Judgment_paragraph 26 · RL v Court of Justice of the European Union (T-21/17)

26It should be borne in mind at the outset that, according to settled case-law, claims for annulment formally directed against a decision rejecting a complaint have the effect, where that decision lacks any independent content, of bringing before the Court the act against which the complaint was submitted (judgments of 17 January 1989, Vainker v Parliament, 293/87, EU:C:1989:8, paragraph 8, and of 6 April 2006, Camós Grau v Commission, T‑309/03, EU:T:2006:110, paragraph 43). Given that, in the present case, the decision rejecting the complaint lacks any independent content, since it essentially merely confirms the contested decision, the action must be regarded as directed against the contested decision.