EN    EN EN 
 
EN    EN  COMMISSION OF THE E UROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 21.11.2008 
SEC(2008) 2875 
  
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 
Accompanying the 
  
Proposal for a 
  
COUNCIL (EC, EURATO M) REGULATION 
  
adjusting with effect from 1 July 2008 the remuneration and pensio ns of officials and 
other servants of the European Communiti es and the correction coefficients applied 
thereto 
 
 
EUROSTAT REPORT ON ANNUAL AD JUSTMENT OF REMUNERATION AND 
PENSIONS 
  
Reference Period: 
June 2007 – June 2008 
  
Eurostat, Unit D5 
 
Luxembourg, October 2008 
  
[COM(2008) 788 final] 
 
EN 2   EN TABLE OF CONTENTS 
Executive Summary .............................................................................................................. ... 3 
Introduction ................................................................................................................... ........... 4 
1. Evolution of the purchasing po wer of national officials......................................... 5 
1.1. Specific Indicator ........................................................................................................ .5  
1.2. Control Indicator ......................................................................................................... .5  
2. Changes in the cost of living for Br ussels (Brussels International Index) ............ 6 
3. Adjustment of remuneration and pension in Belgium and Luxembourg............. 7 4. Adjustment of remuneration and pension outside Belgium and Luxembourg.... 8 
4.1. Correction coefficients for staff outside Belgium and Luxembourg ........................... 8 
4.2. Correction coefficients for pensione rs outside Belgium and Luxembourg ............... 11 
 
EN 3   EN Executive Summary 
The report presents all information required fo r the annual adjustment of remuneration and 
pensions in Belgium/Luxembourg and in other places.  
For the period July 2007 – July 2008 the global speci fic indicator (average change in real net 
remuneration) is -1.3% and the Brussels Inte rnational Index (cost of living for the EC 
officials) is 104.4.  
As a consequence the adjustment of the nominal  net remuneration and pension of EC officials 
in Belgium and Luxembourg, necessary to main tain a parallel develo pment of purchasing 
power with the civil serv ants in the Member Stat es is equal to +3.0%.  
The correction coefficients, which apply to re muneration and pensions outside Belgium and 
Luxembourg, are given in tables 5 and 7 respectively. 
Specific indicators for France and UK  have still to be validated. 
 
EN 4   EN Introduction 
In accordance with the Articles 64, 65 and Annex XI of the Sta ff Regulations applicable to 
officials and other servants of the European Communities, Eurostat hereby presents its report for the twelve months to July 2008. 
Article 64, 65 and Annex XI of the Staff Regul ations, which are in force since 1 May 2004, 
define the method for the annual adjustment  of remuneration and pension of Community 
officials. The annual adjustments shall accord ingly be determined by the following factors: 
• average change in the purchasing power of sala ries of national civil servants in central 
government (global sp ecific indicator); 
• change in the cost of living in Brussels (Bruss els International Index); 
• economic parities between Brussels and the ot her places of employment in the Member 
States (correction coefficients). 
The value of the annual adjustment is equal to the product of the global specific indicator and 
the change in the Brussels International Index.  Changes in the cost of living in places of 
employment other than Brussels and Luxembourg are derived indirectly from the value of the 
adjustment for Brussels and any changes in th e economic parities between Brussels and those 
other places. 
Chapters 1 to 4 of this report examine respectively: 
• Evolution of the purchasing power of nati onal officials in the central governments, 
• Changes in the cost of living in Brussels, 
• Adjustment of remuneration and pensi ons in Belgium and Luxembourg, and  
• Adjustment of remuneration and pensions outside Belgium and Luxembourg. 
All figures and calculations co ntained in this report are ba sed on data supplied by the 
responsible authorities in the Member Stat es. More information on methodology, detailed 
results and statistical analysis is available in the annexes to this repor t and detailed procedural 
manuals. For any information concerning this re port, please contact Euro stat in Luxembourg: 
Eurostat, Unit D5  
BECH – A2/018,  
Bâtiment Jean Monnet 
L-2920 Luxembourg 
Tel.: (352) 4301-35287 
Email: estat-a64ia65@ec.europa.eu
 
