Judgment of the General Court Seventh Chamber, Extended Composition, 21 December 2022, Grünig v Commission, T-746/20

• Date: 21 December 2022
• Year: 2022

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However, the failure to take into account the diplomas and the professional experience acquired by a

worker by making use of the freedom of movement enshrined in Article 45 TFEU in order to

determine whether he or she has the qualifications required for recruitment would have the effect of

restricting the scope of that freedom. Accordingly, the applicant’s application could not be rejected

solely on the ground that he did not hold one of the Croatian law diplomas requested in the

competition notice since, in his application form, he noted not only his French diploma, which was

recognised in Croatia, but also professional experience which included inter alia legal experience in

Croatia. Such evidence was capable of establishing that he had the same qualifications as those

attested by the Croatian diplomas requested, acquired in particular in the context of the exercise of

his freedom of movement within the Union. In view of the wording of the competition notice, the

selection board was not in a position to verify, in accordance with the principles deriving from

Article 45 TFEU, whether the evidence submitted by the applicant in support of his application could

attest to knowledge of the Croatian legal system and terminology at the same level as that attested by

the possession of the Croatian diplomas requested. In that regard, the fact that the competition

notice did not require any professional experience cannot preclude it from being taken into account

in order to verify whether the qualifications attested by the national diplomas requested are met in

some other way by a candidate who does not hold those diplomas and who may rely on the

provisions contained in Article 45 TFEU.

Accordingly, the competition notice is unlawful in so far as its provision relating to qualifications led to

the rejection of the applicant’s application solely because he did not hold one of the Croatian

diplomas requested in that notice. Therefore, that provision is declared inapplicable to the applicant

under Article 277 TFEU.

8. COMMON COMMERCIAL POLICY: ANTI-DUMPING

Judgment of the General Court (Seventh Chamber, Extended Composition), 21 December

2022, Grünig v Commission, T-746/20

Anti-dumping – Imports of certain polyvinyl alcohols originating in the People’s Republic of China –

Definitive anti-dumping duties – Exemption of imports for a particular end-use – Severability – Regulatory

act entailing implementing measures – Direct concern – Challengeable act – First subparagraph of

Article 9(5) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 – Duty imposed on a non-discriminatory basis – Equal treatment

and non-discrimination

By Implementing Regulation 2020/1336,

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the European Commission imposed a definitive anti-

dumping duty on imports of certain polyvinyl alcohols (‘PVAs’) originating in the People’s Republic of

China. The regulation also provides that imports of PVAs for use in the manufacturing of dry-blend

adhesives are exempt from the imposition of that anti-dumping duty (‘the exemption at issue’).

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Grünig KG and EOC Belgium, two companies which use PVAs in the manufacturing of liquid adhesives,

brought an action for annulment of the regulation at issue in so far as it relates to the exemption at

issue.

The Commission raised several objections of inadmissibility against that action.

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Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1336 of 25 September 2020 imposing definitive anti-dumping duties on imports of certain

polyvinyl alcohols originating in the People’s Republic of China (OJ 2020 L 315, p. 1; ‘the regulation at issue’).

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Article 1(4) of the regulation at issue.