45The applicant claims that the Appointing Authority imposed on him an obligation that was more binding than that provided for by Article 17a(2) of the Staff Regulations. The fact that the Parliament had set up a committee of inquiry to investigate alleged contraventions and maladministration in the application of EU law in relation to money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion (‘the PANA Committee’) does not mean that he can express views on issues relating to the Panama Papers only where he has criticised the work of that committee, of the Parliament or of the European Union, in a way that has seriously prejudiced the legitimate interests of the Union. The applicant cites in that regard the judgment of 6 March 2001, Connolly v Commission (C‑274/99 P, EU:C:2001:127), from which it is clear that it is not necessary in the present case to know whether he failed to give notice of his proposal to publish the book in question, but rather to determine whether the legitimate interests of the Union could be seriously threatened by the book’s content. Thus, since the book in question does not present such a threat, it cannot be regarded as falling within the condition laid down in Article 17a(2) of the Staff Regulations, or as being related to the work of the Union.
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