Federica Mogherini said the council of ministers would challenge some of the court's finding and consider future action to avoid similar annulments. At the same time, the EU appeal suspended the effects of the December 17 EU court ruling until a final decision is taken.
Hamas was put on the EU terrorist list as part of broader measures to fight terrorism in the wake of the September 11 attacks and its funds were frozen. Hamas has long contested the classification.
Hamas won elections in 2006 and runs Gaza. The U.S. And Israel list Hamas as a terror organization because of its history of attacks aimed at civilians, including suicide bombings inside buses, restaurants and other public places as well as the thousands of rockets it has fired at residential neighborhoods in Israel.
The Israeli foreign ministry welcomed the EU appeal, saying "the decision reflects well the position that Hamas was and remains a terror organization."
The December decision by the court came amid growing pressure from European legislators to recognize a Palestinian state, after years of stalemate in peace talks. There is also growing frustration in Europe with Israel's government after the Gaza war in 2014.