EN    EN EN 
EN    EN  EUROPEAN COMMISSION 
Brussels, 18.11.2010 
SEC(2010) 1406 final 
  
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING PAPER 
Eurostat Report on  
the annual adjustment of remuneration  and pensions of EU officials 
 
In accordance with the Articles 64, 65 and A nnex XI of the Staff Regulations applicable 
to officials and other servants  of the European Communities 
 
Accompanying document to the 
 
Proposal for a Council Regulation adjust ing with effect from 1 July 2010 the 
remuneration and pensions of officials and other servants of the European Union and 
the correction coefficients applied thereto 
COM(2010) 678  
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 the information require d for the annual adjustment of remuneration 
and pensions in Belgium/Luxembourg and in other places, including: 
- evolution of the purchasing pow er of national officials;  
- changes in the cost of  living in Brussels;  
- correction coefficients fo r staff and pensioners.  
For the period July 2009 – July 2010 the global specific indicator (average change in real net 
remuneration in the sample of 8 countries) is  98.0 (-2.0 %). Details ar e provided in Table 1. 
For the same period, the Brussels Internationa l Index (cost of living measured for the EU 
officials) is 102.4 (+2.4%).. Details  are provided in Table 3.  
As a consequence the adjustment of the nomin al net remuneration and pension of European 
officials in Belgium and Luxembourg which is necessary to maintain a parallel development 
of purchasing power with the nati onal civil servants in the Memb er States is equal to +0.4%.  
The correction coefficients which apply to re muneration and pensions outside Belgium and 
Luxembourg in order to maintain  equality of purchasing power, are provided in Tables 5 and 
7 respectively. 
 
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 2010. 
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 purchasi ng power of salaries of nationa l 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 contained in this report are based 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 C6  
BECH – A2/018,  
Bâtiment Jean Monnet 
L-2920 Luxembourg 
Tel.: (352) 4301-35287 
Email: estat-a64ia65@ec.europa.eu
 
 
EN 5   EN 1. EVOLUTION OF THE PURCHASING POWER OF NATIONAL OFFICIALS  
1.1. Specific Indicator 
Article 1.4 of the Annex XI sa ys that to establish a globa l specific indicator for the 
European Union, Eurostat shall use a samp le composed of the following 8 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 2009 to June 2010 
have been used to transform nominal cha nges in the remunerations into movements 
in real terms. In order to ge t the global specific indicator  the results per country have 
been weighted in proportion to their na tional GDP for the year 2009 expressed in 
purchasing power parities. The global specific indicator (a verage change in real net 
remuneration) for the ye ar 2010 is 98.0 (-2.0%).  
 Table 1
Change in the net remuneration of central government civil servants
July 2009 - July 2010
CountryWeight ¹              
EU25=100 / EU8=100Nominal net 
specific indicatorConsumer 
price indicesReal net specific 
indicatorEffect on the 
total
(%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
BE 2.5 3.3 0.9 2.7 -1.8 -0.1
DE 18.9 24.8 -4.1 0.8 -4.9 -1.2
ES 9.6 12.6 -1.3 1.5 -2.8 -0.3
FR 13.9 18.2 1.7 1.7 0.0 0.0
IT 12.3 16.1 0.6 1.5 -0.9 -0.1
LU 0.3 0.4 1.9 2.3 -0.4 0.0
NL 4.3 5.6 0.7 0.2 0.5 0.0
UK 14.4 18.9 1.9 3.2 -1.3 -0.2
Total 76.2 100.0 -0.3 1.7 -2.0 -2.0
¹ Basis: GDP expressed in PPP, 2009
 
 
1.2. Control Indicator 
In accordance with Article 1.4 (c) of Annex XI of the St aff Regulations, Eurostat 
compiles data concerning the real per ca pita emoluments in central government. 
These data serve as control indicators for individual countri es and a weighted 
EN 6   EN average is also calculated. As the control indicator is expressed in gross terms, it is 
compared with the gross specific indicator. 
Table 2 compares the changes in real gro ss specific indicator to July 2010 with those 
of per capita real wage bills for 2010, wher e the respective values for 2009 are taken 
as 100. The table also shows the differe nces (in percent) between these two 
indicators.  
 Table 2
Comparison of the gross specific indicator and the control indicator in real terms
Current reference period (2009 = 100)
CountryReal gross specific 
indicatorControl indicator * Difference (%)
[1] [2] [3]
BE 97.9 103.9 6.1
DE 99.3 102.3 3.0
ES 96.9 103.2 6.5
FR 100.1 100.0 -0.1
IT 99.4 101.1 1.7
LU 100.1 104.7 4.6
NL 101.0 102.5 1.5
UK 98.7 88.8 -10.1
Total 99.1 99.3 0.2
*Eurostat estimates. 
 
Relatively big differences are apparent for some Member States. They result from 
conceptual and statistical differences be tween the gross specific indicator and the 
control indicator. 
2. CHANGES 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 Be lgian authorities, to measure the changes 
in the cost of living for officials of th e Communities in Brus sels. This index, known 
as Brussels International Index, shall take  into account the changes between June of 
the previous year and June of the current 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 2010 annual salary 
adjustment are set out in table 3. The table shows that the cost of living for the EU officials in Brussels du ring the period June 2009 – June 2010 has increased, on 
average by 2.4%. 
EN 7   EN Table 3
Changes in the Brussels International Index (BII)
June 2009 - June 2010
Groups of consumption Weight Index
1. Food and non-alcoholic beverages 128.2 101.8
2. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco 20.3 100.8
3. Clothing and footwear 54.3 100.74. Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels 297.6 103.85. Furnishings, household equipment and maintenance of house 74.7 101.8
6. Health 19.2 98.6
7. Transport 127.2 104.7
8. Communications 21.5 97.6
9. Recreation and culture 91.7 100.8
10. Education 14.7 104.511. Hotels, cafes and restaurants 100.6 101.7
12. Miscellaneous goods and services 50.0 102.1
Global index without rents 762.9 102.5Rents index 237.1 102.2
Global index 1000.0 102.4
 
3. ADJUSTMENT 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
102.4 × 98.0
                                                        — 100 = 0.4%
100
 
EN 8   EN 4. ADJUSTMENT OF REMUNERATION AND PENSIONS OUTSIDE BELGIUM AND 
LUXEMBOURG  
4.1. Correction coefficients for staff outside Belgium and Luxembourg 
The object of the economic par ities is to compare 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 pa rity". The average 
consumption expenditure patter n of EU officials are used as weights, identified by 
means of periodic surveys of household expenditure. In places of employment 
outside Brussels with ve ry few officials, a comm on structure pooling all the 
questionnaires from similar lo cations is derived instead. 
The changes in the cost of living in the places of employment outside Belgium and 
Luxembourg are measured by the implicit price 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 2010
(for staff)
Country Parity Parity Change Implicit price
Place of employment 1.7.2009 1.7.2010 (%) index
BE/LU Brussels/Luxembourg 1.000 1.000 0.0% 2.4
BG Sofia 1.354 1.226 -9.4% -7.2
CZ Prague 22.97 21.68 -5.6% -3.3
DK Copenhagen 10.33 9.990 -3.3% -0.9
DE Berlin 0.984 0.948 -3.7% -1.3
Bonn 0.986 0.947 -3.9% -1.6Karlsruhe 0.959 0.921 -3.9% -1.6
Munich 1.061 1.037 -2.3% 0.1
EE Tallinn 12.85 11.83 -7.9% -5.6EL Athens 0.942 0.948 0.6% 3.0
ES Madrid 0.994 0.977 -1.7% 0.7
FR Paris 1.158 1.161 0.3% 2.7
IE Dublin 1.147 1.091 -5.0% -2.6
IT Rome 1.106 1.066 -3.6% -1.2
Varese 0.971 0.923 -5.0% -2.7
CY Nicosia 0.887 0.837 -5.6% -3.3
LV Riga 0.592 0.527 -11.1% -8.9
LT Vilnius 2.642 2.504 -5.2% -2.9
HU Budapest 226.0 227.0 0.5% 2.9
MT Valletta 0.855 0.822 -3.8% -1.5
NL The Hague 1.093 1.041 -4.8% -2.4AT Vienna 1.069 1.062 -0.7% 1.7
PL Warsaw 3.245 3.206 -1.2% 1.2
PT Lisbon 0.878 0.850 -3.2% -0.8
RO Bucharest 2.920 3.040 4.1% 6.6
SI Ljubljana 0.908 0.896 -1.3% 1.1
SK Bratislava 0.843 0.800 -5.1% -2.8
FI Helsinki 1.213 1.194 -1.5% 0.9
SE Stockholm 11.17 11.29 1.1% 3.6
UK London 1.021 1.089 6.6% 9.2
Culham 0.819 0.847 3.4% 5.9
 
EN 10   EN 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 calculation of the correction coefficients for July 2010 for 
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. 
EN 11   EN Table 5
Calculation of correction coefficients at 1st July 2010
(for staff )
Country Parity Exchange rateCorrection 
coefficient
Place of employment [1] [2] 100 * [1] / [2]
BE/LU Brussels/Luxembourg 1.000 1.000 100.0
BG Sofia 1.226 1.956 62.7
CZ Prague 21.68 25.75 84.2
DK Copenhagen 9.990 7.449 134.1
DE Berlin 0.948 1.000 94.8
Bonn 0.947 1.000 94.7Karlsruhe 0.921 1.000 92.1
Munich 1.037 1.000 103.7
EE Tallinn 11.83 15.65 75.6
EL Athens 0.948 1.000 94.8
ES Madrid 0.977 1.000 97.7
FR Paris 1.161 1.000 116.1
IE Dublin 1.091 1.000 109.1
IT Rome 1.066 1.000 106.6
Varese 0.923 1.000 92.3
CY Nicosia 0.837 1.000 83.7
LV Riga 0.527 0.709 74.3
LT Vilnius 2.504 3.453 72.5
HU Budapest 227.0 286.8 79.2
MT Valletta 0.822 1.000 82.2
NL The Hague 1.041 1.000 104.1
AT Vienna 1.062 1.000 106.2
PL Warsaw 3.206 4.160 77.1
PT Lisbon 0.850 1.000 85.0
RO Bucharest 3.040 4.374 69.5
SI Ljubljana 0.896 1.000 89.6
SK Bratislava 0.800 1.000 80.0
FI Helsinki 1.194 1.000 119.4
SE Stockholm 11.29 9.524 118.6
UK London 1.089 0.810 134.4
Culham 0.847 0.810 104.5
 