 
EN 5   EN 1. E VOLUTION OF THE PURCHASING POWER OF NATIONAL OFFICIALS  
1.1. Specific Indicator 
Article 1.4 of the Annex XI says that to establish a global specific indicator for the 
European Union, Eurostat shall use a sample composed of the following Member States: Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. 
Table 1 shows the changes in the net rem uneration, both in nominal and real terms, 
in each of the above mentioned eight Me mber States. Changes in the harmonized 
consumer price indices (inflation rates)  during the period June 2007 to June 2008 
have been used to transform nominal changes in the remunerations to the real ones. In order to get the global specific indicators the resu lts per country have been 
weighted in proportion to their nationa l GDP for the year 2007 expressed in 
purchasing power parities. The global specific indicator (average change in real net 
remuneration) for the year 2008 is -1.3%.  
Table 1
Change in the net remuneration of central government civil servants
July 2007 - July 2008
CountryWeight ¹              
EU25=100 / EU8=100Nominal net 
specific indicatorConsumer 
price indicesReal net specific 
indicatorEffect on the 
total
(%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
BE 2.5 3.3 5.7 5.8 -0.1 0.00
DE 18.8 24.7 2.7 3.4 -0.7 -0.17
ES 9.7 12.7 4.7 5.1 -0.4 -0.05
FR 214.3 18.8 2.1 4.0 -1.8 -0.34
IT 12.1 15.9 1.3 4.0 -2.6 -0.41
LU 0.3 0.4 3.7 5.3 -1.5 -0.01
NL 4.3 5.6 1.2 2.3 -1.1 -0.06
UK 214.2 18.6 2.2 3.8 -1.5 -0.29
Total 76.2 100.0 2.5 3.9 -1.3 -1.3
¹ Basis: GDP expressed in PPP, 2007
2 Provisional  value for nominal net specific indicato r  
1.2. Control Indicator 
Following Article 1.4 (c) of Annex XI of the Staff Regulations, Eurostat reports here 
on data concerning the real pe r capita emoluments in central government. These data 
serve as control indicators. As the control in dicator is expressed in gross terms, it is 
compared with the gross specific indicator. 
 
EN 6   EN Table 2 compares the changes in real gro ss per capita remuneration in July 2008 with 
those of per capita r eal wage bills for 2008, where th e respective values for 2007 are 
taken as 100. The table also shows the di fferences (in percent) between these two 
indicators.  
Table 2
Comparison of the gross specific indicator and the control indicator in real terms
Current reference period (2008 = 100)
CountryReal gross specific 
indicatorControl indicator * Difference (%)
[1] [2] [3]
BE 98.4 99.5 1.1
DE 100.0 101.2 1.2
ES 99.9 99.7 -0.2
FR 98.2 99.9 1.7
IT 97.7 96.7 -1.0
LU 101.0NL 99.2 101.4 2.2
UK 98.5 100.1 1.7
Total 98.9 99.4 0.5
*Eurostat and DG-ECFIN estimates. No data for Luxembourg. 
Relatively big differences are apparent fo r some Member States. They result from 
conceptual and statistical differences be tween the gross specific indicator and the 
control indicator. 
2. C HANGES IN THE COST OF LIVING IN BRUSSELS (BRUSSELS INTERNATIONAL INDEX ) 
Article 64 and Annex XI of the Staff Regulatio ns state that Eurostat shall draw up an 
index, based on the data provided by the Belg ian authorities, to measure the changes 
in the cost of living for officials of th e Communities in Brussels. This index, known 
as Brussels International Index, shall take into account the changes between June of 
the previous year and June of the curren t year and shall be based on the methodology 
defined by the Working Group on Artic le 64 of the Staff Regulations. 
The details of the calculation of this index corresponding to the 2008 annual salary 
adjustment are set out in table 3. The table shows that the cost of living for the EU 
officials in Brussels during the period June 2007 – June 2008 has increased, on 
average by 4.4%. 
 
EN 7   EN Table 3
Changes in the Brussels International Index (BII)
June 2007 - June 2008
Groups of consumption Weight Index
1. Food and non-alcoholic beverages 129.5 107.0
2. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco 21.8 104.0
3. Clothing and footwear 46.7 101.14. Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels 245.7 109.0
5. Furnishings, household equipment and maintenance of house 85.3 102.0
6. Health 18.5 99.17. Transport 151.0 103.8
8. Communications 21.5 97.6
9. Recreation and culture 109.9 100.0
10. Education 18.2 102.0
11. Hotels, cafes and restaurants 18.2 103.6
12. Miscellaneous goods and services 61.2 102.2
Global index without rents 804.3 104.5
Rents index 195.7 104.3
Global index 1000.0 104.4
 
3. A DJUSTMENT OF REMUNERATION AND PENSIONS IN BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG  
Taking into account the figures reported in chapter 1 and 2 the adjustment of the 
nominal net remuneration of EU officials in Belgium and Luxembourg, necessary to 
maintain a parallel development of purchas ing power with the civil servants in the 
Member States, is equal to: 
Salary change
104.4 × 98.7
                                                       — 100 = 3.0%
100
 
