Case F-101/07: Action brought on 3 October 2007 — Cova v Commission
Date: 2007-11-10
Institutions: Civil Service Tribunal
Subjects: European Commission, action by staff, appointment of staff, bonus payment, professional career, regulations for civil servants, temporary employment

10.11.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 269/73

After drawing attention to his claim for classification in Grade
AD 8 in Case F-76/05 (1), the applicant relies on breach of the
principle of legitimate expectations, inasmuch as filling the post
at issue would have the effect of causing him to lose his current
position as head of the ‘External Security/Protection of Missions’
sector, to the benefit of the candidate selected.

The applicant claims, in addition, infringement of the interests
of the service, inasmuch as the grade required in the notice of
vacancy does not allow his candidature to be accepted, despite
the fact that he is the best qualified person to carry out the
functions stated in the notice of vacancy. Moreover, the adminis-
tration has not explained how the interests of the service justify
the derogation from Article 31(2) of the Staff Regulations of
Officials of the European Communities, according to which offi-
cials are recruited in Grades AD 5 to AD 8.

— order

the CoR to pay to the applicant

the sum of
EUR 2 038,61 withheld from his remuneration, plus default
interest at the rate of 8 % per annum from 1 December 2006,
the date of the recovery, until payment in full;

— order the CoR to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

In support of his action, the applicant relies on very similar
pleas in law to those relied on in Case F-59/07 (1).

(1) OJ C 199, 25.8.2007, p. 5.

The applicant maintains,
the administration has
breached the principle of equal treatment and has committed a
manifest error of assessment.

finally,

that

(1) OJ C 281, 12.11.2005, p. 23 (case initially registered before the
Court of First Instance of the European Communities under number
T-302/05 and transferred to the European Union Civil Service
Tribunal by order of 15.12.2005).

Action brought on 3 October 2007 — Cova v Commission

(Case F-101/07)

(2007/C 269/134)

Language of the case: English

Action brought on 1 October 2007 — Tsirimiagos v
Committee of the Regions

Applicant: Philippe Cova (Brussels, Belgium) (represented by: S.
Pappas, lawyer)

Parties

(Case F-100/07)

(2007/C 269/133)

Language of the case: French

Defendant: Commission of the European Communities

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the Court should:

Parties

— Annul

the decision of

the Appointing Authority dated
29 June 2007 to the extent that it does not award the
management premium provided for in Article 7(2) of the
staff regulation for a period longer than one year,

Applicant: Kyriakos Tsirimiagos (Kraainem, Belgium) (represented
by: M.-A. Lucas, lawyer)

— Order the European Commission to pay the costs of the

proceedings.

Defendant: Committee of the Regions of the European Union
(CoR)

Pleas in law and main arguments

The Applicant invokes the following pleas in law:

Form of order sought

— annul the decision of 21 November 2006 of the Administra-
tion Director of the CoR to recover the amounts paid to the
applicant in application of the correction coefficient for that
part of his remuneration transferred to France from April
2004 to May 2005, in the sum of EUR 2 120,16;

— annul, insofar as is necessary, the decision of 21 June 2007,
rejecting his administrative complaint of 21 February 2007
against the decision of 21 November 2006, inasmuch as it
confirms the repayment in the sum of EUR 2 038,61;

1. Infringement of Article 7(2) of the SR by the Appointing

Authority

— the objective of Article 7(2) of the staff regulation is to
ensure smooth continuity of the service in cases of vacancy
of a post; according to the right meaning of this provision,
the temporary occupation of a post should be as short as
possible and for that reason the Administration is urged by
the law to proceed without delay to the termination of the
temporary posting by the nomination of a Head of unit to
the post.

C 269/74

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

10.11.2007

— ‘The duration of a temporary posting shall not exceed one year’
refers exclusively to the duration of the temporary posting
and does not affect the remuneration corresponding to it if
the temporary posting is prolonged beyond the duration of
one year.

— The deadline of one year is not of absolute character all the
more since it is not a deadline addressed to the civil servant
but to the Administration without any further qualification
that it is compulsory or binding or imperative; hence,
it
should be understood as a strong reminder to the Adminis-
tration to fill in the vacancy as soon as possible.

2. Infringement of the duty to have regard for the welfare of

the officials and the principle of good administration

— The aforementioned duty implies that when an authority
it
takes a decision concerning the position of an official,

should take into consideration all the factors which may
affect its decision and that when doing so it should take into
account not only the interests of the service but also those
of the official concerned.

— In this connection the principle of good administration is
frequently linked to the duty to have regard for the welfare
of officials.

— In the present case the Commission failed to comply with
its duties as it was aware that the previous Head of Unit
should be assigned to another post and tolerated Mr Cova's
appointment ad interim for a period longer than one year.
to the
The
paradoxical situation that while the responsibilities assumed
for the allotted period were higher, the plaintiff may only be
granted a management premium which is limited to one
year.

the Commission leads

interpretation of