4.2. Correction coefficients for pensioners  outside Belgium and Luxembourg 
The Staff Regulations, which are in force since 1 May 2004  stipulate the creation of 
correction coefficients for pensioners separate from those used for staff 
remuneration. The difference is that instead  of being based on capital city price 
comparisons they relate to national compar isons, with Belgium as the base country. 
EN 12   EN This section presents the calculated values of the economic parities and the 
correction coefficients for pensioners, w ith a reference date of July 1, 2010. The 
changes in the cost of living 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. 
Table 6
Chan ges in the economic parities in the twelve months to 1st Jul y 2010
(for pensioners)
Country Parity Parity Change Implicit price
1.7.2009 1.7.2010 (%) index
BE/LU 1.000 1.000 0.0% 2.4
BG 1.212 1.161 -4.2% -1.9
CZ 20.91 19.95 -4.6% -2.3
DK 9.972 9.719 -2.5% -0.2
DE 0.988 0.965 -2.3% 0.0
EE 12.46 11.99 -3.8% -1.4
EL 0.935 0.943 0.9% 3.3
ES 0.935 0.910 -2.6% -0.3
FR 1.085 1.076 -0.8% 1.6
IE 1.106 1.039 -6.0% -3.7
IT 1.065 1.023 -3.9% -1.6
CY 0.915 0.867 -5.2% -2.9
LV 0.540 0.493 -8.8% -6.6
LT 2.450 2.376 -3.0% -0.7
HU 195.7 196.6 0.5% 2.9
MT 0.862 0.848 -1.6% 0.8
NL 1.011 0.980 -3.0% -0.7AT 1.059 1.051 -0.7% 1.7
PL 2.878 2.833 -1.6% 0.8
PT 0.872 0.851 -2.4% 0.0
RO 2.492 2.585 3.7% 6.3
SI 0.863 0.844 -2.2% 0.2
SK 0.790 0.754 -4.6% -2.3
FI 1.166 1.124 -3.6% -1.3
SE 10.65 10.72 0.7% 3.2
UK 0.851 0.879 3.2% 5.7
Table 7 shows the correction coefficients for 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 co efficients at 1st July 2010
(for pensioners)
Country Parity Exchange rateCorrection 
coefficient
[1] [2] 100 * [1] / [2]
BE/LU 1.000 1.000 100.0
BG 1.161 1.956 59.3
CZ 19.95 25.75 77.5
DK 9.719 7.449 130.5
DE 0.965 1.000 96.5
EE 11.99 15.65 76.6EL 0.943 1.000 94.3
ES 0.910 1.000 91.0
FR 1.076 1.000 107.6
IE 1.039 1.000 103.9
IT 1.023 1.000 102.3
CY 0.867 1.000 86.7
LV 0.493 0.709 69.4
LT 2.376 3.453 68.8
HU 196.6 286.8 68.6
MT 0.848 1.000 84.8
NL 0.980 1.000 98.0
AT 1.051 1.000 105.1
PL 2.833 4.160 68.1
PT 0.851 1.000 85.1
RO 2.585 4.374 59.1
SI 0.844 1.000 84.4
SK 0.754 1.000 75.4
FI 1.124 1.000 112.4
SE 10.72 9.524 112.6
UK 0.879 0.810 108.4
 
EN 14   EN Appendix 1 to the  
Eurostat Report on the Annual Adjustment of 
Remuneration and Pensions  
 
Explanations and statistical analyses 
 
Reference period: 
Year to 1 July 2010 
 
Commission Staff Working Paper 
 
 Statistical Office of the European Communities  
Unit C6, Verification of statistics for administrative purposes  
Luxembourg  October 2010  
EN 15   EN  
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
Introduction 17  
1. Evolution of purchasing power  of national officials 18  
1.1. General remarks on the calculati on of the specific indicator 18  
1.1.1.  Elements of remuneration  18 
1.1.2.  Net remuneration  18 
1.1.3.  Reference period  19 
1.1.4.  Reference population  19 
1.1.5.  Sample of family types  19 
1.1.6.  Function groups  19 
1.1.7.  Sample of grades  20 
1.1.8.  Sample of countries  20 
1.1.9.  Calculation of country specific indicator  20 
1.2. Specific indicator - resu lts by functional groups 21  
1.3. Remuneration and taxes 21  
1.4. Cumulative specific indicators 22  
1.5. Control Indicators 23  
2. Changes in the cost of living in Brussels 25  
3. Equivalence of purchasing power of EC  officials in the Member States 28  
3.1. Economic parities and corre ction coefficients 28  
3.2. Rents and rent parities 29  
3.3. Purchasing power parities - analysis of results 37  
3.3.1.  Major changes in the economic parities from 2005 to 2006  37 
3.3.2.  Differences in the correction coefficien ts calculated with and without the rent 
element  40 
4. Equivalence of purchasing power of EC pensioners in the Member States 42  
4.1. Economic parities and correction co efficients for pensioners 42  
4.2. Purchasing power parities for pens ioners – analysis of results 46  
4.3. Comparison of correction coefficien ts for staff and pensioners 47  
EN 16   EN 5. Information about working time 49  
EN 17   EN Introduction 
This document is an appendix to the 2010 Eurostat  report on the annual adjustment of remuneration 
and pensions. While the main results concerning sp ecific indicators and correction coefficients for 
staff and pensioners are presented in the main report, the purpose of this appendix is to give some explanations and statistical analyses of the re sults as well as detailed tables with statistical 
information. 
 
Articles 64 and 65 and Annex XI of the Staff Regulati ons, which are in force since 1 May 2004, define 
the method for the annual adjustment of the rem uneration and pension of Community officials.  
 The value of the adjustment is equal to the product of the specific indicator and the change in the cost 
of living index in Brussels. Changes in the cost of  living in places of employment other than Brussels 
and Luxembourg are derived indirectly from the valu e of the adjustment for Brussels and changes in 
the economic parities between Brussels and those other places. 
 Chapters 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this document examine respectively: 
• the changes in the purchasing power of salaries of central government civil servants in the eight 
Member States belonging to the sample: Belgium,  Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg, 
Netherlands and United Kingdom (specific indicator); 
• the changes in the cost of living for Brussels; 
• the economic parities and correction coefficients for staff; 
• the economic parities and correcti on coefficients for pensioners. 
 
In Chapter 5 some information about working tim e in Central Governments of the eight sampled 
Member States is given. 
 
All figures and calculations contained in this repor t are based on data supplied by the responsible 
authorities in the Member States. For any information concerning this appendix, please contact Eurostat in Luxembourg: 
 
Eurostat, Unit C6 
BECH – A2/018 
Bâtiment Jean Monnet 
L-2920 Luxembourg 
tel.: (+352) 4301-35287 
Email: estat-a64ia65@ec.europa.eu
 
 
EN 18   EN 5. EVOLUTION OF PURCHASING PO WER OF NATIONAL OFFICIALS  
5.1. General remarks on the calculat ion of the specific indicator 
The specific indicator is a measure to represent the average change in the purchasing power of central 
government civil servants in Member States of the Eu ropean Communities. It is  measured by the real 
net salary increase in the central government civil service.  
One of the basic elements of the annual salary adjustment pr ocedure is the principle of parallel 
development  of the salaries, in terms of purchasing power of national central government civil 
servants and of officials of the European Communities. The specific indicator  is the methodological 
tool allowing the implementation of this principle of parallelism. 
Article 65 and Annex XI determine the basic principl es of the method, but these have to be filled with 
practical procedures. Therefore, we provide here  a set of commonly agreed basic definitions. If a 
specific situation in a given country makes it meaningf ul to deviate from these definitions to ensure a 
better application of the spirit of the method, then Eurostat, in agreement with that country may do so. 
5.1.1.  Elements of remuneration 
All elements of remuneration that affect the purch asing power of civil servants should be taken into 
account in calculating the gross remuneration. A ll general bonuses and premiums, which are part of 
the salary, should be reported. In general the following elements should be taken into account: 
• basic salaries,  
• all allowances and bonuses (e.g. general prem iums, child benefit, family allowances), 
• non-pensionable lump-sum payments (e.g . annual holiday pay, Christmas bonus). 
Not to be included: 
• regional allowances granted to compensat e for 'cost-of-living' differences, 
• increase due to promotion or seniority, 
• person-specific special allowances, for exampl e individual bonuses for exceptional performance. 
5.1.2.  Net remuneration 
In order to get the net remuneration the followi ng elements should be deducted from the gross 
remuneration: 
• the amount of compulsory social deductions (s ocial security and occ upational pension scheme 
contributions),  
• general taxes on income and  
• other compulsory deductions (mutual assistance contribution, temporary contribution, etc.). 
Not to be included: 
• voluntary contributions. 
 
EN 19   EN 5.1.3.  Reference period 
In order to calculate the specific indicators for the year (t) the remuneration of central government 
civil servants on a fixed date of the year (t-1) is to be compared with the remuneration on the same 
date of the year (t).  
The method is based on the comparison of a snapshot  of a national remuneration system in the month 
of July of the current year with the equivalent snap shot in the month of July of the previous year. A 
snapshot of the system, however, does not simply m ean the remuneration grid in a particular month; 
rather, the remuneration level of the reference popul ation employees in that month, including 1/12 of 
all annually paid elements such as Christmas bonuses , annual holiday pay, lump-sum payments etc. 
If Member States report remuneration data of a given month/year again (e.g. data concerning 
remuneration of July 2009 sent in 2009 and re-sent in  2010), the data should be exactly the same. If 
not, they have to provide Eurostat with a clear jus tification (e.g. change in the structure of grades and 
categories in the public administration). 
5.1.4.  Reference population 
The reference population relates to permanent statutory staff of the sub-sector “central governments” 
(S.1311 of ESA95)  of Member States. It should be noted that the sub-sector S.1311 in ESA 95 is 
defined as follows: 
“The sub-sector central government includes all adm inistrative departments of the State and other 
central agencies whose competence extends normally over the whole economic territory, except of the 
administration of social security funds.”  
The reference population should however exclude the following groups: 
• regional/state and local governments 
• the armed forces, security forces, police forces, frontier guards, etc.; 
• teachers, staff of national health services; 
• ministers of religion, if directly paid by central government; 
• diplomats and magistrates. 
5.1.5.  Sample of family types 
The specific indicator for each country is calculated on the basis of remuneration data of officials of 
two different family statuses - single  and married with two dependent children , and each with a 
weight of 50%.  
5.1.6.  Function groups 
According to Annex XI Eurostat is obliged to provi de a specific indicator for each of the two function 
group: Administrator (AD) and A ssistants (AST). Therefore, the posts in the national reference 
population should be classified, according to the nature of the duties to which they relate, in these two 
function groups – each should comprise several grades. 
• Function group AD relates to staff engaged in administra tive, advisory, linguistic and scientific 
duties that require university education or equivalent professional experience. 
EN 20   EN • Function group AST  relates to staff engaged in executive, technical and clerical duties that require 
an advanced level of secondary education or equivalent professional experience. 
5.1.7.  Sample of grades 
Out of the reference population the Member States may select a sample of the more important grades 
in terms of staff numbers for each of the above mentioned function groups. Grades having only a small 
proportion of the total number of staff may be excluded from the sample. 
The sample should be representative of the refere nce population. The ratio between the number of 
staff in the grades covered by the sample and the number in the reference population should normally 
be more than 75%. 
5.1.8.  Sample of countries 
Article 1.4 of Annex XI specifies that to establish a global specific indicator for the European Union, 
Eurostat shall use a sample composed of the follo wing 8 Member States: Belgium, Germany, Spain, 
France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands and United Kingdom. 
5.1.9.  Calculation of country specific indicator 
On receipt of the data from the Member States Eurost at calculates specific indicators for each of the 
countries separately. The steps l eading to these calculations are: 
• For each grade, Eurostat will calculate average gr oss and net remunerations for the available steps 
(eg. minimum, maximum, median) and the family types. 
• Average gross and net remunerations for each grade are then aggregated to two function groups 
(AD and AST). They are calculated by taking weight ed averages of the grades belonging to these 
groups. The sample size (number of civil servants in  the sample of each grade) is taken as weight. 
• The average gross and net remunerations for th e two function groups are then aggregated to 
overall gross and net remunerations in the central government civil service by taking the weighted 
average of the remunerations of these two groups, where the total actual number of civil servants 
in each of the groups is taken as weights. 
• For each of the function groups as well as for the overall remunerations the following changes for 
the period July – July are calculated:  
o Gross nominal 
o Net nominal 
o Gross real 
o Net real 
• The increases in real terms are calculated by ta king into account the increase in the harmonized 
index of consumer price (HICP) for this period. 
• The overall real net increase in remuneration is called the country specific indicator . 
EN 21   EN 5.2. Specific indicator - results by functional groups 
Table 1.1 sets out the gross and net specific indicator s both in nominal and real terms for each of the 
two function-groups.   
  Table 1.1
Nominal and real changes in the remuneration of national civil servants 
in the twelve-month period to 1st July 2010 (1.7.2009 = 100)
Country Nominal change Real change
AD AST Total AD AST Total
BE Gross 100.5 100.5 100.5 97.9 97.9 97.9
Net 100.7 101.0 100.9 98.1 98.3 98.2
DE Gross 100.0 100.3 100.1 99.2 99.5 99.3
Net 96.5 95.1 95.9 95.7 94.3 95.1
ES Gross 97.0 99.6 98.4 95.6 98.1 96.9
Net 97.4 99.6 98.7 96.0 98.1 97.2
FR Gross 101.9 101.7 101.8 100.2 100.0 100.1
Net 101.7 101.7 101.7 100.0 100.0 100.0
IT Gross 101.4 100.5 100.9 99.9 99.0 99.4
Net 101.0 100.4 100.6 99.5 98.9 99.1
LU Gross 102.4 102.3 102.4 100.1 100.0 100.1
Net 101.9 101.9 101.9 99.6 99.6 99.6
NL Gross 101.3 101.2 101.2 101.1 101.0 101.0
Net 100.7 100.7 100.7 100.5 100.5 100.5
UK Gross 101.8 102.0 101.9 98.6 98.8 98.7
Net 101.8 102.0 101.9 98.6 98.8 98.7
Total Gross 100.6 100.9 100.7 99.0 99.2 99.1
Net 99.7 99.6 99.7 98.1 97.9 98.0
 