 
EN 8   EN 4. A DJUSTMENT OF REMUNERATION AND PENSIONS OUTSIDE BELGIUM AND 
LUXEMBOURG  
4.1. Correction coefficients for staff outside Belgium and Luxembourg 
The object of the economic parities is to co mpare the relative costs of living of EU 
officials in Brussels (reference city) with each of the European capitals and other places of employment for which a correcti on coefficient has been set. The method 
used is to compare the price of a "basket" of goods and services in Brussels with the 
prices of the same goods and services in each  of the other places  of employment. The 
weighted average of all the price ratios is the "economic parity". The average 
consumption expenditure pattern of EU offi cials are used as weights, identified by 
means of periodic family budget surveys. In places of employment outside Brussels 
with very few officials, a common stru cture pooling all the questionnaires from 
similar locations is derived instead. 
The changes in the cost of living in the places of employment outside Belgium and 
Luxembourg are measured by the implicit pr ice indices which are calculated as the 
product of the Brussels International Inde x and the changes in the economic parities 
between Brussels and those other plac es. Table 4 shows these changes.  
 
EN 9   EN Table 4
Changes in the economic parities in the twelve months to 1st July 2008
(for staff)
Country Parity Parity Change Implicit price
Place of employment 1.7.2007 1.7.2008 (%) index
BE/LU Brussels/Luxembourg 1.000 1.000 0.0% 4.4
BG Sofia 1.287 1.378 7.1% 11.9
CZ Prague 23.24 23.55 1.3% 5.8
DK Copenhagen 10.38 10.40 0.2% 4.7
DE Berlin 0.993 0.989 -0.4% 4.0
Bonn 0.983 0.980 -0.3% 4.1
Karlsruhe 0.969 0.964 -0.5% 3.9
Munich 1.066 1.053 -1.2% 3.2
EE Tallinn 12.45 13.30 6.8% 11.5
EL Athens 0.953 0.950 -0.3% 4.1
ES Madrid 1.004 1.016 1.2% 5.7
FR Paris 1.174 1.155 -1.6% 2.7
IE Dublin 1.218 1.219 0.1% 4.5
IT Rome 1.106 1.115 0.8% 5.3
Varese 0.986 0.986 0.0% 4.4
CY Nicosia 0.897 0.892 -0.5% 3.9
LV Riga 0.5523 0.5993 8.5% 13.3
LT Vilnius 2.464 2.633 6.9% 11.6
HU Budapest 222.3 224.0 0.8% 5.3
MT Valletta 0.848 0.850 0.2% 4.6
NL The Hague 1.115 1.091 -2.2% 2.2
AT Vienna 1.078 1.078 0.0% 4.4
PL Warsaw 3.052 3.157 3.4% 8.0
PT Lisbon 0.922 0.917 -0.5% 3.9
RO Bucharest 2.416 2.747 13.7% 18.8
SI Ljubljana 0.883 0.902 2.2% 6.7
SK Bratislava 27.50 26.47 -3.7% 0.6
FI Helsinki 1.178 1.198 1.7% 6.2
SE Stockholm 10.81 10.87 0.6% 5.0
UK London 0.962 0.995 3.4% 8.0
Culham 0.779 0.799 2.6% 7.1
Note: Cyprus and Malta joined Eurozone on 1 January 2008; value for 2007 converted using fixed exchange rate.  
The correction coefficients applicable to the salaries of the European institution 
officials working in the capitals and places of employment other than Brussels and 
Luxembourg are determined on the basis of  the relationships between the economic 
parities and the exchange rate s for the month of July.  
The correction coefficient operates as a per centage adjustment to salaries to take 
account of the cost of living differences  between Brussels and the various duty 
stations. Table 5 shows the cal culation of the correction co efficients for July 2008 for 
 
EN 10   EN places of employment situated in the Eur opean Union territory for which correction 
coefficients have been set. 
The value of the adjustment outside Be lgium and Luxembourg derives from the 
value of the adjustment for Belgium/ Luxembourg and from the changes in the 
economic parities between Brussels and those other places. 
Table 5
Calculation of correction coefficients at 1st July 2008
(for staff)
Country Parity Exchange rateCorrection 
coefficient
Place of employment [1] [2] 100 * [1] / [2]
BE/LU Brussels/Luxembourg 1.000 1.00000 100.0
BG Sofia 1.378 1.95580 70.5
CZ Prague 23.55 24.0020 98.1
DK Copenhagen 10.40 7.45800 139.4
DE Berlin 0.989 1.00000 98.9
Bonn 0.980 1.00000 98.0Karlsruhe 0.964 1.00000 96.4
Munich 1.053 1.00000 105.3
EE Tallinn 13.30 15.6466 85.0EL Athens 0.950 1.00000 95.0
ES Madrid 1.016 1.00000 101.6
FR Paris 1.155 1.00000 115.5
IE Dublin 1.219 1.00000 121.9
IT Rome 1.115 1.00000 111.5
Varese 0.986 1.00000 98.6
CY Nicosia 0.892 1.00000 89.2
LV Riga 0.5993 0.70440 85.1
LT Vilnius 2.633 3.45280 76.3
HU Budapest 224.0 238.380 94.0
MT Valletta 0.850 1.00000 85.0
NL The Hague 1.091 1.00000 109.1
AT Vienna 1.078 1.00000 107.8
PL Warsaw 3.157 3.36710 93.8
PT Lisbon 0.917 1.00000 91.7
RO Bucharest 2.747 3.65180 75.2
SI Ljubljana 0.902 1.00000 90.2
SK Bratislava 26.47 30.3100 87.3
FI Helsinki 1.198 1.00000 119.8
SE Stockholm 10.87 9.42630 115.3
UK London 0.9948 0.79235 125.6
Culham 0.7995 0.79235 100.9
 
