Judgment of the General Court (Sixth Chamber) of 24 September 2019 –

VF v ECB

(Case T‑39/18)

(Civil service — ECB staff — Appraisal report of the applicant — Annual salary and bonus review — Refusal to convert a fixed-term employment contract into a contract for an indefinite period — Obligation to state reasons — Manifest error of assessment — Principle of sound administration)

1. Actions brought by officials — Staff of the European Central Bank — 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 (see paras 41, 42)

2. 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, Arts 9(c) and 10(c); Council Directive 1999/70) (see paras 71-73)

3. 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 (Conditions of employment for staff of the European Central Bank, Art. 10(c); Council Directive 1999/70, Annex, clause 5) (see paras 74, 75)

4. 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. 78)

5. Officials — Reports procedure — Observance of the rights of the defence — Scope (Staff Regulations of Officials, Art. 43) (see paras 83, 84)

6. Officials — Reports procedure — Appraisal report — Decline in the appraisal compared with the previous appraisal — Obligation to state reasons — Obligation to state reasons — Scope (Staff Regulations of Officials, Art. 43) (see paras 91-94)

7. Officials — Administration's duty to have regard for the interests of officials — Principle of sound administration — Scope — Taking account of official’s interests (see para. 95)

8. Officials — Reports procedure — Appraisal report — Discretion of assessors — Judicial review — Limits — Manifest error of assessment — Meaning (Staff Regulations of Officials, Art. 43) (see paras 108-110)

9. Actions brought by officials — Interest in bringing proceedings — Need for a vested and present interest — Assessment at the time when the action was brought — Action capable of securing a benefit for the applicant (Staff Regulations of Officials, Arts 90 and 91) (see para. 139)

10. 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 142-144)

11. 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 (Staff Regulations of Officials, Art. 91) (see paras 159, 160)

Re:

Action under Article 270 TFEU and Article 50a of the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union essentially seeking, first, the annulment of the decision regarding the annual salary and bonus review for 2016 and the decision not to convert the applicant’s fixed-term employment contract into a contract for an indefinite period and, secondly, compensation for the damage which the applicant claims to have sustained as a result of those measures.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;