5.3. Remuneration and taxes 
Table 1.2 provides comparative information on gr oss and net remuneration as well as on the HICP 
inflation rate over 12 months.  
 
EN 22   EN   Table 1.2
Changes in the nominal gross and nominal net specific indicators in relation to 
the rate of inflation for the twelve-month period to 1st July 2010
Country Gross remuneration Net remuneration 12 Months HICP
BE 100.5 100.9 102.7
DE 100.1 95.9 100.8
ES 98.4 98.7 101.5
FR 101.8 101.7 101.7
IT 100.9 100.6 101.5
LU 102.4 101.9 102.3
NL 101.2 100.7 100.2
UK 101.9 101.9 103.2
Total 100.7 99.7 101.7
 
5.4. Cumulative specific indicators 
Table 1.3 illustrates the changes in the remunerati on of central government civil servants since 2000. 
This table shows the evolution of gross and net spec ific indicators at current prices, the development 
in consumer price indices as well as gross and net specific indicators in real terms. Over the period 
2000-2010 the real net specific indicator for the European Union has increased by 1.6%. 
Table 1.3
CountryNominal gross 
specific indicatorNominal net 
specific indicatorConsumer 
price indices*Real gross 
specific indicatorReal net specific 
indicator
BE 133.5 134.7 123.8 105.3 108.8
DE 110.9 110.3 117.8 93.9 93.6
ES 131.6 129.9 133.1 98.3 97.5
FR 129.6 125.7 119.8 108.2 104.9
IT 131.2 130.2 125.1 104.0 104.1
LU 140.4 141.0 127.9 110.5 110.3
NL 118.3 128.8 122.2 97.4 105.2
UK 134.0 133.1 127.3 105.4 104.5
Total 125.8 124.8 102.2 101.6
* 2000-2004: National consumer price indices. 2005- : Harmonized index of consumer pricesChanges in the purchasing power of salaries of civil servants in the central 
government in the Member States (2000=100)
 
EN 23   EN Table 1.3a illustrates the changes in the remunera tion of central government civil servants since 2003. 
Over the period 2003-2010 the real net specific i ndicator for the European Union has decreased by 
1.8%. 
Table 1.3a
CountryNominal gross 
specific indicatorNominal net 
specific indicatorConsumer 
price indices*Real gross 
specific indicatorReal net specific 
indicator
BE 121.5 120.0 117.3 101.1 102.2
DE 105.1 103.0 112.3 93.4 91.7
ES 122.5 120.5 120.2 101.3 100.1
FR 113.1 113.5 113.5 99.6 100.1
IT 118.4 115.7 116.0 101.4 99.9
LU 127.8 119.4 120.0 107.0 99.5NL 107.9 114.6 110.9 97.9 103.3
UK 119.8 119.9 120.3 99.7 99.7
Total 114.3 113.6 98.6 98.2
* 2004: National consumer price indices. 2005- : Harmonized index of consumer pricesChanges in the purchasing power of salaries of civil servants in the central 
government in the Member States (2003=100)
 
5.5. Control Indicators 
Annex XI mentions explicitly, between the possible control indicators, the real per capita emoluments 
in central government. Eurostat measures the variation, at constant prices, in the per capita wage bill in 
sub-sector S.1311 of the national accounts (per capita sal ary of central government). As this indicator 
is expressed in gross terms, it is compared  with the real gross specific indicator. 
The gross specific indicator and the control indicator  are different by definition and it is natural to 
expect them to show some differences. Indeed, ch anges in the control indicator are determined not 
only by variations in collective labour agreements but  also by intrinsic factors (changes in the average 
age of the reference population, promotion to higher  categories, etc.) and by changes in incidental 
salary components such as overtime payments, productivity incentives, and early retirement 
compensation. 
Furthermore, there are certain factors which distort the statistical comparability of the two indices (the 
quality of the sample used to calculate the specifi c indicator, differences in the reference populations, 
part-time work, employers' social contributions, etc.).  The deflator used for the control indicator is the 
consumers' expenditure deflator in  the national accounts; the deflator for the specific indicator is the 
consumer price index (until 2004, the national inde x; since 2005 the harmonized index). In addition, 
control indicator values for the reference period are often estimates. 
Eurostat identifies differences between the two indi cators during the reference period, and therefore 
puts a greater emphasis on the medium-term trend anal ysis. For some Member States there are in fact 
divergences. However, if the conceptual and statis tical differences between the gross specific indicator 
and in the control indicator are netted out, they show a parallel development.  
Table 1.4 presents the changes in these two indicators for th e period 2000-2010. 
EN 24   EN  
 
Table 1.4
Comparison of the gross speci fic indicator and the contro l indicator in real terms
Medium-term trend (2000 = 100)
CountryReal gross specific 
indicatorControl indicator * Difference (%)
[1] [2] [3]
BE 105.3 123.0 16.8
DE 93.9 104.1 10.9
ES 98.3 129.3 31.5
FR 108.2 109.4 1.1
IT 104.0 110.2 5.9
LU 110.5 116.6 5.6NL 97.4 122.4 25.7
UK 105.4 110.6 5.0
Total 102.2 112.1 9.7
*Eurostat estimates.
 
 
Table 1.4a presents the changes in these two indicators for th e period 2003-2010. 
Table 1.4a
Comparison of the gross speci fic indicator and the contro l indicator in real terms
Medium-term trend (2003 = 100)
CountryReal gross specific 
indicatorControl indicator * Difference (%)
[1] [2] [3]
BE 101.1 113.6 12.4
DE 93.4 104.9 12.3
ES 101.3 121.6 20.1
FR 99.6 104.3 4.6
IT 101.4 105.0 3.5
LU 107.0 113.9 6.4NL 97.9 119.6 22.2
UK 99.7 98.7 -1.0
Total 98.6 106.9 8.3
*Eurostat estimates.
 
EN 25   EN 6. CHANGES IN THE COST OF LIVING IN BRUSSELS  
Article 64 and Annex XI of the Staff Regulations stat e that Eurostat shall draw  up an index, based on 
the data provided by the Belgian authorities, to meas ure the changes in the cost of living for officials 
of the Communities in Brussels.  
This index, known as Brussels International Index  (BII), shall take into account the changes between 
June of the previous year and June of the current  year and shall be based on methodology defined by 
the Working Group on Article 64 of the Staff Regulations. 
The following price indices are used to calculate Brussels International Index: 
1) For all 80 basic headings except for those stat ed in points 2) and 3) the Belgian harmonised 
indices of consumer prices (HICP). 
2) In order to take account of the specific situati on in Brussels, for the following 9 basic headings the 
Brussels specific consumer price indices are used. These indices are provided by the “ Service 
public federal Economie, P.M.E.”  
• Water supply 
• Electricity 
• Gas 
• Other services in respect of personal transport equipment 
• Passenger transport by road 
• Combined passenger transport 
• Restaurants, cafes and the like 
• Accommodation services 
• Hairdressing salons and pers onal grooming establishments 
3) The basic headings figures for accommodation costs for tenants (rents index) and owner-occupiers 
(imputed rents index) are replaced in the Brussels  International Index by an index calculated by 
Eurostat based on the results of an annual survey carried out among EC staff employed in 
Brussels.  
The weights used to aggregate th e 80 basic headings of this index are derived from surveys of 
household expenditure (SHE) carried out among EU  officials in Brussels. The details of the 
calculation of the BII corresponding to this annual review are given in the Eurostat Report. Table 2.1 shows both the annual and cumulative changes in the Brussels cost-of-living index since 1991. The table underneath shows the change since 2004 (ie. 2003 = 100). 
During the years 1990-2003 the cost of living in Brussels was calculated as a weighted index 
composed of the Joint Index and the Brussels cap ital component index. Since 2004, according to the 
Staff Regulations it is calculated as describ ed above (Brussels International Index). 
EN 26   EN  Table 2.1
Brussels Cost-of-living index
Previous year = 100 1990 = 100
1991 104.1 104.1
1992 103.5 107.7
1993 102.2 110.1
1994 102.4 112.8
1995 100.9 113.8
1996 101.5 115.5
1997 101.5 117.2
1998 101.4 118.9
1999 100.9 119.9
2000 102.4 122.8
2001 103.1 126.6
2002 101.3 128.3
2003 102.3 131.2
2004 101.9 133.7
2005 102.2 136.6
2006 102.1 139.5
2007 101.4 141.5
2008 104.4 147.7
2009 100.9 149.0
2010 102.4 152.6
*Until 2003: Weighted index, composed of Joint Index and Brussels Index
  2004 - : Brussels International Index (BII)Measure for increase in 
 cost-of-living in Brussels*
 
