Opinion of Mr Advocate General Darmon

Mr President,

Members of the Court,

1. Mrs Claudia De Angelis, née Bautz is asking the Court to review the Commission's decision of 9 August 1983 refusing to fix Ischia (Italy) as her place of origin within the meaning of Article 7 (3) of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations, as implemented by Article 2 (2) of the Decision of 15 July 1980.

2. Miss Claudia Bautz married Mr Francesco De Angelis in 1969. At the time the couple lived in Ischia. On 1 April 1970 Mr de Angelis was appointed as an official at the Council of the European Communities and was posted to Brussels which became the couple's new place of residence. On 1 December 1982 Mrs de Angelis was appointed as an official at the Commission of the European Communities and was posted to Brussels.

3. In support of her application Mrs De Angelis claims that:

4. Recognition of a place of origin distinct from the place of recruitment entitles an official to the reimbursement of his travel expenses, calculated on a flat-rate basis, from the place of employment to the place of origin, in this case twice in each calendar year regard being had to the distance involved and also, as regards annual leave spent at the place of origin, to travelling time which in this case amounts to five days. Understandably, therefore, verification is necessary in order to ensure that the place of origin is correctly determined, hence criteria which are as accurate as possible are used for this purpose.

5. In conclusion, therefore, I consider that the Court should:

1 Translated from the French.

2 Articless 7 and 8 of Annex VII to the Staff Regulation.

3 Anicle 7 (1) and (3) of Annex V to the Staff Regulations.