The European Union (EU) has decided to appeal against a ruling last December that Hamas be removed from the list of terrorist groups, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Monday.
The ruling was clearly based on "procedural grounds" and did not imply any assessment by the court of the merits of designating Hamas as a terrorist organisation, said Mogherini, according to a Xinhua report.
The General Court of the EU Dec 17 annulled measures taken by the EU Council against Hamas, which designated Hamas as a terrorist organisation and froze the group's funds.
Mogherini said that as a result of the appeal, the effects of the judgement were suspended until a final decision was made by the EU Court of Justice.
The EU foreign policy chief said that the fight against terrorism remained a priority and that the EU was determined to stem the financing of terrorism.