EN 27   EN Table 2.1a
Brussels Cost-of-living index
Previous year = 100 2003 = 100
2004 101.9 101.9
2005 102.2 104.1
2006 102.1 106.3
2007 101.4 107.8
2008 104.4 112.6
2009 100.9 113.6
2010 102.4 116.3
 * Brussels International Index (BII) cost-of-living in Brussels*Measure for increase in 
 
EN 28   EN 7. EQUIVALENCE OF PURCHASING POWER OF EC OFFICIALS IN THE MEMBER STATES  
7.1. Economic parities and correction coefficients  
The object of the economic parities is to compare the relative cost of living of European officials in 
Brussels (reference city) and in each of the capitals and other places of employment for which a correction coefficient has been set. The method used is to compare the price of a "basket" of goods and 
services purchased by the average official in Brussels with the price of the same basket in each of the 
other places of employment. The average of all the price ratios is the "economic parity". 
The system works as follows: the total range of g oods and services constituting the consumption of the 
average European institution official is divided in to 80 basic headings (such as meat, footwear, motor 
cars, books). A price ratio between the place of empl oyment and Brussels is established for each of 
these headings; this is called the basic parity. Pric e surveys are conducted on products selected to 
represent the basic heading and specified in the ne cessary detail to enable prices in a sufficiently 
narrow range to be collected. 
The Staff Regulations require each basic parity to be checked by direct survey at least once every five 
years. In practice checks are carried out at shor ter intervals as part of the European Comparison 
Programme (ECP). At each annual salary review  around one third of the basic price parities are 
replaced by new parities produced by the latest price surveys. 
For the 2010 annual review, new parities obtained from  price surveys have been integrated for the 
following groups: 
• Services (survey 2008); 
• Furniture and Health (survey 2008); 
• Food, drink, tobacco (survey 2009). 
The 80 basic parities are then updated using the price index ratio between the place of employment 
and Brussels. 
Housing is dealt with differently. Special rent surveys of estate agents are carried out each year
 at each 
place of employment, including Brussels, to calcula te an economic parity for the basic heading 
"accommodation costs for tenants". The calculation fo llows a methodology that has been developed by 
Eurostat in collaboration with the national statistic al institutes of the Member States, based on the 
principle that the parity used should be calculated in  such a way to allow Eur opean institution officials 
outside Brussels to live in dwellings of comparable quality to those occupied  by European institution 
officials in Brussels. The basic parity "accommodation costs of owner-occupiers" is calculated by 
reference to the rent the owner-occupiers would pay if they were tenants (these are known as "imputed 
rents"). 
In order to calculate the overall economic parities we ights have to be applied to each basic heading 
according to its relative importance in the consump tion basket. These weights are calculated directly 
from the results of the special family budget su rveys conducted among European and international 
civil servants every five to seven years. The resulti ng structure reflects the consumption of the average 
international civil servant in Brussels and in each country or place of employment.  
Using the 80 basic parities and the specific weight s the overall parity is calculated in two ways: the 
first uses the consumption pattern for the reference ci ty (Brussels) (this is a type of Laspeyres index); 
the second uses the consumption pattern for the place of  employment (this is a type of Paasche index). 
EN 29   EN In accordance with the standard practice for in ternational comparisons both types of index are 
calculated and the geometric mean of the results (t he Fisher index) is used as the economic parity. 
The correction coefficients applicable to the salari es of the European institu tion officials working in 
the capitals and places of employment other than Brussels and Luxembourg, which are calculated for the month of July, are determined on the basis of the relationships between the economic parities and 
the exchange rates fixed by the Commission and speci fied in the Staff Regulations for the relevant 
countries. The correction coefficient operates as a per centage adjustment to salaries to take account of 
the cost of living differences between Br ussels and the various duty stations.  
The details of the economic parities calculation, at  the level of 12 main consumption groups, are 
shown in table 3.1 for all capitals and other pl aces apart from Brussels and Luxembourg. This table 
also includes information about the consumption weights by country and by expenditure groups. 
7.2. Rents and rent parities 
Changes in the rent parities are pr ovided in the Table 3.2 which shows also the average rents by type 
of dwelling on which the calculation is based. The av erage rents used to compute the rent parities are 
in fact weighted moving averages, based on a six- year model, to take into account the average 
occupancy length, which is estimated to be six y ears. Any annual updating of rents during the life of 
the typical lease is included in the model by  using the appropriate adjustment indices. 
 
 
EN 30   EN Economic parities of the 12 main expenditure groups for each duty station
1.07.2010
(for staff)
Expenditure BE BG-Sofia CZ-Prague DK-Copenhage n DE-Berlin DE-Bonn DE-Karlsruhe
Groups Weight Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity
1 128.2 149.1 1.204 128.3 17.73 122.5 8.766 104.6 0.947 104.6 0.967 104.6 0.957
2 20.3 27.4 1.504 26.9 23.66 25.7 9.766 23.2 0.944 23.2 0.919 23.2 0.924
3 54.3 56.4 1.397 45.0 23.26 43.0 7.406 49.1 0.922 49.1 0.910 49.1 0.9274 297.6 252.1 1.237 309.4 28.01 340.7 11.89 248.8 0.953 248.8 0.886 248.8 0.861
5 74.7 77.7 1.120 69.9 19.45 66.7 8.739 89.6 0.891 89.6 0.867 89.6 0.910
6 19.2 12.6 1.201 13.8 18.86 13.2 10.12 15.4 1.029 15.4 1.034 15.4 1.030
7 127.2 121.7 1.391 128.5 20.82 122.7 9.837 180.9 0.977 180.9 1.007 180.9 0.988
8 21.5 22.2 1.399 16.7 24.71 16.0 5.746 21.0 0.759 21.0 0.808 21.0 0.7929 91.7 102.9 1.573 106.5 21.58 101.7 9.473 134.8 1.020 134.8 1.027 134.8 0.984
10 14.7 12.7 0.316 15.3 10.19 14.6 10.20 13.7 1.398 13.7 1.398 13.7 1.398
11 100.6 104.5 0.856 87.9 15.14 83.9 10.15 77.9 0.853 77.9 0.990 77.9 0.84112 50.0 60.9 1.514 51.5 22.60 49.2 10.29 41.0 0.927 41.0 0.930 41.0 0.911
Rents 237.1 203.0 1.294 265.4 30.55 298.7 11.72 198.0 0.948 198.0 0.847 198.0 0.816
Total without rents 762.9 797.1 1.210 734.6 19.34 701.4 9.430 802.0 0.948 802.0 0.977 802.0 0.953
Global parity 1000.0 1000.0 1.226 1000.0 21.68 1000.0 9.990 1000.0 0.948 1000.0 0.947 1000.0 0.921
Expenditure BE DE-Munich EE-Tallinn EL-Athens ES-Madrid FR-Paris IE-Dublin
Groups Weight Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity
1 128.2 104.6 0.917 135.3 11.49 142.1 0.914 120.8 0.810 98.6 0.971 85.1 1.053
2 20.3 23.2 0.929 28.4 14.95 28.7 1.076 22.8 0.818 20.7 1.002 19.7 1.542
3 54.3 49.1 0.940 47.5 14.39 48.8 1.028 40.6 0.889 50.8 0.889 55.5 0.6294 297.6 248.8 1.189 271.9 11.92 189.7 0.948 244.0 1.223 285.0 1.559 223.8 1.265
5 74.7 89.6 0.906 73.7 11.25 109.2 0.905 91.5 0.981 89.2 1.037 95.6 0.911
6 19.2 15.4 1.030 14.6 11.62 19.7 0.811 17.0 0.726 14.1 0.912 21.3 1.106
7 127.2 180.9 1.014 135.5 11.75 142.2 0.973 135.6 0.922 153.1 0.999 165.5 1.086
8 21.5 21.0 0.788 17.6 13.21 23.1 1.011 20.3 1.182 20.4 1.169 14.6 0.9569 91.7 134.8 1.064 112.3 13.45 96.8 1.035 96.4 0.986 118.7 1.081 135.1 1.048
10 14.7 13.7 1.398 16.2 4.538 19.8 0.644 38.4 0.762 14.6 0.959 48.4 1.283
11 100.6 77.9 1.040 92.7 10.85 118.7 0.925 119.2 0.862 71.7 1.090 63.8 1.09912 50.0 41.0 0.997 54.3 12.21 61.3 0.936 53.4 0.916 63.1 1.101 71.6 1.238
Rents 237.1 198.0 1.238 225.5 12.65 138.9 1.075 200.9 1.395 232.5 1.801 185.3 1.351
Total without rents 762.9 802.0 0.988 774.6 11.61 861.1 0.922 799.1 0.883 767.5 1.012 814.7 1.031
Global parity 1000.0 1000.0 1.037 1000.0 11.83 1000.0 0.948 1000.0 0.977 1000.0 1.161 999.9 1.091Table 3.1 (Continued on next page)
 
