Judgment of the General Court (Sixth Chamber) of 6 February 2019 — TN v ENISA

(Case T‑461/17)

(Civil service — Members of the temporary staff — Recruitment — Notice of vacancy — Head of Unit post — Inclusion on the reserve list — Acceptance of the offer of employment — Withdrawal of the offer of employment — Conditions of employment — Character references — Article 12 of the CEOS — Manifest error of assessment — Processing of personal data — Right to be heard — Liability)

1. Actions for annulment — Grounds — Lack of or inadequate statement of reasons — Separate ground from the one concerning substantive legality (Arts 263 and 296 TFEU) (see paras 40-42)

2. Officials — Members of the temporary staff — Recruitment — Withdrawal of an offer of employment after its acceptance by the successful candidate — Verification of the conditions of employment — Absence of contract of employment — Whether permissible (Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union, Arts 12 and 47) (see paras 48, 50-52, 58, 59, 61)

3. Judicial proceedings — Application initiating proceedings — Formal requirements — Identification of the subject matter of the proceedings — Brief summary of the pleas in law on which the application is based — Unambiguous wording of the form of order sought by the applicant (Statute of the Court of Justice, Arts 21, first para., and 53, first para.; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 76(d) and (e)) (see paras 64-66)

4. EU institutions — Protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data — Regulation No 45/2001 — Need for processing to be lawful — Causes of justification — Not cumulative (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 45/2001, Art. 5) (see paras 78, 79)

5. Officials — Members of the temporary staff — Recruitment — Choice of the manner of organising the selection procedure and conduct thereof — Discretion of the authority authorised to conclude contracts of employment — Scope (Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union, Art. 2) (see paras 83-89, 99)

6. Actions brought by officials — Grounds — Manifest error of assessment — Concept — Burden of proof (see para. 90)

7. Fundamental rights — Non bis in idem principle — Both criminal and administrative penalties for the same wrongful conduct — Withdrawal of an offer of employment not constituting a penalty — Infringement of the said principle — Absence (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 50) (see para. 103)

8. Officials — Members of the temporary staff — Withdrawal of an offer of employment in the context of a recruitment procedure — Right to be heard — Scope — Infringement — Absence (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 41(2)(a)) (see paras 111-114)

9. Actions brought by officials — Application for damages directly linked to an application for annulment — Dismissal of the application for annulment leading to dismissal of the application for damages (Staff Regulations of Officials, Arts 90 and 91) (see para. 123)

Re:

Application pursuant to Article 270 TFEU and seeking, first, the annulment of the decision of 25 November 2016 by which ENISA withdrew the offer of employment made to the applicant for the position of Head of the Administrative Services Unit, as well as the annulment of the decision of 20 April 2017 rejecting his complaint and, secondly, an order that ENISA pay compensation for the material and non-material loss allegedly suffered by the applicant as a result, inter alia, of the unlawful withdrawal of that offer.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;