Action brought on 8 March 2024 – CU v EEAS

(Case T-145/24)

Language of the case: French

Parties

Applicant: CU (represented by: N. de Montigny, lawyer)

Defendant: European External Action Service

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the Court should:

annul the decision of the Director of the Budget and Human Resources of 5 May 2023 rejecting his request for assistance submitted on 18 February 2021 under Article 24 of the Staff Regulations;

order the defendant to compensate the applicant for the psychological harm resulting from its failings, assessed ex aequo et bono at EUR 25 000;

order the defendant to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

In support of the action, the applicant relies on three pleas in law.

First plea in law, alleging infringement of the reasonable time limit, the duty to provide assistance and the principle of good administration due to the length of the investigation, the time taken to process the request for assistance, and the failure to process the complaint submitted against the adverse decision which justifies the payment of compensation;

Second plea in law, alleging a breach of the right to be heard in an effective and useful manner, the lack of impartiality and a breach of the right to fair proceedings and the right to be entitled to a full investigation which seeks evidence both for and against the person concerned;

Third plea in law based on a manifest error of assessment of the allegations made, the concept of harassment and what should be considered to be abusive conduct, as well as the individual and collective responsibilities concerned.

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