Order — ECLI:EU:F:2013:77
Date: 2013-06-18
Language of the case: French
Court formation: Single Judge
Based on: Merger Treaty (1965)
Subject matter: Staff regulations and employment conditions - EC
Procedure: Staff cases - unfounded

Summary Officials — Remuneration — Family allowances — Education allowance — Applicability of the rule against overlapping allowances laid down in Article 67(2) of the Staff Regulations in relation to allowances of like nature paid from other sources — Rule having been applied to financial support provided by Luxembourg to students — Lawfulness (Staff Regulations, Arts 67(1)(c) and (2)) Only allowances which are comparable and have the same purpose are of like nature for the purposes of the rule against overlapping allowances laid down in Article 67(2) of the Staff Regulations concerning family allowances. The decisive criterion in classifying allowances as of like nature is the aim pursued by the allowances in question. The education allowance provided for in Article 67(1)(c) of the Staff Regulations has aims similar to those of the Luxembourg benefit, which takes the form of grants and loans, and is intended to provide students with financial assistance so as to enable them to meet the costs of their studies, and the costs of their maintenance during their studies, in that both are intended to contribute to the educational costs of the child who is in the official’s care. This conclusion is not affected by the fact that the beneficiaries of the two allowances are not the same. The allowance provided for by the Staff Regulations is payable to the official, whereas the State benefit is payable to the child, or formally ascribed to the child, but this is not decisive in assessing whether they are of the same nature within the meaning of Article 67(2) of the Staff Regulations. (see paras 42-43) See: 13 October 1977, 106/76 Gelders-Deboeck v Commission, para. 16; 13 October 1977, 14/77 Emer-van den Branden v Commission, para. 15; 18 December 2007, C‑135/06 P Weiβenfels v Parliament, para. 89 10 May 1990, T‑117/89 Sens v Commission, para. 14; 11 June 1996, T‑147/95 Pavan v Parliament, para. 41 13 February 2007, F‑62/06 Guarneri v Commission, paras 39, 40 and 42; 5 June 2012, F‑83/10 Giannakouris v Commission, para. 37; 5 June 2012, F‑84/10 Chatzidoukakis v Commission, para. 37