CELEX: C1997/318/61
Language: en
Date: 1997-10-18 00:00:00
Title: Action brought on 8 August 1997 by Folmer Bang-Hansen against the Commission of the European Communities (Case T-233/97)

C 318/32                 EN                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                  18 . 10 . 97
grant in question, the administration had concluded that                taken into account for the transfer of pension rights
the grant could no longer be regarded as an allowance of                should be calculated for each transfer separately. In its
like nature to the household allowance provided for in                  submission, the conversion calculations used by the
Article 1 of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations and that it             applicant would result in a number of years of
had therefore been decided that it would no longer deduct               pensionable service greater than the number of years in
that grant from the household allowance paid to the                     which the applicant was affiliated to the Danish pension
applicants . The applicants thereupon requested retroactive             funds in question.
reimbursement of all of the sums deducted together with
default interest. Those requests were rejected by the                   The applicant considers in that respect that the wording of
defendant .
                                                                        Article 11 ( 2 ) of Annex VIII to the Staff Regulations is
                                                                        perfectly clear, in that it concerns retirement pension rights
The pleas in law and main arguments advanced by the                     acquired through the pursuit by an official of an activity
applicants against those rejection decisions are the same as            in an employed or self-employed capacity before he took
those in Case T-181 /97 (').                                            up his duties. The 'period' of prior service is thus credited
                                                                        and taken into account in calculating the retirement
(') Case T-181 /97 Meyer and Others v. Court of Justice ( OJ            pension provided for in the Staff Regulations. It follows,
    C 252 , 16 . 8 . 1997, p. 35 ).                                     in his submission, that both the wording and the rationale
                                                                        of the Staff Regulations require the Community institution
                                                                        to take into account the whole of the rights acquired by
                                                                        the official concerned before he took up his duties.
                                                                        What is to be taken into account in that respect is, he
Action brought on 8 August 1997 by Folmer Bang­                         argues, the retirement pension rights acquired by reason of
                                                                        those activities, whether or not those activities were on an
      Hansen against the Commission of the European
                              Communities                               employed basis. The Commission should therefore have
                                                                        taken into account all contributions giving rise to pension
                           ( Case T-233/97 )                            rights, the essential point being to define the rights to
                             ( 97/C 318/61 )                            which those contributions gave rise . It is those rights, the
                                                                        applicant argues, and not, in themselves, the contributions
                                                                        and the funds to which they are paid, which underlie the
                   (Language of the case: French)                       letter and the spirit of the provision of the Staff
                                                                        Regulations cited above .
An action against the Commission of the European
Communities was brought before the Court of First                       There is therefore nothing to prevent the transfer amounts
Instance of the European Communities on 8 August 1997                   in question — even though emanating from two different
by Folmer Bang-Hansen, residing in Overijse ( Belgium ),                funds, each establishing as far as it is concerned the
represented by Eric Boigelot, of the Brussels Bar, with an              amount of the actuarial equivalent — from being added
address for service in Luxembourg at the Chambers of                    together in order to determine the number of years of
Louis Schiltz, 2 Rue du Fort Rheinsheim.                                pensionable service to be taken into account and the
                                                                        resulting credit. In the applicant's submission, it is only
The applicant claims that the Court should:                             the aggregation of rights which corresponds to the
                                                                        intention of the Community legislature, since it is the
                                                                        whole of those rights which he has acquired by way of
— annul the decision of 16 October 1996 ( Reference                     retirement pension.
     IX.B.6/LAD ) ( 96 ) 14687), signed by E. Tserepa ( Head
     of the Transfers Sector ), whereby the Commission
     decided that the limitation of the period to be taken              The applicant ends by arguing that any general provision
     into account for a transfer of pension rights was to be            for implementing the rules in the Staff Regulations
     calculated separately for each transfer, and therefore             which supports the interpretation put forward by the
     refused the applicant's request to aggregate transfers             Commission should be regarded as unlawful .
     from Andelspensionsforeningen and Juristernes Pen­
     sionskasse,
— order the Commission to pay the costs .
                                                                        Action brought on 6 August 1997 by Franco Campoli
Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:                        against the Commission of the European Communities
                                                                                                 Case T-235/97
The applicant complains of the Commission's refusal to                                           ( 97/C 318/62 )
 aggregate transfers emanating from two Danish pension
 funds to which he had successively contributed before he
took up his duties with the Commission, for the purposes                                (Language of the case: Italian)
 of calculating the period to be taken into account on a
transfer of pension rights. The Commission justified its                An action against the Commission of the European
refusal on the basis that the limitation of the period to be             Communities was brought before the Court of First