Judgment of the General Court (Ninth Chamber) of 6 July 2017 — Bodson and Others v EIB

(Case T‑506/16)

(Civil service — EIB staff — Contractual nature of the employment relationship — Remuneration — Reform of the system of remuneration and salary progression — Legitimate expectations — Legal certainty — Manifest error of assessment — Proportionality — Duty to have regard for the welfare of staff — Article 11(3) of the Rules of Procedure of the EIB)

1. Actions brought by officials — Staff of the European Investment Bank — Action brought against a measure of general scope — Inadmissibility (Staff Regulations, Art. 90; Staff Regulations of the European Investment Bank, Art. 41) (see paras 55, 56)

2. Actions brought by officials — Acts adversely affecting an official — Concept — Purely informative measure — Not included / precluded (Staff Regulations, Arts 90 and 91) (see para. 57)

3. Officials — Staff of the European Investment Bank — Remuneration — Reform of the system of renumeration and salary progression — Administration’s discretion — Conclusion of a protocol of agreement with staff representatives containing undertakings of the Bank as to bonuses — Irrelevant (Staff Regulations of the European Investment Bank, Arts 13, 15, 20, first and second paras, and 22, and Annexes I and II) (see paras 75-80)

4. Officials — Staff of the European Investment Bank — Remuneration — Reform of the bonus scheme — Administration’s discretion — Respect for acquired rights — Modification for the future of the bonus scheme before carrying out assessments giving rise to bonuses — Lawfulness (Staff Regulations of the European Investment Bank, Art. 20) (see paras 91-94, 112)

5. Officials — Staff of the European Investment Bank — Remuneration — Reform of the bonus scheme — Administration’s discretion — Respect for the principle of legitimate expectations — Scope (Staff Regulations of the European Investment Bank, Art. 20) (see paras 99-102)

6. Officials — Staff of the European Investment Bank — Remuneration — Reform of the bonus scheme — Administration’s discretion — Observance of the principle of proportionality — Judicial review — Limits (Staff Regulations of the European Investment Bank, Art. 20) (see paras 122-125)

7. Judicial proceedings — Application initiating proceedings — Formal requirements — Brief summary of the pleas in law on which the application based (Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 21, first para.; Rules of Procedure of the European Union Civil Service Tribunal, Art. 35(1)(e)) (see para. 137)

8. Officials — Staff of the European Investment Bank — Administration's duty to have regard for the interests of officials — Scope — Implementation of economies to the detriment of staff — Lawfulness (see para. 146)

Re:

ACTION under Article 270 TFEU seeking, first, annulment of the decisions, contained in the salary slips from April 2013 onwards, applying to the applicants the decision of the EIB Board of Directors of 18 December 2012, the decision of the EIB Management Committee of 29 January 2013, and the article published online on 5 February 2013 informing staff of the adoption of those two decisions; and, secondly, an order that the EIB pay to the applicants a sum corresponding to the difference between the amount of remuneration paid in application of the abovementioned decisions and the amount of remuneration due under the previous system, together with compensation for the damage which the applicants claim to have suffered as a result of their loss of purchasing power.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;