Notice for the OJ

 

Action brought on 17 September 2004 by J against the Commission of the European Communities

(Case T-379/04)

(Language of the case: Italian)

An action against the Commission of the European Communities was brought before the Court of First Instance of the European Communities on 17 September 2004 by J, represented by Carlo Forte, lawyer.

The applicant claims that the Court should:

-    annul the Commission's decision of 10 June 2004, rejecting the applicant's complaints lodged against its decisions of 31 October 2003 and 10 December 2003, whereby, respectively, it refused her the expatriation allowance and installation allowance and demanded repayment of sums paid to her in that respect, not acknowledging the applicability of the last sentence of the second indent of Article 4(1)(a) of Annex VII, Article 5(1) of Annex VII, and Article 85 of the Staff Regulations of the European Communities;

-    annul the aforesaid decisions of 31 October 2003 and 10 December 2003;

-    order such measures as may be appropriate to restore the applicant's rights, including interest for delay;

-    order the Commission to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The applicant, who before accepting a post as a temporary servant of the Commission with the Directorate General for Research was employed as a researcher at the Brussels establishment of the Consiglio Nazionale di Ricerca (CNR), challenges the Commission's refusal to grant her the expatriation allowance and the installation allowance.

The Commission's position is based on the argument that the CNR, which does not form part of the structure of the public administration, is outside the scope of activity of the Italian State, of which it represents neither the will nor the direct interests.

In support of her claims, the applicant first argues misapplication of the last sentence of the second indent of Article 4(1)(a) of Annex VII and Article 5(1) of Annex VII of the Staff Regulations, maintaining that her status as a State official should allow her to be granted the refused allowances. That was also the interpretation of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which issued the applicant with a "Carte d'identité spéciale", describing her as a "Fonctionnaire italienne en mission officielle en Belgique".

She adds in this respect that the CNR is a legal person under public law to which the organisation of the State attributes an area of competence (belonging to the central power), material resources and an organisational structure, constituted precisely from public bodies and rules applicable to them.

The applicant also claims to have suffered an infringement of Article 85 of the Staff Regulations.

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