 
EN 31   EN Economic parities of the 12 main expenditure groups for each duty station
1.07.2010
(for staff)
Expenditure BE IT-Rome IT-Varese CY-Nicosia LV-Riga LT-Vilnius HU-Budapest
Groups Weight Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity
1 128.2 123.4 0.966 136.7 1.024 151.6 0.920 131.4 0.529 132.5 2.257 137.2 204.2
2 20.3 20.0 1.057 20.9 0.940 27.8 1.058 27.6 0.748 27.8 3.164 25.2 220.53 54.3 48.9 0.978 47.3 0.956 57.3 0.853 46.1 0.518 46.5 2.321 51.9 202.7
4 297.6 242.0 1.283 219.8 0.811 239.4 0.655 292.6 0.588 286.7 2.935 311.6 298.2
5 74.7 96.0 1.056 92.6 1.012 79.1 0.895 71.6 0.455 72.2 2.187 71.6 180.56 19.2 20.2 1.001 23.9 1.023 12.8 0.965 14.2 0.538 14.3 2.825 11.6 179.8
7 127.2 145.5 0.876 153.4 0.886 123.7 0.894 131.7 0.488 132.8 2.687 112.0 243.0
8 21.5 16.6 1.067 16.2 1.015 22.6 0.458 17.1 0.491 17.3 2.001 20.5 245.2
9 91.7 115.5 1.049 115.5 1.014 104.6 1.119 109.1 0.601 110.1 2.713 94.7 224.1
10 14.7 21.9 0.984 19.8 0.984 12.9 0.803 15.7 0.235 15.8 0.870 11.6 90.1111 100.6 89.3 0.976 93.4 0.851 106.3 0.959 90.1 0.454 90.8 2.106 96.2 169.7
12 50.0 60.7 1.060 60.5 1.055 61.9 0.874 52.8 0.478 53.2 2.331 56.0 184.7
Rents 237.1 181.8 1.551 155.0 0.853 189.4 0.628 247.4 0.651 241.2 3.185 266.4 347.0
Total without rents 762.9 818.2 0.963 845.0 0.941 810.5 0.904 752.5 0.493 758.8 2.326 733.7 196.9
Global parity 1000.0 1000.0 1.066 1000.0 0.923 999.9 0.837 1000.0 0.527 1000.0 2.504 1000.0 227.0
Expenditure BE MT-Valletta NL-The Hague AT-Vienna PL-Warsaw PT-Lisbon RO-Bucharest
Groups Weight Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity
1 128.2 148.4 0.796 101.5 0.840 135.7 0.980 131.7 2.525 117.0 0.796 137.4 2.6342 20.3 27.2 0.945 18.1 1.003 24.9 0.904 27.6 3.975 16.0 0.835 25.2 2.689
3 54.3 56.1 0.911 45.7 0.831 51.3 0.937 46.2 2.761 44.9 0.840 52.0 2.710
4 297.6 255.3 0.771 254.2 1.295 319.4 1.259 291.3 4.242 268.1 0.842 310.7 4.249
5 74.7 77.4 0.905 95.6 0.909 70.8 1.015 71.7 2.764 83.6 0.898 71.7 2.305
6 19.2 12.5 0.944 8.6 0.900 11.4 1.046 14.2 2.673 11.6 0.847 11.6 2.6847 127.2 121.1 0.947 165.7 1.067 110.7 0.975 131.9 3.332 151.1 0.961 112.1 3.256
8 21.5 22.1 0.757 19.7 0.827 20.2 0.807 17.2 3.139 18.1 0.874 20.5 3.053
9 91.7 102.5 0.892 120.3 1.003 93.6 1.025 109.3 3.181 101.2 0.926 94.8 2.797
10 14.7 12.6 0.588 28.2 0.900 11.5 0.829 15.7 1.211 28.1 0.969 11.7 0.889
11 100.6 104.1 0.719 86.6 1.003 95.1 0.978 90.2 2.660 105.2 0.695 96.3 1.877
12 50.0 60.6 0.785 55.8 1.037 55.4 1.115 52.9 2.856 55.1 0.847 56.1 3.459
Rents 237.1 206.3 0.764 193.5 1.414 274.6 1.330 246.1 4.820 233.1 0.852 265.4 5.314
Total without rents 762.9 793.7 0.839 806.5 0.956 725.4 0.984 753.9 2.816 766.9 0.850 734.6 2.539
Global parity 1000.0 1000.0 0.822 1000.0 1.041 1000.0 1.062 1000.0 3.206 1000.0 0.850 1000.0 3.040Table 3.1 (Continuation)
 
EN 32   EN (for staff)
Expenditure BE SI-Ljubljana SK-Bratislava FI-Helsinki SE-Stockholm UK-London UK-Culham
Groups Weight Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity
1 128.2 139.9 0.847 141.7 0.746 124.8 1.014 127.4 10.02 80.1 0.742 98.5 0.741
2 20.3 25.7 0.888 26.0 0.993 26.2 1.569 26.8 13.91 19.9 1.185 19.5 1.186
3 54.3 52.9 0.953 53.6 0.943 43.8 1.059 44.7 10.12 42.3 0.524 47.3 0.5174 297.6 298.0 1.015 289.1 0.908 328.4 1.359 314.2 13.72 332.4 2.015 287.7 0.968
5 74.7 73.0 0.863 73.9 0.725 68.0 1.044 69.4 9.447 80.2 0.868 86.3 0.834
6 19.2 11.8 0.689 11.9 0.736 13.4 0.952 13.7 9.746 9.6 0.621 6.0 0.621
7 127.2 114.2 0.844 115.7 0.696 125.0 1.181 127.6 10.64 154.6 0.906 153.1 0.877
8 21.5 20.9 0.715 21.1 1.161 16.3 0.774 16.6 6.395 17.6 0.810 19.0 0.8129 91.7 96.6 0.953 97.8 0.881 103.6 1.180 105.8 10.17 114.8 0.803 130.4 0.811
10 14.7 11.9 0.643 12.0 0.309 14.9 1.098 15.2 10.05 20.9 1.037 22.0 1.037
11 100.6 98.1 0.759 99.4 0.628 85.5 1.222 87.3 11.53 65.1 0.795 60.0 0.79812 50.0 57.1 0.923 57.8 0.862 50.1 1.267 51.2 11.61 62.5 0.940 70.2 0.886
Rents 237.1 251.8 1.064 242.3 0.978 285.5 1.447 270.5 14.39 308.4 2.359 235.5 1.043
Total without rents 762.9 748.2 0.849 757.8 0.752 714.5 1.116 729.6 10.41 691.6 0.809 764.5 0.795
Global parity 1000.0 1000.0 0.896 1000.0 0.800 1000.0 1.194 1000.0 11.29 1000.0 1.089 1000.0 0.847
Consumption groups:
1. Food and non-alcoholic beverages
2. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco3. Clothing and footwear
4. Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels
5. Furnishings, household equipment and maintenance of house
6. Health
7. Transport8. Communications
9. Recreation and culture
10. Education11. Hotels, cafes and restaurants
12. Miscellaneous goods and servicesTable 3.1 (Continuation)
Economic parities of the 12 main expenditure groups for each duty station
1.07.2010
 
EN 33   EN Table 3.2 (Continued on next page)
Country 3 bedroom flat 2 bedroom flat 1 bedroom flat
Place of employment (140-160m²) (110-130m²) (80-100m²) (80-100m²) (60-80m²) (60-80m²) (40-60m²)
BE Brussels 2009 1611 1226 942 977 769 745 608
2010 1636 1257 992 985 787 753 602
BG Sofia 2009 939 512 365
2010 820 482 340
CZ Prague 2009 34306 25492 17417
2010 30438 22813 17375
DK Copenhagen 2009 13857 9338 6164
2010 13950 9526 7093
DE Berlin 2009 1117 838 619
2010 1204 899 686
Bonn 2009 1011 777 608
2010 1082 809 632
Karlsruhe 2009 924 719 579
2010 978 764 585
Munich 2009 1644 1215 924
2010 1644 1242 959
EE Tallin 2009 10150 8015 5910
2010 10050 7075 5400
EL Athens 2009 1578 1040 787
2010 1530 970 773
ES Madrid 2009 1588 1154 878
2010 1528 1094 828
FR Paris 2009 2368 1770 975
2010 2364 1779 1009
IE Dublin 2009 1565 1285 1030
2010 1398 1155 898
IT Rome 2009 1933 1491 1149
2010 1885 1504 1159
Varese 2009 897 714 563
2010 881 705 546
CY Nicosia 2009 735 594 477
2010 761 607 483Changes in the average rents of accommodation in the twelve months to 1st July 2010
(Values expressed in Euro, except local currencies: CZ, DK, EE, LV, LT, HU, PL, SE, UK)
 
EN 34   EN Table 3.2 (Continued from previous page)
Country 3 bedroom flat 2 bedroom flat 1 bedroom flat
Place of employment (140-160m²) (110-130m²) (80-100m²) (80-100m²) (60-80m²) (60-80m²) (40-60m²)
BE Brussels 2009 1611 1226 942 977 769 745 608
2010 1636 1257 992 985 787 753 602
LV Riga 2009 580 457 327
2010 582 416 328
LT Vilnius 2009 2415 1983 1395
2010 2304 1686 1218
HU Budapest 2009 423911 279789 162525
2010 405731 223856 128656
MT Valletta 2009 823 636 458
2010 819 623 438
NL The Hague 2009 1737 1311 969
2010 1501 1149 874
AT Vienna 2009 1500 1125 882
2010 1584 1188 903
PL Warsaw 2009 6389 4290 2846
2010 5657 4457 2603
PT Lisbon 2009 1054 757 595
2010 1042 770 586
RO Bucharest 2009 1352 1019 572
2010 1289 948 508
SI Ljubljana 2009 1282 954 593
2010 1100 821 541
SK Bratislava 2009 1119 811 648
2010 1003 797 646
FI Helsinki 2009 2055 1305 998
2010 1939 1246 1021
SE Stockholm 2009 19947 15473 10780
2010 19536 15424 10477
UK London 2009 2391 1754 1353
2010 2563 1932 1471
Culham 2009 1075 878 705
2010 1105 932 743Changes in the average rents of accommodation in the twelve months to 1st July 2010
(Values expressed in Euro, except local currencies: CZ, DK, EE, LV, LT, HU, PL, SE, UK)
 
 
EN 35   EN Table 3.2 (Continued from previous page)
Country Non-detached houses Detached houses
Place of employment (140-160m²) (110-130m²) (80-100m²) (190-220m²) (150-180m²) (110-140m²)
BE Brussels 2009 1700 1333 1045 2256 1813 1352
2010 1685 1338 1061 2171 1754 1406
BG Sofia 2009 1202 0.780
2010 1038 0.662
CZ Prague 2009 40571 60536 32.612
2010 39813 55188 30.546
DK Copenhagen 2009 13667 19667 11.820
2010 15125 21667 11.725
DE Berlin 2009 1233 1955 0.945
2010 1295 1885 0.948
Bonn 2009 1133 1543 0.856
2010 1111 1594 0.847
Karlsruhe 2009 1106 1518 0.817
2010 1099 1627 0.816
Munich 2009 1770 2500 1.216
2010 1727 2614 1.238
EE Tallin 2009 11200 16000 14.152
2010 11150 15300 12.653
EL Athens 2009 1939 3020 1.081
2010 1790 2911 1.075
ES Madrid 2009 2079 2921 1.418
2010 1885 2672 1.395
FR Paris 2009 2180 3160 1.845
2010 2383 3167 1.801
IE Dublin 2009 1540 1920 1.436
2010 1555 1801 1.351
IT Rome 2009 1747 2102 1.612
2010 1795 2219 1.551
Varese 2009 1392 1979 0.865
2010 1262 1883 0.853
CY Nicosia 2009 1025 1590 0.641
2010 920 1375 0.628Rent ParityChanges in the average rents of accommodation in the twelve months to 1st July 2010
(Values expressed in Euro, except local currencies: CZ, DK, EE, LV, LT, HU, PL, SE, UK)
 
 
EN 36   EN Table 3.2 (Continued from previous page)
Country Non-detached houses Detached houses
Place of employment (140-160m²) (110-130m²) (80-100m²) (190-220m²) (150-180m²) (110-140m²)
BE Brussels 2009 1700 1333 1045 2256 1813 1352
2010 1685 1338 1061 2171 1754 1406
LV Riga 2009 724 990 0.766
2010 714 1068 0.651
LT Vilnius 2009 3313 5188 3.58
2010 3174 4489 3.19
HU Budapest 2009 590056 0 963833 348.750
2010 481538 0 779125 347.049
MT Valletta 2009 1106 2175 0.760
2010 1129 2013 0.764
NL The Hague 2009 1828 1.522
2010 1623 1.414
AT Vienna 2009 1776 3053 1.342
2010 1596 2607 1.330
PL Warsaw 2009 6630 11676 4.847
2010 5973 9058 4.820
PT Lisbon 2009 1391 1865 0.88
2010 1309 1844 0.85
RO Bucharest 2009 2104 1.260
2010 1873 1.215
SI Ljubljana 2009 1379 2020 1.129
2010 1236 1792 1.064
SK Bratislava 2009 1179 1713 1.047
2010 1325 1717 0.978
FI Helsinki 2009 1716 2816 1.451
2010 1935 2729 1.447
SE Stockholm 2009 18900 25250 14.147
2010 20426 25417 14.389
UK London 2009 2767 3279 2.277
2010 2907 3499 2.359
Culham 2009 1040 1422 1.043
2010 1122 1469 1.043Rent ParityChanges in the average rents of accommodation in the twelve months to 1st July 2010
(Values expressed in Euro, except local curren cies: CZ, DK, EE, LV, LT, HU, PL, SE, UK)
 
