Judgment of the General Court (Seventh Chamber) of 12 May 2021 –DF and DG v EIB
(Case T‑387/19)
(Civil service – Staff of the EIB – Remuneration – Decision refusing entitlement to an installation allowance upon return to headquarters – Liability)
1.      Actions brought by officials – Act adversely affecting an official – Concept – Measures producing binding legal effects
(Staff Regulations of Officials, Arts 90 and 91)
(see paras 17, 30)
2.      Actions brought by officials – Action against a decision rejecting a complaint – Effect – Disputed measure referred to the Court – Exception – Decision not confirmatory in character
(Staff Regulations of Officials, Arts 90 and 91)
(see paras 23, 24, 28, 33, 34)
3.      Officials – Staff of the European Investment Bank – Remuneration – Installation allowance – Conditions for granting – Actual transfer of habitual residence – Decision refusing entitlement to a staff member reinstated at the Bank’s headquarters following his or her assignment to a field office – Unlawfulness – Grant conditional on the staff member’s residence not being established in his or her own home
(see paras 53-64)
4.      Officials – Non-contractual liability of the institutions – Conditions – Unlawfulness – Damage – Causal link – Cumulative conditions
(Art. 340, second para., TFEU)
(see para. 69)
Re:
Action brought under Article 270 TFUE and Article 50a of the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union and seeking, first, the annulment (i) of the EIB’s decisions of 6 March 2018 and 28 February 2019 not to grant the applicants the benefit of an installation allowance, (ii) of the EIB’s decisions of 19 and 27 March 2019 confirming the decision not to grant the installation allowance, and rejecting their request to launch a conciliation procedure, (iii) of the EIB’s decisions of 14 June 2019 confirming the decision not to grant the installation allowance and, second, compensation for harm allegedly suffered by the applicants as a result of those decisions.
Operative part
The Court:
1.
Annuls the decisions of the European Investment Bank (EIB) of 6 March 2018 and 19 March 2019 not to grant DF the payment of the installation allowance provided for in Article 5 of Annex VII to the EIB Staff Rules;
2.
Annuls the decisions of the EIB of 28 February and 27 March 2019 not to grant DG the payment of the installation allowance provided for in Article 5 of Annex VII to the EIB Staff Rules;
3.
Orders the EIB to pay to DF and DG, subject to the calculation of the amounts, the installation allowance provided for in Articles 5 and 17 of Annex VII to the EIB Staff Rules, increased by late interest, from the date of delivery of this judgment, calculated at the level of the European Central Bank (ECB) rate plus two points, until the date of payment in full by the EIB;
4.
Dismisses the action for the remainder;
5.
Orders the EIB to bear the costs.