COUNCIL DECISION (EU) 2021/1072

of 28 June 2021

on a temporary derogation from Decision 2013/471/EU on the granting of daily allowances to and the reimbursement of travelling expenses of members of the European Economic and Social Committee and their alternates in view of the travel difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the Union

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular the third paragraph of Article 301 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the extraordinary preventive and containment measures taken by Member States, such as quarantine, implementation of remote working policies, as well as movement and travel restrictions or bans, have made it impossible or very difficult for members of the European Economic and Social Committee (‘the Committee’) and their alternates (together referred to as ‘the beneficiaries’) to travel with a view to attending meetings physically.

(2) In view of those exceptional circumstances, and in order to guarantee that the Committee’s activities can take place in an appropriate and sustainable manner at all times to ensure institutional continuity, it is necessary to temporarily derogate from Articles 2, 3 and 4 of Council Decision 2013/471/EU (1) as regards the payment of daily allowances and the reimbursement of travelling expenses to the beneficiaries. This derogation should apply only for the period of continued travel difficulties or sanitary restrictions to physical meetings caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the Union.

(3) Actual administrative costs incurred by a beneficiary who attends a meeting remotely by electronic means are lower than the rate of the daily allowance currently applicable for attendance of in-person meetings, while the time spent by a beneficiary remains the same. It is therefore appropriate that the daily allowance paid to the beneficiaries who attend meetings remotely by electronic means is adapted accordingly.

(4) Where appropriate, detailed rules relating to the granting of the daily allowance for remote attendance should be established by the Committee. Those rules should in particular identify the cases in which travel difficulties linked to COVID-19 or related restrictive measures compromise the possibility to organise or attend meetings physically.

(5) The Committee should submit to the Council regular reports on the application of this Decision so as to allow the Council to evaluate its impact and the continued existence of the conditions which justify the derogation. On the basis of those reports, the Council should consider the adoption of appropriate measures, in particular in the framework of a future comprehensive revision of Decision 2013/471/EU, to be undertaken before the end of the current term of office of the Committee,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1 By derogation from Articles 2, 3 and 4 of Decision 2013/471/EU, where COVID-19-related restrictive measures compromise the possibility to organise or attend a meeting physically, beneficiaries who attend the meeting remotely by electronic means shall be entitled only to a daily allowance set at EUR 145.

Article 2 The Committee shall adopt detailed provisions implementing Article 1 by 2 September 2021.

Article 3 By 2 January 2022 and every 6 months afterwards, the Committee shall submit to the Council an evaluation report on the application of this Decision, and particularly on its budgetary impact as well as on the continued existence of travel difficulties linked to COVID-19 or related restrictive measures that compromise the possibility to organise or attend meetings physically.

Article 4 This Decision shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Done at Luxembourg, 28 June 2021. For the Council The President M. do C. ANTUNES

(1) Council Decision 2013/471/EU of 23 September 2013 on the granting of daily allowances to and the reimbursement of travelling expenses of members of the European Economic and Social Committee and their alternates (OJ L 253, 25.9.2013, p. 22).