 
 
EN 37   EN 7.3. Purchasing power parities - analysis of results 
7.3.1.  Major changes in the economic parities from 2009 to 2010 
The calculation of correction coefficients used for salary adjustment in places other than Brussels and 
Luxembourg involves the revision of some of the elementary parities each year. For the 2010 salary adjustment three new price surveys have been in corporated: Services (conducted in 2008), Furniture 
and Health (conducted in 2008) a nd Food, Drink, Tobacco (conducted in 2009) . The weighting 
structure used to aggregate the parities have been updated in Brussels and in sixteen duty stations. The 
rent parities have been calculated for 2010 accord ing to the moving-average model approved by the 
Article 64 Working Party. 
The introduction of new prices from th e latest consumer price surveys this year affects 40 (out of 80) 
elementary parities, which together account for a bout 30% (EU average) of the consumption weight. 
Moreover, rent surveys are carried out every year in all Member States. A six-year moving average 
model is used for calculating rent parities: the rent  parities for 2010 are based on the relative trend in 
the real-estate markets in Brussels and other places of employment between 2004 and 2010. These 
parities are, therefore, affected by the following factors: 
• introduction of rent data for year 2010, 
• deletion of the rent data for 2004, 
• price indices used for updating the rents for 2005 - 2009 to price of 2010. 
All these effects, as well as the total change in rent parities, are shown in table 3.4. 
Details of the changes in the rent parities from 2009 to 2010, including a decomposition of all the 
effects, are given in table 3.4. The largest increa ses in the rent parity could be observed in London 
(+3.6%), Munich (+1.8%) and Stockholm (+1.7%). The largest decreases in the rent parity were 
recorded in Sofia (-15.2%), Riga (-15%), Vilniu s (-11%) and Tallinn (-10.6%). Changes in the global 
parities from one year to the next come mainly from survey prices and rent revisions, but may also be affected by the trend in the price indices used to update the elementary parities at the date of the 
adjustment (1.7.2010) and by changes in the consum ption structures (updated every five to seven years 
by the introduction of new SHE results)
1. Details of the changes in the economic parities from 2009 to 
2010, including a decomposition of all the effects, are given in table 3.3.  
The biggest increases in global economic parities dur ing the period under review can be observed in 
London (+6.6%), Bucharest (+4.1%), Culham (+3.4%) and Stockholm (+1.1%). The biggest decreases in the parities can be observed in Riga (-11.1%), Sofia (-9.4%), Tallinn (-7.9%), Nicosia and Prague (-
5.6%).  
As regards price indexation, official indices for the y ear to July 2010 at the level of total consumption 
were lower than Brussels in 24 places and higher than Brussels in the remaining 6 places, and – although there are important differences between  HICP and PPP methodologies – this relative 
difference is apparent in the price updating effect. 
                                                 
The periodicity of SHE ("Survey of Household Expenditures"), formerly known as FBS ("Family Budget 
Survey"), is set by Article 64 Working Group decision. 
 
EN 38   EN Introduction of new surveysNew consumption 
structure
Country
Place of 
employmentE08-1
ServicesE08-2
Furniture
& HealthE09-1
Food,
drink,
tobaccoOther cities Brussels
BG  Sofia -4.6 0.1 -0.4 -1.2 -1.9 -1.0 -0.8 -9.4
CZ  Prague -1.3 -0.3 -0.4 -0.3 -2.9 -1.4 0.9 -5.6
DK  Copenhagen -0.8 0.3 -0.8 -1.3 -0.3 -0.4 0.1 -3.3
DE  Berlin -2.8 0.0 0.5 -1.4 0.3 0.0 -0.2 -3.7
 Bonn -2.7 -0.1 0.4 -1.4 0.0 0.0 -0.1 -3.9 Karlsruhe -2.6 0.0 0.4 -1.5 0.2 0.0 -0.5 -3.9
 Munich -1.7 0.0 -0.1 -1.4 0.6 0.0 0.4 -2.3
EE  Tallinn -2.9 0.0 -0.8 -2.7 0.0 -1.7 -0.1 -7.9
EL  Athens -0.1 -0.4 -0.4 1.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.6
ES  Madrid -0.8 -0.3 -0.1 -1.4 -0.1 0.0 0.8 -1.7
FR  Paris 0.1 -0.2 0.6 -0.9 -0.4 0.0 1.2 0.3
IE  Dublin -0.6 0.1 0.3 -5.0 0.1 0.0 0.2 -5.0
IT  Rome -1.3 -0.4 -1.0 -0.7 -0.7 0.0 0.6 -3.6
 Varese -1.8 -0.7 -0.9 -0.7 -0.2 0.0 -0.9 -5.0
CY  Nicosia -2.1 0.1 -0.8 -1.7 -0.1 -0.3 -0.8 -5.6
LV  Riga -1.5 0.3 -0.4 -8.2 0.2 -1.9 0.1 -11.1
LT  Vilnius 0.2 0.2 -0.8 -7.4 3.0 -0.6 0.5 -5.2
HU  Budapest -0.6 0.5 -0.2 1.6 -0.6 -1.0 0.9 0.5
MT  Vallette -3.6 0.6 -0.7 -1.0 0.3 1.0 -0.4 -3.8
NL  The Hague -2.5 -0.5 0.6 -1.5 -1.6 0.0 0.6 -4.8
AT  Vienna -0.7 0.3 0.2 -0.3 -0.6 -0.2 0.5 -0.7
PL  Warsaw -1.3 0.3 -0.4 -0.3 -0.2 -0.2 1.0 -1.2
PT  Lisbon -0.2 -0.2 -0.1 -1.5 -0.7 0.0 -0.6 -3.2
RO  Bucharest -0.1 1.4 0.6 1.1 0.6 -0.4 0.7 4.1
SI  Ljubljana 0.0 0.0 -0.2 -1.9 -0.5 0.5 0.7 -1.3
SK  Bratislava -1.0 -0.3 -1.0 -1.7 -1.2 0.0 0.1 -5.1
FI  Helsinki -1.0 -0.6 -0.9 -1.2 0.1 1.4 0.6 -1.5
SE  Stockholm -0.6 0.4 -0.4 -0.7 0.5 0.9 1.0 1.1
UK  London 1.8 -0.1 -0.3 1.4 1.0 0.0 2.8 6.6
 Culham 1.8 -0.1 -0.4 1.4 0.1 0.0 0.6 3.4
* Values may differ slightly from Table 4 due to roundingTable 3.3
Impact of change in PPP
Total change 
*
%Price 
updating 
effect
(HICP)New rentsChanges in the economic parities in the twelve months to 1st July 2010
Decomposition of the effects
(for staff)
 
EN 39   EN Changes in rent parities in the twelve months to 1st July 2010
Decomposition of the effects
(for staff)
Deletion of 
surveyIntroduction of 
survey Price indexDwelling structure
Total change
2004 2010 2010 Brussels Other cities
BG  Sofia -7.5 -1.6 -6.8 0.0 0.0 -15.2
CZ  Prague -4.3 -1.5 -0.6 0.0 0.0 -6.3
DK  Copenhagen -2.4 1.8 -0.2 0.0 0.0 -0.8
DE  Berlin -0.2 1.1 -0.6 0.0 0.0 0.3
 Bonn -1.1 0.6 -0.6 0.0 0.0 -1.1 Karlsruhe -0.5 1.0 -0.6 0.0 0.0 -0.1 Munich 2.2 0.2 -0.6 0.0 0.0 1.8
EE  Tallinn -11.0 -1.0 1.4 0.0 0.0 -10.6
EL  Athens -1.6 -1.4 2.4 0.0 0.0 -0.6
ES  Madrid 0.3 -1.6 -0.3 0.0 0.0 -1.6
FR  Paris -0.9 0.0 -1.4 0.0 0.0 -2.4
IE  Dublin 0.6 -1.9 -4.8 0.0 0.0 -6.0
IT  Rome -3.3 0.0 -0.5 0.0 0.0 -3.8
 Varese 0.2 -1.1 -0.5 0.0 0.0 -1.4
CY  Nicosia -0.8 -1.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 -2.0
LV  Riga -12.8 0.0 -2.6 0.0 0.0 -15.0
LT  Vilnius -8.6 -2.0 -0.7 0.0 0.0 -11.0
HU  Budapest 1.4 -4.2 2.5 0.0 0.0 -0.5
MT  Valletta 1.5 -0.5 -0.5 0.0 0.0 0.5
NL  The Hague -3.4 -3.0 -0.9 0.0 0.0 -7.1
AT  Vienna 0.3 -1.2 -0.1 0.0 0.0 -0.9
PL  Warsaw 1.7 -2.5 0.3 0.0 0.0 -0.5
PT  Lisbon -2.3 -0.4 -0.6 0.0 0.0 -3.2
RO  Bucharest -3.4 -1.9 1.7 0.0 0.0 -3.5
SI  Ljubljana -3.0 -2.7 -0.1 0.0 0.0 -5.8
SK  Bratislava -6.0 0.5 -1.1 0.0 0.0 -6.6
FI  Helsinki 0.1 0.4 -0.8 0.0 0.0 -0.3
SE  Stockholm 1.9 0.6 -0.8 0.0 0.0 1.7
UK  London 3.9 1.4 -1.7 0.0 0.0 3.6
 Culham 0.9 0.8 -1.7 0.0 0.0 0.0Table 3.4
Place of employment
 
EN 40   EN 3.3.2 Major changes in the economic parities from 2009 to 2010 
Differences in the correction coefficients cal culated with and without the rent element 
The rent and imputed rent parities, due to their associated high consumption weights (around 22% on 
average across the EU) influence in a quite signifi cant way the global parities and consequently the 
correction coefficients. The analysis of correction co efficients calculated with and without the rent 
element for the same place of employment makes it easier to isolate the effect of rent differences 
separately from differences arising from other causes. 
The correction coefficient for rents (compared to Br ussels =100) is very high in London (291.0), Paris 
(180.1), Copenhagen (157.4) and Rome (155.1), whereas they are quite low in Nicosia (62.8), Sofia (66.2), Valletta (76.4) and Tallinn (80.9).  
For the overall correction coefficient, however, th e range is smaller: L ondon (134.4), Copenhagen 
(134.1), Helsinki (119.4) compared to Sofia (62.7), Bucharest (69.5) and Vilnius (72.5). 
When rents are added to the computation, the corr ection coefficient is increased by 10% or more in 
London (+34.6%), Bucharest (19.7%), Budapest (+15. 3%), Paris (14.7%), Warsaw (+13.8%), Prague 
(+12.1%), Rome (+10.7%), Madrid (+10.7%). By cont rast the impact is negative in Nicosia (-7.4%), 
Karlsruhe (-3.3%), Bonn (-3%), Valletta (-2.1%) and Varese (-1.9%) and the impact is near zero in 
Berlin and Lisbon. 
More details on the effect of rent on the 2010 co rrection coefficients are given in table 3.5. 
 
