62018TJ0243_INF
Judgment of the General Court (Seventh Chamber) of 16 December 2020 –VW v Commission
(Case T‑243/18)
(Civil service – Officials – Surviving spouse – Survivor’s pension – Articles 18 and 20 of Annex VIII to the Staff Regulations – Conditions for eligibility – Duration of the marriage – Plea of illegality – Equal treatment – Principle of proportionality)
1.
Actions brought by officials – Action against a decision rejecting a complaint – Admissibility – Obligation to rule on pleas directed against the decision rejecting the complaint – Pleas devoid of independent content or purely confirmatory decision – None
(Staff Regulations of Officials, Arts 90 and 91)
(see paras 26, 27)
2.
Officials – Equal treatment – Definition – Comparability of the situations at issue – Criteria for assessment
(Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Arts 20, 21(1) and 52(1))
(see paras 42-47)
3.
Officials – Pensions – Pension for surviving spouse – Conditions for granting – Discretion of the EU legislature – Judicial review – Scope
(Staff Regulations of Officials, Annex VIII, Arts 18 and 20)
(see para. 48)
4.
Officials – Pensions – Pension for surviving spouse – Conditions for granting – Minimum duration of marriage – Difference in treatment of surviving spouses by reference to the date of the marriage, before or after the termination of the deceased official’s service – Condition giving rise to a disadvantage for couples who married following the official's retirement – Infringement of the principle of equal treatment and the principle of proportionality – Justification – Fight against fraud and maintenance of the financial equilibrium of the pension scheme – Absence
(Staff Regulations of Officials, Annex VIII, Arts 18 and 20)
(see paras 51-61, 65-68, 72-76, 80-82, 85-87)
Re:
Application based on Article 270 TFEU seeking the annulment of the decision of the Commission of 26 June 2017 dismissing the applicant’s application for a survivor’s pension and, in so far as is necessary, of the decision rejecting the complaint against that decision of 19 January 2018.
Operative part
The Court:
1.
Annuls the decision of the European Commission of 26 June 2017 dismissing VW’s application for a survivor’s pension;
2.
Orders the Commission to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by VW;
3.
Orders the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union to bear their own costs.