 
EN 11   EN 4.2. Correction coefficients for pension ers outside Belgium and Luxembourg 
The Staff Regulations, which are in force since 1 May 2004 stipul ate the creation of 
correction coefficients for pensioners separate from those used for staff 
remuneration. The difference is that inst ead of being based on capital city price 
comparisons they relate to national compar isons, with Belgium as the base country. 
This section presents the calculated va lues of the economic parities and the 
correction coefficients for pensioners, w ith a reference date of July 1, 2008. The 
changes in the cost of livi ng in Member States other than Belgium and Luxembourg 
are measured by the implicit indices whic h are calculated as the product of the 
Brussels International Index and the ch anges in the economic parities between 
Belgium and the Member States. Table 6 shows these changes. 
 
EN 12   EN Table 6
Chan ges in the economic parities in the twelve months to 1st Jul y 2008
(for pensioners)
Countr y Parit y Parit y Chan geI m plicit price
1.7.2007 1.7.2008 (%) index
BE/LU 1.000 1.000 0.0% 4.4
BG 1.135 1.223 7.8% 12.6
CZ 21.38 21.86 2.3% 6.8
DK 10.07 10.17 1.0% 5.5
DE 0.997 0.994 -0.3% 4.2
EE 12.15 12.82 5.5% 10.1EL 0.933 0.949 1.7% 6.2
ES 0.964 0.960 -0.4% 4.1
FR 1.073 1.063 -0.9% 3.5
IE 1.180 1.185 0.4% 4.9
IT 1.071 1.076 0.4% 4.9
CY 0.917 0.919 0.2% 4.6
LV 0.5232 0.5620 7.4% 12.2
LT 2.343 2.483 6.0% 10.7
HU 192.1 194.5 1.2% 5.7
MT 0.870 0.867 -0.4% 4.0
NL 1.030 1.015 -1.5% 2.9
AT 1.072 1.069 -0.2% 4.2
PL 2.762 2.847 3.1% 7.7
PT 0.906 0.910 0.5% 4.9
RO 2.233 2.444 9.4% 14.3
SI 0.841 0.860 2.3% 6.8
SK 25.31 24.83 -1.9% 2.5
FI 1.146 1.162 1.4% 5.9
SE 10.51 10.51 0.0% 4.4
UK 0.8049 0.8349 3.7% 8.3
Note: Cyprus and Malta joined Eurozone on 1 January 2008; value for 2007 converted using fixed exchange rate.
 
Table 7 shows the correction coefficients fo r all member States (relative to Belgium) 
calculated for the pensioners. Their use is subject to specific rules set out in the Staff Regulations. 
 
EN 13   EN Table 7
Calculation of correction coef ficients at 1st July 2008
(for pensioners)
Country Parity Exchange rateCorrection 
coefficient
[1] [2] 100 * [1] / [2]
BE/LU 1.000 1.00000 100.0
BG 1.223 1.95580 62.5
CZ 21.86 24.0020 91.1
DK 10.17 7.45800 136.4
DE 0.994 1.00000 99.4
EE 12.82 15.6466 81.9
EL 0.949 1.00000 94.9
ES 0.960 1.00000 96.0
FR 1.063 1.00000 106.3
IE 1.185 1.00000 118.5
IT 1.076 1.00000 107.6
CY 0.919 1.00000 91.9
LV 0.5620 0.70440 79.8
LT 2.483 3.45280 71.9
HU 194.5 238.380 81.6
MT 0.867 1.00000 86.7
NL 1.015 1.00000 101.5
AT 1.069 1.00000 106.9
PL 2.847 3.36710 84.6
PT 0.910 1.00000 91.0
RO 2.444 3.65180 66.9
SI 0.860 1.00000 86.0
SK 24.83 30.3100 81.9
FI 1.162 1.00000 116.2
SE 10.51 9.42630 111.5
UK 0.8349 0.79235 105.4