Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2019:617
Date: 2019-09-19
Language of the case: French
Court formation: Eighth Chamber
Based on: Merger Treaty (1965)
Subject matter: Staff regulations and employment conditions - EC
Procedure: Staff cases - unfounded

summary of the pleas in law on which the application is based — No requirement for an express reference to the provisions on which the action is based (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 76(1)(d)) (see paras 24, 26) 3. Officials — Pensions — Pension for surviving spouse — Conditions for granting — Marriage — Assimilating unmarried partnership with marriage — Conditions — No possibility of civil marriage — Burden of proof — Scope (Staff Regulations of Officials, Art. 1d(1), 2d para., Annex VII, Art. 1(2)(c) and Annex VIII, Art. 17, first para. and Art. 17a, first para.) (see paras 27, 29, 30, 33, 34, 41, 43-47) 4. Officials — Principles — Administration's duty to have regard for the interests of officials — Principle of sound administration — No possibility for the administration to derogate from the provisions of the Staff Regulations on the ground of exceptional circumstances (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 41; Staff Regulations of Officials, Art. 24) (see paras 52, 55-60, 63) 5. Officials — Pensions — Pension for surviving spouse — Conditions for granting — Marriage — Spouse — Definition — Unmarried partner — Not included (Staff Regulations of Officials, Art. 1d(1), 2d para.) (see para. 62) 6. Actions brought by officials — Purpose — Directions to the administration — Inadmissibility (Art. 270 TFEU; Staff Regulations of Officials, Art. 91) (see para. 75) Re: Action under Article 270 TFUE for the annulment of the decision of the Commission of 16 August 2017 not to grant a survivor’s pension to the applicant, of the decision of 13 September 2017 in so far as it refused to grant a survivor’s pension to the applicant and of the decision of 9 March 2018 rejecting the complaint lodged by the applicant. Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders WI to pay the costs of the proceedings.