WRITTEN QUESTION P-2382/01

by Antonios Trakatellis (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(3 August 2001)

Subject: Staff Regulations of officials of the European Communities: violation of the principles of equality and freedom of establishment and infringement of pension provisions governing establishment

In view of the fact that Article 83(2) of the Staff Regulations of officials of the European Communities and the corresponding article of the rules applicable to other servants of the European Communities specify a contribution by all officials to the pension scheme amounting to 8,25 % of their basic salary , the weightings provided for in Article 64 not being taken into account; and bearing in mind also that, despite the fact that all officials are required to pay a uniform contribution,

Article 82(1) of the Staff Regulations provides for variations in the amount of the pension awarded to be based solely on the future place of residence selected by officials retiring from the service after the award of the pension and the standard of living there,

will the Commission say:

1. What steps does it intend to take to put an end to the violation of the fundamental principle of equality under which every official should receive the same pension benefits for the same pension contributions and the violation of the principle of freedom of establishment in the territory of any Member State through the introduction of weightings?

2. How will it tackle the violation of pension provisions by officials who chose a bogus place of residence in order to receive a higher pension, without, however, meeting the essential conditions for the implementation of the pension weighting?

3. Does it intend to submit a proposal amending the Staff Regulations in order to abolish the unfair provisions concerning the weightings so that all officials receive the same pension since they pay the same contributions?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(28 September 2001)

In the system for payment of retirement pensions to former Community officials, the principle of equal treatment is entirely safeguarded. The rules on weightings that are designed to ensure purchasing power equivalence in respect of Member State of residence within the Union apply uniformly to all pensioners from the Community Institutions. In particular, the criteria relating to nationality or country of origin do not affect these weightings. When an official is still in active service and posted to a place where the weighting is not 100, all parts of his or her salary are increased or decreased by the relevant factor, including contributions to the pension scheme. However, the amount actually used in funding the scheme is the contribution without the weighting applied since future locations of residence are obviously unknown. This result ensures equivalence of pensions in terms of purchasing power and equal treatment (since each official contributes the same share of basic salary to funding the pension scheme).

The principle of freedom of establishment is also maintained. The Staff Regulations allow pensioners complete freedom in choosing their country of residence. The removal of weightings would create unwarranted injustices, in particular for pensioners deciding to settle in Member States of origin or Member States of preference that have a relatively high cost of living.

The Commission conducts annual checks on the whole pensioner population. For this purpose it has a variety of means at its disposal which range from requiring supporting documents from which to judge the real presence of a pensioner at the place of residence to in-depth administrative inquiries. Any retroactive cancellation of a weighting may lead to recovery of overpayments under Article 85 of the Staff Regulations. This rigorous approach has recently been agreed by all the administrations of the Community Institutions. It is an effective safeguard and a deterrent against falsification of place of residence. If the Honourable Member has proof that legal pension provisions have been violated by former officials as his question infers the Commission urges him to provide the evidence to the Commission or to the anti-Fraud Office, OLAF.

The Commission is currently considering new rules regarding pensions for setting weightings to take better account of purchasing power in the different parts of Member States. It has proposed this approach in its orientations for reforming the Staff Regulations which are now being discussed with Staff Representatives. Present weightings are based on the cost of living in the capital cities of Member States. Coefficients based on the average cost of living throughout each country concerned would probably provide a more realistic reflection of conditions.