EN 41   EN Effect of rent on the correction coefficients - 2010
(for staff)
Weight Correction coefficient Rent effect
Without 
rent RentWithout 
rent Rent Overall [5]/[3] (%)
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
BG  Sofia 797.1 203.0 61.9 66.2 62.7 1.3  
CZ  Prague 734.6 265.4 75.1 118.6 84.2 12.1  
DK  Copenhagen 701.4 298.7 126.6 157.4 134.1 5.9  
DE  Berlin 802.0 198.0 94.8 94.8 94.8 0.0  
 Bonn 802.0 198.0 97.7 84.7 94.7 -3.0  
 Karlsruhe 802.0 198.0 95.3 81.6 92.1 -3.3  
 Munich 802.0 198.0 98.8 123.8 103.8 5.0  
EE  Tallinn 774.6 225.5 74.2 80.9 75.6 2.0  
EL  Athens 861.1 138.9 92.3 107.5 94.8 2.8  
ES  Madrid 799.1 200.9 88.3 139.5 97.7 10.7  
FR  Paris 767.5 232.5 101.2 180.1 116.1 14.7  
IE  Dublin 814.7 185.3 103.1 135.1 109.1 5.8  
IT  Rome 818.2 181.8 96.3 155.1 106.6 10.7  
 Varese 845.0 155.0 94.1 85.3 92.3 -1.9  
CY  Nicosia 810.5 189.4 90.4 62.8 83.7 -7.4  
LV  Riga 752.5 247.4 69.5 91.8 74.3 6.9  
LT  Vilnius 758.8 241.2 67.4 92.3 72.5 7.7  
HU  Budapest 733.7 266.4 68.7 121.0 79.2 15.3  
MT  Vallette 793.7 206.3 83.9 76.4 82.2 -2.1  
NL  The Hague 806.5 193.5 95.6 141.4 104.1 9.0  
AT  Vienna 725.4 274.6 98.4 133.0 106.2 8.0  
PL  Warsaw 753.9 246.1 67.7 115.9 77.1 13.8  
PT  Lisbon 766.9 233.1 85.0 85.2 85.0 0.1  
RO  Bucharest 734.6 265.4 58.1 121.5 69.5 19.7  
SI  Ljubljana 748.2 251.8 84.9 106.4 89.7 5.6  
SK  Bratislava 757.8 242.3 75.2 97.8 80.0 6.4  
FI  Helsinki 714.5 285.5 111.6 144.7 119.4 7.0  
SE  Stockholm 729.6 270.5 109.3 151.1 118.6 8.5  
UK  London 691.6 308.4 99.8 291.0 134.4 34.6  
 Culham 764.5 235.5 98.1 128.7 104.5 6.5  Table 3.5
Place of 
employment
 
 
EN 42   EN 8. EQUIVALENCE OF PURCHASING POWER OF EC PENSIONERS IN THE MEMBER STATES  
8.1. Economic parities and correction  coefficients for pensioners 
The correction coefficients for pensioners with a refe rence date of 1 July 2010 have been calculated in 
accordance with the agreed methodology on the basis of the following information: 
¾ Parities for all goods and services, except for rent s, as used for the calculation of the correction 
coefficients for active staff. These parities are based on bilateral comparison of prices of about 
3000 goods and services between different capital citi es and Brussels (for more details see point 
3.1 above). 
¾ Country rent parities: For calculating country rent parities the following procedure has been 
applied in most of the countries. Calculate a spatial adjustment factor in the form of 
national/capital ratio of market rents derived fro m an official database like CPI, household budget 
survey, housing register, etc. With the help of this  adjustment factor transform the capital city rent 
parity from Article 64 estate agency rent surv eys to the country rent parity. The following 
exceptions to this general rule were  agreed with the respective NSIs: 
1. Netherlands: No such adjustment factors were  available for Netherlands, for which average 
country rents were compared directly with th e average rents in Belg ium (all derived from 
ECP-PPP rent surveys). A similar approach  is used in Bulgaria and Romania. 
2. Germany: As information on rents for four German cities (Berlin, Bonn, Karlsruhe and 
Munich) is available the ratio between the av erage of those cities and Berlin is used. 
3. Denmark: Due to the specificities of the rental  market in Copenhagen, which is completely 
different from the market in the rest of the country, an estimate of the Copenhagen rent parity 
different from the one for staff is used as basi s for the spatial adjustment factor. The new 
estimate is obtained averaging the staff rent pa rity with a rent ratio for the general population 
obtained from the NSI. 
4. Malta and Estonia: As no reliable information on the adjustment factors were available for 
Malta and Estonia a ratio equal 1 was used. 
Each National Statistical Institute is required each year to check and, if possible, to update their 
spatial adjustment factor.  
¾ Consumption weights for the pensioners calculate d on the basis of a wide scale family budget 
survey carried out in 2002. 
The details of the economic parities calculation, at  the level of 12 main consumption groups, are 
shown in table 4.1 for all countries apart from Be lgium and Luxembourg. This table also includes 
information about the consumption weights by coun try and by expenditure groups. Table 4.2 presents 
the rent ratios used in 2009 and 2010. 
The correction coefficients appli cable to the EC pensioners are determined on the basis of the 
relationships between the economic parities and th e exchange rates fixed by the Commission and 
specified in the Staff Regulations for the relevant  countries. The correction coefficient operates as a 
percentage adjustment to pensions (only for the pension rights acquired befo re 1 May 2004; being the 
correction coefficient 100% for the pension rights acquired from that date) to take account of the cost of living differences between Belgium and the Me mber States, except Luxembourg where, according 
to the Staff Regulations, a correction coefficient of 100% is applied. 
 
EN 43   EN Economic parities of the 12 main expenditure groups for each duty station
1.07.2010
(for pensioners)
Expenditure BE BG CZ DK DE EE EL ES
Groups* Weight Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity
1 99.0 97.4 1.238 96.6 18.09 87.1 8.696 66.9 0.971 90.1 11.20 96.9 0.927 90.9 0.8222 26.4 25.4 1.616 25.1 25.38 22.7 9.909 22.4 0.949 23.5 15.96 25.2 1.229 23.7 0.838
3 75.8 77.3 1.398 76.6 23.28 69.1 7.402 76.6 0.921 71.5 13.82 76.9 1.074 72.1 0.886
4 176.3 109.2 0.659 117.0 18.62 203.9 10.48 187.1 1.023 176.0 14.62 114.0 0.743 169.0 0.9695 119.5 128.2 1.037 127.1 18.97 114.6 9.030 130.4 0.901 118.6 10.67 127.5 0.921 119.6 0.9626 36.1 34.0 1.201 33.7 18.86 30.4 10.12 32.0 1.029 31.5 11.20 33.8 0.841 31.7 0.7267 164.0 192.3 1.373 190.6 20.01 171.9 11.25 163.8 0.999 177.9 10.85 191.3 1.007 179.4 0.899
8 17.2 18.9 1.394 18.7 24.01 16.9 5.947 16.4 0.768 17.5 12.70 18.8 1.045 17.6 1.148
9 118.2 149.2 1.582 147.9 22.53 133.4 10.03 149.8 1.004 138.0 13.20 148.4 1.061 139.2 0.969
10 9.4 10.7 0.316 10.6 10.19 9.6 10.20 1.2 1.398 9.9 4.376 10.7 0.667 10.0 0.76211 74.8 71.1 0.937 70.4 16.64 63.5 9.672 68.0 0.873 65.7 10.49 70.7 0.922 66.3 0.871
12 83.3 86.3 1.492 85.5 22.55 77.1 10.03 85.5 0.925 79.8 12.08 85.8 0.976 80.5 0.898
Rents 132.4 62.0 0.544 70.2 20.81 161.7 10.24 136.5 1.057 67.0 13.90 132.3 1.051 124.9 1.075
Total without rents 867.6 938.0 1.252 929.8 19.88 838.3 9.631 863.5 0.951 933.0 11.81 867.7 0.928 875.1 0.888
Global parity 1000.0 1000.0 1.161 1000.0 19.95 1000.0 9.719 1000.0 0.965 1000.0 11.99 1000.0 0.943 1000.0 0.910
Expenditure BE FR IE IT CY LV LT HU
Groups* Weight Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity
1 99.0 94.5 0.975 85.9 1.036 95.5 0.953 69.0 0.901 99.8 0.535 106.3 2.224 103.7 212.7
2 26.4 20.4 0.964 22.4 1.503 17.4 1.069 23.1 1.155 26.0 0.824 19.3 3.414 22.4 237.6
3 75.8 57.6 0.892 68.2 0.633 71.8 0.985 79.0 0.860 79.2 0.519 79.9 2.338 63.3 202.94 176.3 194.9 1.338 214.5 1.178 212.4 1.140 161.9 0.679 87.4 0.390 123.0 2.298 116.1 170.45 119.5 118.4 1.041 113.1 0.863 102.1 1.043 134.5 0.863 131.4 0.429 113.7 2.022 130.0 167.2
6 36.1 18.9 0.912 30.0 1.106 45.5 1.001 33.0 0.965 34.8 0.538 50.6 2.825 20.7 179.8
7 164.0 177.0 1.011 169.6 1.126 193.4 0.944 168.9 0.838 197.0 0.501 215.3 2.588 194.3 239.08 17.2 19.4 1.151 16.7 0.960 14.6 1.069 16.9 0.470 19.4 0.508 16.3 2.023 21.3 240.29 118.2 131.8 1.048 131.6 1.055 119.8 1.025 154.4 1.187 152.9 0.609 133.4 2.631 144.7 223.3
10 9.4 14.9 0.959 9.4 1.283 4.7 0.984 1.2 0.803 11.0 0.235 5.2 0.870 16.4 90.11
11 74.8 71.7 1.119 62.7 1.041 41.4 0.997 70.1 0.890 72.8 0.475 46.1 2.243 78.8 176.312 83.3 80.5 1.122 76.1 1.139 81.6 1.037 88.1 0.881 88.4 0.480 90.8 2.373 88.4 183.9
Rents 132.4 148.8 1.504 172.8 1.247 144.2 1.329 109.7 0.683 39.0 0.429 47.1 2.660 65.4 197.9
Total without rents 867.6 851.2 1.019 827.2 1.006 855.8 0.981 890.3 0.896 961.0 0.500 952.9 2.354 934.6 196.8
Global parity 1000.0 1000.0 1.076 1000.0 1.039 1000.0 1.023 1000.0 0.867 1000.0 0.493 1000.0 2.376 1000.0 196.6
* For explanation of codes see table 3.1Table 4.1 (Continued on next page)
 
