Action brought on 22 December 2022 – Thunus and Others v EIB
(Case T-799/22)
Language of the case: French
Parties
Applicants: Vincent Thunus (Contern, Luxembourg) and eight other applicants (represented by: L. Levi, lawyer)
Defendant: European Investment Bank
Form of order sought
The applicants claim that the Court should:
declare the present action admissible and well-founded, including the plea of illegality contained therein;
consequently:
annul the decision contained in the applicants’ salary slips for the month of February 2022 (for nine applicants) or of April 2022 (for one applicant) indicating for the first time the implementation of the decision of the Board of Directors of 15 December 2021 setting out the salary increase for 2022 and the decision of the Management Committee of 25 January 2022 to use that salary budget as from 1 January 2022 and, therefore, annul similar decisions contained in subsequent salary slips;
accordingly, order the defendant
to pay compensation for material damage of (i) the salary balance corresponding to the application of the annual adjustment for 2022 for the staff covered by SR I, that is an increase of 4.5% for the period from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022; (ii) the salary balance corresponding to the consequences of the application of the annual adjustment of 0.9% for the staff covered by SR I for 2022 on the amount of salaries to be paid as from January 2022; (iii) default interest on outstanding salary balances until full payment of the sums due, the rate of default interest to be applied being calculated on the basis of the rate set by the European Central Bank for the main refinancing operations, applicable during the period concerned, increased by 3 points;
order the defendant to pay all the costs.
Pleas in law and main arguments
In support of the action, the applicants put forward, respectively, one and three pleas in law, first, regarding the decision of the Board of Directors of 18 July 2017, and, second, regarding the decisions of the Board of Directors of 15 December 2021 and of the Management Committee of 25 January 2022.
Regarding the decision of the Board of Directors of 18 July 2017:
Infringement of Article 20 and Annex I to the Staff Regulation I (‘SR I’) and violation of legitimate expectations and acquired rights
Regarding the decisions of the Board of Directors of 15 December 2021 and of the Management Committee of 25 January 2022
First plea in law, alleging infringement of Article 20 and of Annex I to SR I
Second plea in law, alleging violation of the procedural guarantees of Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
Third plea in law, alleging violation of the right of consultation and negotiation of the College [of Representatives of the Staff of the EIB].
As regards the claim for compensation, the applicants demand payment of the difference in remuneration since 1 January 2022 (including the impact of that increase on pecuniary benefits) plus interest for late payment.
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