Judgment of the General Court (Eighth Chamber) of 17 December 2015

Data

Court: General Court

Case date: 17 december 2015

Verdict

Judgment of the General Court (Eighth Chamber) of 17 December 2015 —

Italy v Commission

(Case T‑510/13)

"Languages - Notice of open competition for the recruitment of translators - Choice of second language from three languages - Language of communication with the candidates to the competition - Regulation No 1 - Article 1d(1), Article 27 and Article 28(f) of the Staff Regulations - Principle of non-discrimination - Proportionality"

European UnionRules on languagesRegulation No 1ScopeRelations between the institutions and their staffIncluded in the absence of specific regulations (Council Regulation No 1) (see para. 46)

OfficialsCompetitionsHolding of an open competitionLanguages of communication between the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) and the candidatesRestrictionInadmissibility (Staff Regulations, Annex III, Art. 1(2); Council Regulation No 1, Art. 2) (see paras 50-53)

OfficialsCompetitionsOrganisationConditions for admission and detailed rulesDiscretion of the appointing authorityLimitsCompliance with the linguistic regime laid down by Regulation No 1 (Staff Regulations, Art. 2; Council Regulation No 1, Art. 2) (see paras 57-59, 106)

Actions for annulmentGroundsLack of or inadequate statement of reasonsDistinguished from manifest error of assessment (Arts 263, second para., TFEU and 296 TFEU) (see para. 76)

OfficialsCompetitionsHolding of an open competitionLanguages of participation in testsLimitation of the choice of second languageDiscrimination based on languageJustification based on the need to choose a restricted number of languages for internal communicationInadmissibility (Staff Regulations, Arts 1d, and 28(f), and Annex III, Art. 1(1)(f); Council Regulation No 1, Art. 1) (see paras 81, 82, 87, 88, 101, 119, 143, 159)

OfficialsCompetitionsHolding of an open competitionLanguages of participation in testsEqual treatmentJudicial reviewScope (Staff Regulations, Art. 1d, and 28(f), and Annex III, Art. 1(1)(f); Council Regulation No 1, Art. 1) (see paras 107, 108)

Actions brought by officialsJudgment annulling a measureEffectsAnnulment of a notice of open competitionLegitimate expectations of the candidates selectedResults of the competition not called into question (Art. 266 TFEU; Staff Regulations, Art. 91) (see para. 162)

Re:

APPLICATION for annulment of notice of open competitions EPSO/AD/260/13, EPSO/AD/261/13, EPSO/AD/262/13, EPSO/AD/263/13, EPSO/AD/264/13, EPSO/AD/265/13 and EPSO/AD/266/13 to draw up reserve lists for the recruitment of Danish-language translators, English-language translators, French-language translators, Italian-language translators, Maltese-language translators, Dutch-language translators and Slovenian-language translators (OJ 2013 C 199 A, p. 1).

Operative part

The Court:

Annuls the notice of open competitions EPSO/AD/260/13, EPSO/AD/261/13, EPSO/AD/262/13, EPSO/AD/263/13, EPSO/AD/264/13, EPSO/AD/265/13 and EPSO/AD/266/13 to draw up reserve lists for the recruitment of Danish-language translators, English-language translators, French-language translators, Italian-language translators, Maltese-language translators, Dutch-language translators and Slovenian-language translators;

Orders the European Commission to bear, in addition to its own costs, those incurred by the Italian Republic;

Orders the Kingdom of Spain and the Federal Republic of Germany to bear their own costs relating to their interventions.