Case T-473/04: Action brought on 6 December 2004 by Cristina Asturias Cuerno against the Commission of the European Communities
Date: 2005-02-19
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: European Commission, European official, action by staff, administration of the Institutions, allowances and expenses, personnel administration, regulations for civil servants

C 45/26

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

19.2.2005

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— annul the decision of the Commission of 18 March 2004

classifying the applicant in Grade A5, step 3;

— order the Commission to pay the difference between the
salary corresponding to the applicant's classification in
Grade A5, step 3, and the salary corresponding to classifica-
tion in a higher grade, with default interest of 5.75 % per
annum from 1 December 2002;

— order the Commission to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments:

The applicant, a Commission official, applied for a post at A5/
A4 level in the field of taxation and customs. He was selected
and appointed at Grade A5, step 3. The applicant contests that
decision, arguing that he is a particularly highly qualified candi-
date with exceptional qualifications and that he should, there-
fore, have been appointed at Grade A4. On that basis, the
applicant raises a plea of manifest error of assessment in the
application of Article 31 of the Staff Regulations.

The applicant also raises a plea of breach of the right to a fair
hearing alleging that the defendant did not give him an oppor-
tunity to present his point of view before the contested deci-
sion was taken.

Finally, the applicant relies on a plea of breach of Article 253
EC, pointing out that no reasons were stated for the contested
decision, or in the alternative, that inadequate reasons were
stated.

Action brought on 6 December 2004 by Cristina Asturias
Cuerno against the Commission of the European Commu-
nities

(Case T-473/04)

(2005/C 45/58)

(Language of the case: Spanish)

An action against the Commission of the European Commu-
nities was brought before the Court of First Instance of the

European Communities on 6 December 2004 by Cristina
Asturias Cuerno, residing in Brussels, represented by Ramon
García-Gallardo and Alicia Sayagués Torres, lawyers.

The applicant claims that the Court should:

1. annul the decision of the Commission of 26 August 2004

rejecting her complaint of 27 April 2004;

2. recognise the applicant's entitlement
allowance and other related allowances;

to the expatriation

3. order the Commission to pay all the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments:

The applicant in these proceedings contests the decision of the
administration that she is not entitled to receive the expatria-
tion allowance.

In support of her application she relies on the following pleas
in law:

— Error of law in the assessment of the facts in that the
contested decision does not take account of the fact that
the applicant's work as an assistant to a Member of the
European Parliament must be considered to be work done
for an international organisation which, under the Staff
Regulations, does not count towards the reference period.

— Manifest error of assessment of the facts and, specifically, of
the personal situation of the applicant, in that her reference
period in Brussels was calculated wrongly, given that it
amounted to only four years and 11 months.

— Breach of

the principle of non-discrimination.

In that
connection, it is claimed that the failure to recognise work
done as a parliamentary assistant as work done for an inter-
national organisation is contrary to the practice of the
other Community institutions. The principle of equal treat-
ment has also been infringed by the Commission in that
the work done by the applicant for the European Mortgage
Federation was not recognised as work done for an interna-
tional organisation, although the Commission itself had
recognised it as such in the past.