34

As, by the arguments put forward in the third part of the first plea and in the second plea, Mr Jenkinson disputes, in essence, the General Court’s finding that its jurisdiction did not cover the contracts prior to the final FTC, it is appropriate to recall that the General Court found, in particular, in paragraphs 23, 26 and 38 to 40 of the order under appeal, as follows: ‘23 … [s]ince the present action was brought on the basis of Article 272 TFEU, the Court has jurisdiction only in respect of the final FTC under the arbitration clause contained therein. The Court manifestly lacks jurisdiction to deal with disputes that may arise from the performance of the applicant’s contracts of employment prior to the final FTC, which expressly give jurisdiction to the Belgian courts and, therefore, to hear the present action in so far as it relates to the effects of those contracts. … 26 The scope of the clause giving jurisdiction to the Court of Justice of the European Union is expressly limited to disputes relating to the final FTC and cannot be extended to previous contracts providing for other courts to have jurisdiction. … 38 The Court has jurisdiction on the basis of Article 272 TFEU only in relation to the final FTC entered into between the applicant and [the] Eulex Kosovo [Mission]. 39 First, it is clear from the above that the Court manifestly lacks the jurisdiction to rule on the first part of the principal heads of claim. The first head of claim, seeking the recategorisation of the whole of the applicant’s contractual relationship with the various missions who were his consecutive employers as a contract of indeterminate duration, assumes that the effects of the previous employment contracts entered into by those missions and the applicant, which expressly give jurisdiction to the Belgian courts, can be taken into account. As the Court’s jurisdiction is limited to the final FTC, the Court is not permitted to rule on this head of claim. The Court also manifestly lacks jurisdiction in respect of the ancillary claims for a declaration that the defendants infringed the obligation to give notice of termination of a contract of an indeterminate duration and that the applicant’s dismissal was unfair. Therefore, the Court also manifestly has no jurisdiction to rule on the compensation claims ancillary to those claims, seeking compensation for the loss arising from the abusive use of consecutive FTCs, from the infringement of the obligation to give notice of termination and from an unfair dismissal. 40 Secondly, the Court manifestly lacks jurisdiction to rule on the second part of the principal heads of claim, in that they seek a declaration that the EEAS, the Council and the Commission treated the applicant in a discriminatory manner during his employment on the missions as regards his remuneration, pension rights and other benefits, that the applicant ought to have been recruited as a member of the temporary staff of one of them and that compensation should be paid for the resulting loss. Those claims are directed against the Council, the Commission and the EEAS, which are not parties to the final FTC, and therefore relate to the earlier contractual relationship over which the Court has no jurisdiction.’