Joined Cases T-401/16 and T-443/16: Judgment of the General Court of 9 September 2020 — Spain and Italy v Commission (Language regime — Notice of open competitions for the recruitment of Investigators and Team leaders — Language skills — Limitation of the choice of second language in the competitions to German, English and French — Eliminatory language-comprehension test in English — Language of communication — Regulation No 1 — Article 1d(1), Article 27 and Article 28(f) of the Staff Regulations — Discrimination based on language — Justification — Interests of the service — Proportionality)
Date: 2020-09-09
Institutions: General Court
Subjects: EPSO, administrator, competition (EU), official language, staff regulations








C_2020414EN.01002902.xml










30.11.2020   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 414/29






Judgment of the General Court of 9 September 2020 — Spain and Italy v Commission
(Joined Cases T-401/16 and T-443/16) (1)

(Language regime - Notice of open competitions for the recruitment of Investigators and Team leaders - Language skills - Limitation of the choice of second language in the competitions to German, English and French - Eliminatory language-comprehension test in English - Language of communication - Regulation No 1 - Article 1d(1), Article 27 and Article 28(f) of the Staff Regulations - Discrimination based on language - Justification - Interests of the service - Proportionality)
(2020/C 414/48)
Languages of the cases: Spanish and Italian

Parties


Applicant in case T-401/16: Kingdom of Spain (represented by S. Centeno Huerta, acting as Agent)

Applicant in case T-443/16: Italian Republic (represented by G. Palmieri, acting as Agent, and by P. Gentili, avvocato dello Stato)

Defendant: European Commission (represented in case T-401/16 by G. Gattinara, D. Milanowska and N. Ruiz García, and in case T-443/16, by G. Gattinara and D. Milanowska, acting as Agents)

Re:

Application based on Article 263 TFEU seeking annulment of the notice of open competitions EPSO/AD/323/16 for the constitution of reserve lists of administrators performing the duties of investigators (AD 7) for the following profiles: ‘1 — Investigators: EU expenditure, anti-corruption — 2 — Investigators: Customs and trade, tobacco and counterfeited goods’ and EPSO/AD/324/16 for the constitution of a reserve list of administrators performing the following duties: ‘Investigators (AD 9): Team leaders’ (OJ 2016 C 187 A, p. 1).

Operative part

The Court:






1.


Annuls the notice of open competitions EPSO/AD/323/16 for the constitution of reserve lists of administrators performing the duties of investigators (AD 7) for the following profiles: ‘1 — Investigators: EU expenditure, anti-corruption — 2 — Investigators: Customs and trade, tobacco and counterfeited goods’ and EPSO/AD/324/16 for the constitution of a reserve list of administrators performing the following duties: ‘Investigators (AD 9): Team leaders’;










2.


Orders the European Commission to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the Kingdom of Spain in Case T-401/16, and those incurred by the Italian Republic in Case T-443/16.






(1)  OJ C 383, 17.10.2016.