24.7.2023

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 261/46

(Case T-322/23)

(2023/C 261/63)

Language of the case: French

Parties

Applicant: VN (represented by: A. Champetier and S. Rodrigues, lawyers)

Defendant: European Commission

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the Court should:

—declare the present action admissible and well founded; consequently:

—annul the Commission decision of 4 August 2022, later replaced by the decision of 8 September 2022, ordering the payment of the full amount of the family allowances to the mother of the applicant’s son as from 1 September 2015;

—annul the Commission decision of 8 September 2022, except for the sub-decision to pay the applicant the education allowances for his son;

—accordingly, in line with the principle that the Court cannot issue directions to the institutions, pay the corresponding amount to the applicant (dependent child allowance, household allowance, pre-school allowance from 1 September 2015 to 31 August 2016);

—retroactively, for the period from 1 April 2015 to June 2023, (it being specified that that the administration had already paid those allowances to the applicant for five months, between April 2015 and September 2015 inclusive);

—plus interest accrued since November 2015, at an average yearly compound interest rate equal to the ECB’s public interest rate for 2022;

—and for the future, as from July 2023;

—in so far as may be necessary, annul the Commission decision of 2 March 2023 rejecting the applicant’s complaint of 4 November 2022;

—order the Commission to pay all the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

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

1.First plea in law, alleging infringement of Articles 1 and 2 of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and manifest errors of assessment in applying those articles, since there is no order of court granting custody of the applicant’s son to the child’s mother.

2.Second plea in law, alleging breach of the principle of legitimate expectations.