62022TJ0622_INF
Judgment of the General Court (Fourth Chamber) of 13 December 2023 –Van Oosterwijck v Commission
(Case T‑622/22) (
1
)
(Civil service – Officials – Surviving spouse – Survivor’s pension – Refusal to grant – Eligibility conditions – Duration of the marriage – Article 20 of Annex VIII to the Staff Regulations – Plea of illegality – Equal treatment)
1.
Officials – Pensions – Survivor’s pension – Conditions for granting – Differentiated application according to the date on which the marriage was entered into, before or after termination of the service of the deceased official – Comparable nature of the two situations in the light of the subject matter and purpose of survivor’s pensions and of the common condition of the legal link between the spouses
(Staff Regulations of Officials, Annex VIII, Arts 19 and 20)
(see paragraphs 18-20)
2.
Officials – Pensions – Survivor’s pension – Conditions for granting – Minimum duration of marriage – Different treatment of the surviving spouses according to the date on which the marriage was entered into, before or after termination of the service of the deceased official – Broad discretion of the EU legislature – Observance of the principle of proportionality
(Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Arts 20 and 52(1); Staff Regulations of Officials, Annex VIII, Art. 20)
(see paragraphs 21-23)
3.
Officials – Pensions – Survivor’s pension – Conditions for granting – Minimum duration of marriage – Different treatment of the surviving spouses according to the date on which the marriage was entered into, before or after termination of the service of the deceased official – Limitation on the right to equal treatment and to non-discrimination on grounds of age – Justification – Combating fraud – Whether permissible – Review of proportionality
(Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Arts 20, 21(1) and 52(1); Staff Regulations of Officials, Arts 1d and 78(1), and Annex VIII, Arts 17 to 20)
(see paragraphs 26-33)
4.
Officials – Pensions – Survivor’s pension – Conditions for granting – Minimum duration of marriage – Purpose – Reality and stability of the marriage – Assessment in the light of national law – Precluded – Need for the administration to carry out a specific analysis of whether the relationship is real and stable – None
(Staff Regulations of Officials, Annex VIII, Art. 20)
(see paragraphs 36-41)
Operative part
The Court:
1.
Dismisses the action;
2.
Orders Ms Viviane Van Oosterwijck to bear her own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission;
3.
Orders the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament to bear their own costs.
(
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)	OJ C 441, 21.11.2022.