Judgment of the General Court of 5 October 2020 — Broughton v Eurojust

(Case T-87/19) (1)

(Civil service - Members of the temporary staff - Deferment of advancement to a higher step for a period of six months - Annulment of reclassification in the higher grade - Ability to work in a third language - Administrative investigation - Duty to act in good faith - Impartiality - Rights of the defence - Equality of arms - Obligation to state reasons - Articles 11 and 12 of the Staff Regulations)

(2020/C 423/51)

Language of the case: Dutch

Parties

Applicant: Jon Broughton (Rotterdam, Netherlands) (represented by: D. Coppens, lawyer)

Defendant: European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) (represented by: J. Jooma and A. Terstegen-Verhaag, acting as Agents, and by D. Waelbroeck and A. Duron, lawyers)

Re:

Action brought under Article 270 TFEU seeking, in essence, first, annulment of the decisions of 4 May 2018 by which Eurojust deferred the applicant’s advancement to a higher step for a period of six months, held that French was his third language, annulled his reclassification from grade AD 9 to AD 10, which occurred in 2012, and proceeded to recover the amounts received since that year on account of that reclassification, second, a declaration that French must be considered to be the applicant’s second language and Dutch his third language, third, a declaration that the recovery of the amounts received by the applicant as a result of his reclassification in grade was unlawful and that the amounts recovered by Eurojust must be reimbursed to the applicant and, fourth, a declaration that Eurojust must restore the applicant’s legal position to what it was previously.

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

1.	Dismisses the action;

2.	Orders Jon Broughton to bear his own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust).

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(1)  OJ C 139, 15.4.2019.