WRITTEN QUESTION E-0088/03

by Paulo Casaca (PSE) to the Commission

(28 January 2003)

Subject: Weightings applied to officials' pensions

At a meeting of the Committee on Budgetary Control on 28 November 2002, the Commission representative, replying to a question I had asked, justified the application of weightings to officials' retirement pensions on the grounds that they are in keeping with the relevant case law of the Court of Justice.

However, I have found no evidence in existing case law to confirm the Commission's assertion. Indeed the only reference to such matters concerns the weighting applied to the salaries of serving officials a totally different issue and not retired officials.

The Commission representative also stated that my criticisms of the workplace-based weighting system applying to retired officials who obviously do not have a place of work stemmed from the fact that the system placed people of my nationality at a disadvantage. I consider this to be an insulting remark, entirely at odds with the manner in which the Commission normally discusses such issues.

In view of the above, will the Commission answer the following questions:

1. What is the case law on the application of a weighting system to calculate the pensions of retired officials on the basis of their supposed or actual place of residence, to which the Commission representative referred at the Committee on Budgetary Control meeting of 28 November?

2. Does the Commission endorse the view expressed by its representative at the meeting that my criticisms merely reflected the interests of officials of my nationality? Might the Commission representative's defence of the current system have anything to do with the fact that he benefits from the system as a result of the nationality which he is considered to hold in this context?

3. Does the Commission consider that there are differences in status between nationalities within the European Union, which would justify this approach?

4. Does the Commission not consider it deplorable that nationalistic arguments and references to virtual case law are being used instead of replying to the substantive questions which I have repeatedly asked concerning the fact that the pensions paid to retired officials on the basis of their supposed place of residence are discriminatory, contrary to people's basic rights and absurd?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(13 March 2003)

I undertook enquiries into statements made at the meeting of the Budgetary Control Committee referred to by the Honourable Member. The Commission regrets any inference that may inadvertently have been made about the motivation of the Honourable Member in raising matters related to weightings applied to official's retirement pensions.

My enquiries have further established that the reference to case law made by the Commission representative at the meeting in question was not focused specifically on pensions but related to the workings of the system of corrective coefficients in general.

The legal principle of equal treatment would seem to require that, where persons with rights under the Staff Regulations live in places or countries where the cost of living is not the same, the system of corrective coefficients is necessary to correct those variations.

In relation specifically to pensions, the Court of First Instance has held that, under Article 82 of the present Staff Regulations, retired officials have the right to have the corrective coefficient for the country in which they live applied to their pensions. This remains the case if they live in a country outside the Community if weighting exists for that country(1).

In keeping with the provisions of the Staff Regulations the Commission has always sought to avoid discriminating between nationals of different Member States in relation to pensions and in all other domains.

(1) See the judgement of 14 December 1995 in case T-285/94, Pfloeschner v Commission.