CELEX: C2007/269/134
Language: en
Date: 2007-11-10 00:00:00
Title: Case F-101/07: Action brought on 3 October 2007 — Cova v Commission

10.11.2007   
            
            
               EN
            
            
               Official Journal of the European Union
            
            
               C 269/73
            
         Action brought on 3 October 2007 — Cova v Commission
   (Case F-101/07)
   (2007/C 269/134)
   Language of the case: English
   Parties
   
      Applicant: Philippe Cova (Brussels, Belgium) (represented by: S. Pappas, lawyer)
   
      Defendant: Commission of the European Communities
   Form of order sought
   The applicant claims that the Court should:
   
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               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,
            
         
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               Order the European Commission to pay the costs of the proceedings.
            
         Pleas in law and main arguments
   The Applicant invokes the following pleas in law:
   1.   Infringement of Article 7(2) of the SR by the Appointing Authority
   
   
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               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.
            
         
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                  ‘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.
            
         
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               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 Administration 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
   
   
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               The aforementioned duty implies that when an authority takes a decision concerning the position of an official, it 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.
            
         
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               In this connection the principle of good administration is frequently linked to the duty to have regard for the welfare of officials.
            
         
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               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. The interpretation of the Commission leads to 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.