Judgment of the General Court (Eighth Chamber) of 15 June 2022 –
YV and Others v Commission
(Case T‑533/16)
(Civil service – Officials – 2014 reform of the Staff Regulations – Reimbursement of annual travel expenses – Place of origin located in a third country – Flat-rate payment calculated on the basis of the distance separating the place of employment from the capital of the Member State of which the official is a national)
1. |
Actions brought by officials – Action against a decision rejecting a complaint – Effect – Disputed measure referred to the Court – Exception – Decision not confirmatory in character – Account taken of the reasoning therein (Staff Regulations of Officials, Arts 90 and 91) (see para. 23) |
2. |
Freedom of movement for persons – Workers – Provisions of the Treaty – Scope – Movement of workers between a place of origin outside the EU and a place of employment within the EU – Precluded (Art. 45 TFEU) (see paras 33-37) |
3. |
Officials – Reimbursement of expenses – Annual travel expenses – Conditions and procedures – Officials with their place of origin outside the EU – Calculation of travel expenses on the basis of the distance separating their place of employment from the capital of the Member State of which they are a national – Discrimination on grounds of nationality – None – Breach of principle of proportionality – None (Staff Regulations of Officials, as amended by Regulation No 1023/2013, Annex VII, Art. 8(2), second subpara.) (see paras 39-42, 49-56, 58, 61-65) |
4. |
Actions brought by officials – Interest in bringing proceedings – Need to have personal grounds for complaint (Staff Regulations of Officials, Art. 91) (see para. 43) |
5. |
Acts of the institutions – Temporal application – Immediate application of the new rule to the future effects of a situation which arose under the old rule – Adoption of Regulation No 1023/2013 amending the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants – Infringement of acquired rights – None (Staff Regulations of Officials, as amended by Regulation No 1023/2013, Annexes V, Art. 7, and VII, Art. 8) (see paras 66-68) |
6. |
Officials – Reimbursement of expenses – Annual travel expenses – Conditions and procedures – Amendment of Staff Regulations leading to a reduction of annual travel expenses – Breach of principle of the protection of legitimate expectation – None (Staff Regulations of Officials, as amended by Regulation No 1023/2013, Annex VII, Art. 8) (see paras 69-73) |
Operative part
The Court:
1. |
Dismisses the action; |
2. |
Orders YV, YW and YZ to bear their own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission; |
3. |
Orders the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union each to bear their own costs. |