Information;Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2021:538
Date: 2021-09-08
Language of the case: French
Court formation: First Chamber
Based on: Merger Treaty (1965)
Subject matter: Staff regulations and employment conditions - EC
Procedure: Staff cases - unfounded;Action for damages - unfounded

Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 8 September 2021 – AH v Eurofound (Case T‑630/19) (Civil service – Members of the contract staff – Psychological harassment – Request for assistance – Action for annulment – Lis pendens – Interest in bringing proceedings – Admissibility – Rule of correspondence between the application and the complaint – Obligation to state reasons – Lack of competence of the author of an act – Error of assessment – Liability – Non-material damage) 1. Actions brought by officials – Interest in bringing proceedings – Action by an official who is the alleged victim of psychological harassment against a refusal to grant a request for assistance – Admissibility (Staff Regulations of Officials, Art. 91) (see paras 37-39) 2. EU agencies – European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) – Staff – Adoption of decisions – Competence of the director of Eurofound – Possibility of replacement by the Deputy Director – Scope (Council Regulation No 1860/76, Art. 53) (see paras 69-71) 3. Officials – Decision to close without further action an administrative investigation opened in response to a request for assistance in respect of psychological harassment – Obligation to state reasons – Scope (Art. 296 TFEU; Staff Regulations of Officials, Art. 25) (see paras 75-82) 4. Officials – Rights and obligations – Internal inquiry into alleged psychological harassment – Requirement of impartiality – Scope – Challenge by the alleged victim – Burden of proof (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 41) (see para. 98) 5. Judicial proceedings – Introduction of new pleas during the proceedings – Conditions – Plea based on matters which have come to light in the course of the procedure – Scope – Plea based on matters which are known and alleged at the time the action was brought – Not included (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 84(1) and (2)) (see paras 109-113) 6. Actions brought by officials – Admissibility criteria – Dismissal of an action on the substance without ruling on admissibility – Discretion of the Courts of the Union (see para. 128) Re: Application under Article 270 TFEU seeking, first, annulment of the decision of Eurofound of 9 November 2018 closing the administrative investigation AI-2018/01 opened following the applicant’s request for assistance in respect of alleged psychological harassment on the part of his superiors, and second, compensation for the non-material damage allegedly suffered by the applicant as a result of that decision. Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders AH to pay, in addition to his own costs, those incurred by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound).