Judgment of the General Court of 7 March 2018 –Le Pen v Parliament

(Case T-140/16) ¹

(Rules governing the payment of expenses and allowances of Members of the European Parliament — Parliamentary assistance allowance — Recovery of sums unduly paid — Authority of the Secretary-General — Burden of proof — Obligation to state reasons — Misuse of powers — Error of fact — Equal treatment)

Language of the case: French

Parties

Applicant: Jean-Marie Le Pen (Saint-Cloud, France) (represented initially by M. Ceccaldi and J.-P. Le Moigne, subsequently by M. Ceccaldi, and finally by F. Wagner, lawyers)

Defendant: European Parliament (represented by S. Seyr and G. Corstens, acting as Agents)

Re:

Application pursuant to Article 263 TFEU seeking annulment of the decision of the Secretary-General of the Parliament of 29 January 2016 relating to the recovery from the applicant of a sum of EUR 320 026.23 unduly paid for parliamentary assistance and of the related debit note of 4 February 2016.

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

Dismisses the action;

Orders Mr Jean-Marie Le Pen to pay the costs, including those relating to the proceedings for interim measures.

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¹ OJ C 191, 30.5.2016.