Judgment of the General Court (Seventh Chamber) of 24 October 2018 –

Fernández González v Commission

(Case T‑162/17 RENV)

(Civil service — Members of the temporary staff — Article 2(c) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union — Vacancy notice relating to a temporary agent post falling under Article 2(b) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union — Rejection of application — Plea of illegality — Article 8 of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union — Liability — Loss of opportunity)

1. Actions brought by officials — Action against a decision rejecting a complaint — Effect — Disputed measure referred to the Court — Exception — Decision not confirmatory in character — Account taken of the reasoning therein (Staff Regulations of Officials, Arts 90 and 91) (see paras 36-38)

2. Judicial proceedings — Application initiating proceedings — Formal requirements — Brief summary of the pleas in law on which the application is based (Rules of Procedure of the Civil Service Tribunal, Art. 50(1)(e)) (see paras 41, 42)

3. Plea of illegality — Scope — Measures the illegality of which may be pleaded — General measure providing the basis of the contested decision — Need for a legal connection between the contested measure and the contested general measure — Effect of illegality of a measure of general scope (Art. 277 TFEU) (see paras 56, 57)

4. Officials — Internal directive of an institution — Legal effects — Limits — Observation of the hierarchy of norms (see paras 60, 80)

5. Officials — Members of the temporary staff — Recruitment — Engagement of temporary staff members covered by Article 2(b) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants — Temporary staff members covered by Article 2(b) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants required to successfully pass a selection procedure — Exception for certain staff members also covered by Article 2(c) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants — Breach of the principle of equal treatment (Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities, Art. 2(b) and (c)) (see paras 81-84)

6. Actions brought by officials — Judgment annulling a measure — Effects — Annulment of a decision to reject a candidate — Observance of the principles of proportionality and the protection of legitimate expectations — Interests of the service — Maintenance for the successful candidate of the benefit of his appointment as a member of the temporary staff (Staff Regulations of Officials, Art. 91) (see paras 90, 91)

7. Actions brought by officials — Action for damages brought without a pre-litigation procedure in accordance with the Staff Regulations, as incidental to an action for annulment — Admissibility (Staff Regulations of Officials, Arts 90 and 91) (see paras 98-100)

8. Actions brought by officials — Unlimited jurisdiction — Compensation for material harm associated with loss of opportunity — Assessment — Criteria (Staff Regulations of Officials, Art. 91(1)) (see paras 118-122)

Re:

Action on the basis of Article 270 TFEU seeking, first, annulment of the Commission decision of 14 November 2014 rejecting the applicant’s application for the temporary agent post that is the subject of vacancy notice COM/2014/2036 and annulment of the decision of 22 May 2015 rejecting the applicant’s administrative complaint and, second, compensation for the harm that the applicant claims to have suffered.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Annuls the decision of the European Commission of 14 November 2014 rejecting the application of Ms Fernández González for the temporary agent post that is the subject of vacancy notice COM/2014/2036;

2. Orders the Commission to pay to Ms Fernández González the amount of EUR 12000 plus default interest from the date of delivery of the present judgment until the payment is made at an annual rate equal to the rate set by the European Central Bank (ECB) for principal refinancing operations, increased by 2 percentage points;

3. Dismisses the action as to the remainder;