EN 44   EN Economic parities of the 12 main expenditure groups for each dut y station
1.07.2010
(for pensioners)
Expenditure BE MT NL AT PL PT RO SI
Groups* Weight Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity
1 99.0 96.4 0.802 88.7 0.834 87.9 0.982 97.8 2.633 90.5 0.813 97.3 2.646 91.1 0.855
2 26.4 25.1 0.917 23.1 1.009 22.9 0.924 25.5 4.536 23.6 0.850 25.3 2.866 23.7 0.9613 75.8 76.5 0.903 70.4 0.838 69.7 0.940 77.6 2.824 71.8 0.843 77.2 2.712 72.3 0.960
4 176.3 118.3 0.773 188.6 1.069 196.2 1.312 105.4 2.349 172.5 0.724 110.4 2.013 167.1 0.811
5 119.5 126.9 0.782 116.8 0.915 115.7 1.028 128.8 2.700 119.1 0.884 128.1 2.066 119.9 0.8176 36.1 33.7 0.944 31.0 0.900 30.7 1.046 34.1 2.673 31.6 0.847 34.0 2.684 31.8 0.689
7 164.0 190.3 0.951 175.2 1.098 173.5 1.015 193.1 3.235 178.6 1.022 192.0 3.095 179.8 0.794
8 17.2 18.7 0.725 17.2 0.832 17.1 0.810 19.0 3.112 17.6 0.881 18.9 3.006 17.7 0.7119 118.2 147.7 0.936 135.9 1.006 134.7 1.007 149.9 3.162 138.6 0.898 149.0 2.973 139.5 0.954
10 9.4 10.6 0.588 9.8 0.900 9.7 0.829 10.8 1.211 10.0 0.969 10.7 0.889 10.0 0.643
11 74.8 70.3 0.837 64.7 0.974 64.1 0.937 71.4 2.713 66.0 0.711 71.0 2.327 66.4 0.81312 83.3 85.4 0.793 78.6 1.015 77.8 1.116 86.6 2.877 80.1 0.871 86.1 3.290 80.7 0.924
Rents 132.4 71.6 0.839 145.6 1.110 153.5 1.430 58.0 2.437 128.6 0.721 63.3 2.481 122.9 0.865
Total without rents 867.6 928.4 0.850 854.4 0.961 846.5 0.998 942.0 2.879 871.4 0.873 936.7 2.604 877.1 0.842
Global parity 1000.0 1000.0 0.848 1000.0 0.980 1000.0 1.051 1000.0 2.833 1000.0 0.851 1000.0 2.585 1000.0 0.844
Expenditure BE SK FI SE UK
Groups* Weight Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity Weight Parity
1 99.0 97.9 0.765 88.7 1.005 88.0 9.957 83.1 0.734
2 26.4 25.5 1.095 23.1 1.565 22.9 14.23 21.6 1.1803 75.8 77.7 0.962 70.4 1.075 69.8 10.10 65.9 0.518
4 176.3 105.0 0.593 188.5 1.148 195.1 12.65 240.3 1.310
5 119.5 128.8 0.660 116.8 1.040 115.9 9.619 109.4 0.8486 36.1 34.2 0.736 31.0 0.952 30.7 9.746 29.0 0.621
7 164.0 193.2 0.721 175.2 1.157 173.8 10.34 164.0 0.847
8 17.2 19.0 1.148 17.2 0.793 17.1 6.678 16.1 0.8149 118.2 149.9 0.911 135.9 1.192 134.8 10.32 127.3 0.786
10 9.4 10.8 0.309 9.8 1.098 9.7 10.05 9.1 1.037
11 74.8 71.4 0.710 64.7 1.154 64.2 11.38 60.6 0.842
12 83.3 86.7 0.866 78.6 1.237 77.9 11.51 73.6 0.904
Rents 132.4 57.6 0.591 145.5 1.209 152.4 13.28 200.1 1.529
Total without rents 867.6 942.4 0.773 854.5 1.111 847.6 10.35 799.9 0.789
Global parity 1000.0 1000.0 0.754 1000.0 1.124 1000.0 10.72 1000.0 0.879
* For explanation of codes see table 3.1Table 4.1 (Continuation)
 
 
EN 45   EN Rent ratios applied for the estimation of 
the pensioners rent parities
Country Ratio applied in   
2009 2010 Diff.
BE 0.91 0.91 0.00
BG * 0.48 0.38 -0.10
CZ 0.62 0.62 0.00
DK 1.07 1.03 -0.04
DE 1.00 1.01 0.01
EE 1.00 1.00 0.00
EL 0.89 0.89 0.00
ES 0.70 0.70 0.00
FR 0.76 0.76 0.00
IE 0.84 0.84 0.00
IT 0.78 0.78 0.00
CY 0.99 0.99 0.00
LV 0.60 0.60 0.00
LT 0.60 0.76 0.16
HU 0.52 0.52 0.00
MT 1.00 1.00 0.00
NL* 0.64 0.71 0.07
AT 0.96 0.98 0.02
PL 0.46 0.46 0.00
PT 0.77 0.77 0.00
RO * 0.41 0.42 0.01
SI 0.74 0.74 0.00
SK 0.55 0.55 0.00
FI 0.76 0.76 0.00
SE 0.84 0.84 0.00
UK 0.59 0.59 0.00
* Country PPP rent (estimated from ECP data)Table 4.2
 
EN 46   EN  
8.2. Purchasing power parities for pensioners – analysis of results 
In 2010, for 13 countries out of 25, the rent correcti on coefficient (ratio between the rent parity and the 
exchange rate) is under 100. This means that the average rents are lower in these places than in 
Belgium. 
For 8 places out of 25 the correction coefficient without rent is higher than the global correction 
coefficient. This means that, fo r these places, the rents lead to a reduction of global correction 
coefficient. 
 
 
EN 47   EN  
8.3. Comparison of correction coeffici ents for staff and pensioners 
Table 4.5 compares the pensioners’ correction coe fficients with those for active staff. Among all 
Member States, Denmark has th e highest country-based CC and  almost the highest capital-based CC 
(the value for London, UK is slightly higher). The biggest differences between capital CCs and 
country CCs can be observed in the United Kingdom,  Romania, Hungary and France. There are also 
big differences in Poland, Bulgaria, Netherlands and Czech Republic. In Austria, Germany, Greece 
and Portugal the two CCs are nearly at the same level.  
In all countries except Germany, Estonia, Cyprus, Malta and Portugal the country CCs are lower than 
capital CCs. Without rents, the two sets of CCs are closer. 
It should be mentioned that the Staff Regulations set out specific rules for the application of the 
pensioner CC. 
 
EN 48   EN Table 4.5
Pensioners correction coefficients and Staff correction coefficients
Correction coefficients for pensionersCorrection coefficients for staff
Country without 
rentsrents Total Capitals without 
rentsrents Total
BE 100.0 100.0 100.0 Brussels 100.0 100.0 100.0
BG 64.0 27.8 59.4  Sofia 61.9 66.2 62.7
CZ 77.2 80.8 77.5  Prague 75.1 118.6 84.2
DK 129.3 137.4 130.5  Copenhagen 126.6 157.4 134.1
DE 95.1 105.7 96.5  Berlin 94.8 94.8 94.8
EE 75.5 88.9 76.6  Tallinn 74.2 80.9 75.6
EL 92.8 105.1 94.3  Athens 92.3 107.5 94.8
ES 88.8 107.5 91.0  Madrid 88.3 139.5 97.7
FR 101.9 150.4 107.6  Paris 101.2 180.1 116.1
IE 100.6 124.7 103.9  Dublin 103.1 135.1 109.1
IT 98.1 132.9 102.3  Rome 96.3 155.1 106.6
CY 89.6 68.3 86.7  Nicosia 90.4 62.8 83.7
LV 70.4 60.5 69.4  Riga 69.5 91.8 74.3
LT 68.2 77.1 68.8  Vilnius 67.4 92.3 72.5
HU 68.6 69.0 68.6  Budapest 68.7 121.0 79.2
MT 85.0 83.9 84.8  Vallette 83.9 76.4 82.2
NL 96.1 111.0 98.0 The Hague 95.6 141.4 104.1
AT 99.9 143.0 105.1  Vienna 98.4 133.0 106.2
PL 69.2 58.6 68.1  Warsaw 67.7 115.9 77.1
PT 87.3 72.1 85.1  Lisbon 85.0 85.2 85.0
RO 59.6 56.7 59.1  Bucharest 58.1 121.5 69.5
SI 84.2 86.5 84.4  Ljubljana 84.9 106.4 89.7
SK 77.3 59.1 75.4  Bratislava 75.2 97.8 80.0
FI 111.1 120.9 112.4  Helsinki 111.6 144.7 119.4
SE 108.7 139.5 112.6  Stockholm 109.3 151.1 118.6
UK 97.4 188.7 108.5  London 99.8 291.0 134.4
 
EN 49   EN 5. I NFORMATION ABOUT WORKING TIME  
Eurostat also collects statistical information on diffe rences in the working hours of national officials in 
all Member States. Information about statutory or contractual weekly working hours in central 
governments (Table 5.1), number of days of annual leave (Table 5.2) and number of public holidays 
per year (Table 5.3) are shown below. In all these tables the situation in July 2010 has been compared 
with that in July 2009. 
 
EN 50   EN Table 5.1
Statutory or contractual weekly working hours in central governments 
Country Weekly working hours Remarks
July 2009 July 2010
BE 38 38
DE 41 41 40 for vulnerable groups
ES 37:30' - 40 37:30' - 40
FR 35 35
IT 36 36
LU 40 40
NL 36 36
UK (London) 36 36 2009: 7 depts, 2010: 8 depts
UK (Country) 37 37 2009: 7 depts, 2010: 8 depts
Table 5.2
Number of da ys annual leave
Country Number of days Remarks
July 2009 July 2010
BE 26 - 33 26-33 Depends on age
DE 26 - 30 26-30 Depends on age 
ES 28-32 28-32 Depends on age
FR 25 25 2 days bonus maximum
IT 32 32 Under 3 years of service: 30 days
LU 32-36 32-36 Depends on age
NL 23 - 27 23-27 Depends on age
UK  22 - 30 22-30Differences between Ministries. Depends on age and 
grade
 
EN 51   EN Table 5.3
Number of public holida ys per year (statutor y, contractual, etc )
Country Number of days Remarks
July 2009 July 2010
BE 13 13Time off when the public holiday falls on Saturday or 
Sunday
DE 7 5 (7 incl. Saturdays) Berlin 
ES 14 14 Time off when the public holiday falls on Sunday
FR 10 10
IT 11 11
LU 11 11 Time off when the public holiday falls on Sunday
NL 88
UK 10,5-11 10,5-11Time off when the public holiday falls on Saturday or 
Sunday
 
Information collected about retirement age in central  government (situation at July 2010) is shown in 
Table 5.4. 
Table 5.4
Age of retirement and earl y retirement
Country Age Remarks
Retirement Early retirement
BE 65 60Possibility of part-time from 55 years
DE 65 63Variations of retirement depending on age
ES 65-70 60-64Early retirement: at least 30 years of service
FR 60 51-55
IT 65-67 58-61Variations of retirement depending on age and sex
LU 60 5740 years of service
NL 65 60
UK 60 50