legal action does not promise quick relief from the economic pain such measures inflict.

在制裁問題上爲某公司提供法律策略建議的一名俄羅斯律師表示，在明年春天歐盟討論要不要延長對俄製裁時，這些法律挑戰也許有助於影響某些歐盟成員國。然而，在往往漫長的訴訟過程中，制裁措施一般會繼續實施，因此法律行動不能很快緩解制裁造成的經濟痛苦。

Rosneft’s request was filed on behalf of the company itself and other unidentified parties. The capital markets sanctions that the company wants overturned also affect Russia’s largest state lenders Sberbank, VTB, VEB, Gazprombank and Rosselkhozbank, as well as Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of the state gas monopoly, and Transneft, the state-owned pipeline monopoly.

俄羅斯石油公司的訴訟請求是代表該公司本身和其它身份不明的當事人提起的。該公司希望推翻的資本市場制裁還影響到俄羅斯各大國有銀行，包括俄羅斯聯邦儲蓄銀行(Sberbank)、俄羅斯外貿銀行(VTB)、俄羅斯國家開發銀行(VEB)、俄羅斯天然氣工業銀行股份公司(Gazprombank)和俄羅斯農業銀行(Rosselkhozbank)，以及俄羅斯天然氣工業公司(Gazprom)的石油業務部門Gazprom Neft，以及國有管道壟斷企業Transneft。

The EU said the council would defend the sanctions in court. “The council takes great care to ensure legal robustness when adopting restrictive measures,” it said. “The fact that court proceedings are brought does not mean that the restrictive measures will be suspended during those proceedings.”

歐盟表示，歐洲理事會將在法庭上爲這些制裁措施作出辯護。“理事會在採取限制措施時非常謹慎，以確保法律依據充分，”它說。“啓動訴訟程序的事實並不意味着這些限制措施將在訴訟期間暫停。”