# C_2015406EN.01001201.xml

| 7.12.2015 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 406/12 |
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7.12.2015

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 406/12

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Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 15 October 2015 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal de première instance de Bruxelles — Belgium) — European Union v Axa Belgium SA

(Case C-494/14) (1)

((Reference for a preliminary ruling - Officials - Staff Regulations - Articles 73, 78 and 85a - Traffic accident - National law establishing strict liability - Subrogation of the European Union - Concept of a ‘third party’ - Autonomous concept of EU law - Concept covering any person required, under national law, to pay compensation for the damage suffered by the victim or those entitled under him - Benefits not definitively payable by the European Union))

(2015/C 406/12)

Language of the case: French

Referring court

Tribunal de première instance de Bruxelles

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: European Union

Defendant: Axa Belgium SA

Operative part of the judgment

| 1. | The concept of ‘the third party’ (‘le tiers responsable’) referred to in Article 85a(1) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities laid down by Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 of 29 February 1968 laying down the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities and instituting special measures temporarily applicable to officials of the Commission, as amended by Council Regulation (EC, ECSC, Euratom) No 781/98 of 7 April 1998, must be given an autonomous and uniform interpretation within the EU legal order. |
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1.

The concept of ‘the third party’ (‘le tiers responsable’) referred to in Article 85a(1) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities laid down by Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 of 29 February 1968 laying down the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities and instituting special measures temporarily applicable to officials of the Commission, as amended by Council Regulation (EC, ECSC, Euratom) No 781/98 of 7 April 1998, must be given an autonomous and uniform interpretation within the EU legal order.

| 2. | The concept of ‘the third party’ (‘le tiers responsable’), referred to in Article 85a(1) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities laid down by Regulation No 259/68, as amended by Regulation No 781/98, covers any person, including insurers, required under national law to pay compensation for the damage suffered by the victim or those entitled under him. |
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2.

The concept of ‘the third party’ (‘le tiers responsable’), referred to in Article 85a(1) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities laid down by Regulation No 259/68, as amended by Regulation No 781/98, covers any person, including insurers, required under national law to pay compensation for the damage suffered by the victim or those entitled under him.

| 3. | The Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities laid down by Regulation No 259/68, as amended by Regulation No 781/98, may not be interpreted as meaning that, in the context of a direct action under Article 85a(4) of those regulations, the benefits that the European Union is required to provide under, first, Article 73 of those regulations, covering risks of sickness and accident, and, secondly, Article 78 of the regulations, in respect of the payment of an invalidity pension, must definitively remain its own responsibility. |
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3.

The Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities laid down by Regulation No 259/68, as amended by Regulation No 781/98, may not be interpreted as meaning that, in the context of a direct action under Article 85a(4) of those regulations, the benefits that the European Union is required to provide under, first, Article 73 of those regulations, covering risks of sickness and accident, and, secondly, Article 78 of the regulations, in respect of the payment of an invalidity pension, must definitively remain its own responsibility.

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(1)  
  OJ C 34, 2.2.2015.

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