Notice for the OJ

 

Action brought on 26 April 2004 by Gregorio Valero Jordana against Commission of the European Communities

(Case T-161/04)

(Language of the case: Spanish)

An action against the Commission of the European Communities was brought before the Court of First Instance of the European Communities on 26 April 2004 by Gregorio Valero Jordana, residing in Brussels, represented by Massimo Merola, lawyer.

The applicant claims that the Court should:

-    annul the decision of 10 February 2004 by which the European Commission refused the applicant access to the reserve list for general competition A7/A6 COM/A/637 and the individual decisions appointing officials in Grade A 6 from 5 October 1995;

-    order the Commission of the European Communities to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The applicant in these proceedings contests the defendant's decision denying him access to the reserve list for general competition A7/A6 COM/A/637 and the individual decisions appointing officials in Grade A 6 from 5 October 1995.

In support of his claims, the applicant alleges, first, misapplication of the exception under Article 4(1)(b) Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents. ¹ That exception concerns privacy and the integrity of the individual, in particular in accordance with Community legislation regarding the protection of personal data. The applicant states, in that connection, that it cannot be considered that the disclosure of the documents requested could infringe the privacy of the persons whose names appear in them, since belonging to the civil service is not a matter falling within the scope of privacy.

Moreover, to the extent that individual decisions regarding the appointment of European civil servants are in the public domain, the applicant alleges infringement of Article 5(b) of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data. ² The applicant also alleges failure to fulfil the obligation to provide reasons and breach of the principle of sound administration.

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¹ - OJL 145, 31/05/2000, p.43

² - OJL 8, 12/01/2001, p. 1