Information;Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2019:680
Date: 2019-09-24
Language of the case: French
Court formation: Sixth 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 (Sixth Chamber) of 24 September 2019 – US v ECB (Case T‑255/18) (Civil service — ECB staff — Fixed-term contract — Contract for an indefinite period — Refusal to reclassify a fixed term contract as a contract for an indefinite period — Obligation to state reasons — Manifest error of assessment) 1. Officials — Staff of the European Central Bank — Conditions of employment — Compliance with EU directives on social policy — Specific obligations on the ECB — None (Conditions of Employment for Staff of the European Central Bank, Art. 9(c); Council Directive 1999/70) (see paras 68, 69) 2. Social policy — Framework agreement on fixed-term work concluded by ETUC, UNICE and CEEP — Directive 1999/70 — Measures to prevent abuse of successive fixed-term contracts — General right to contracts of indefinite duration after a certain number of renewals of fixed-term contracts — None (Council Directive 1999/70, Annex, clause 5) (see paras 71, 72) 3. Officials — Staff of the European Central Bank — Recruitment — Reclassification of a fixed term contract as a contract for an indefinite period — Administration's discretion — Limits (see para. 76) 4. Actions brought by officials — Staff of the European Central Bank — Plea of illegality — Scope — Measures the illegality of which may be pleaded — Bank guidelines concerning the annual salary and bonus review of agents — Included — Conditions (Art. 277 TFEU) (see paras 82-84) 5. Officials — Decision adversely affecting an official — Obligation to state reasons — Decision taken in a context known to the addressee — Consideration of the legal context (Art. 296 TFEU) (see paras 105, 106, 110) 6. Actions brought by officials — Pleas in law — Manifest error of assessment — Concept (see para. 111) 7. Actions brought by officials — Application for damages linked to an application for annulment — Dismissal of claim for annulment leading to dismissal of the claim for compensation (see para. 122) Re: Application based on Article 270 TFEU and Article 50a of the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union and seeking, first, annulment of the ECB’s decision not to reclassify the applicant’s contract as a contract for an indefinite period and, secondly, compensation in respect of the harm which the applicant allegedly suffered as a result of that decision. Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders US to pay the costs.