WRITTEN QUESTION E-3061/02

by Herbert Bösch (PSE) to the Commission

(25 October 2002)

Subject: Commission officials on leave

The Bulletin Quotidien Europe 8308 of 30 September 2002 contained a report on some Commission officials who were granted leave of absence for personal reasons, only to end up working for a lobby company. This same company was to have received a EUR 23 million contract from the Commission, but this has been put on hold for the time being.

This case raises a number of questions:

- Under what conditions is it possible to obtain leave for personal reasons at the Commission? Is it possible in principle to be granted leave repeatedly and return to the Commission only for short periods at a time?

- How long do officials have a right to return to the Commission?

- Do they continue to receive a salary, and what costs does the Commission incur as a result? Does this lead to staff shortages or can these posts be filled?

- How many Commission officials are currently on leave for personal reasons?

- What precautions are being taken or are planned to avoid a conflict of interests, as in the above case?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(15 January 2003)

In respect of the specific case mentioned by the Honourable Member, the company that employed officials on personal leave has since withdrawn from the contract and the officials have resigned from the Commission.

On the more general issues raised by the Honourable Member's question:

- Leave on personal grounds is governed by Article 40 of the Staff Regulations of officials of the European Communities. This provides that an established official may be granted unpaid leave on personal grounds in exceptional circumstances and at his or her own request.

- The Staff Regulations do not define the scope of these exceptional circumstances, leaving interpretation to the appointing authority. These circumstances could, however, be related to the official's family situation such as the bringing-up of a child, or to giving officials the opportunity to further improve their professional qualifications. In the context of the Commission reform, emphasis has been put on the need to enhance life-long learning by extending the possibilities of training measures inside and outside the institution and to allow officials to broaden their professional experience through internal and external mobility.

- The rules would not prevent the granting of further personal leave to an official who has been reinstated following such leave. A decision on this would be at the discretion of the appointing authority.

- On the expiry of such leave, the official must be reinstated in the first vacant post that corresponds to his or her profile. The official retains the right to reinstatement if he or she declines the first post offered. If the official declines a second time he or she may be required to resign after the Joint Committee has been consulted.

- Normally, the institution does not incur any costs for the duration of the official's leave. During the leave, the official does not receive a salary; furthermore, he or she is not entitled to advancement to a higher step or to promotion in grade. The official's membership of the sickness and the accident insurance is suspended. Where, however, an official provides evidence that he or she cannot be covered by any other public scheme of insurance against these risks, the official may apply to continue to be covered by the scheme, provided that he or she bears half the cost of the contributions for the first year of the leave on personal grounds and the full cost during the remainder of the leave.

- Furthermore, the official who proves that he or she cannot acquire pension rights for another pension scheme may apply to continue to acquire further pension rights for a maximum of one year. However, in this case the official has to bear the full cost of the contribution, and must therefore contribute at three times the rate he or she would be obliged to pay if in active service.

- The number of officials currently on leave on personal grounds is 566 (on 10 December 2002). It does not give rise to staff shortages because other persons may be appointed to the posts formerly occupied by the officials on personal leave. The Commission allows an official's post to be filled where leave has been granted for a period of more than six months. Of the 566 officials, on the basis of analysis relating to 400 of them so far, 10 % are engaged in professional activities and the other 90 % are on leave for family reasons, educational activities, etc. A full analysis will be completed shortly and the results will be sent to the Honourable Member.

- It is important to emphasise that officials on Personal Leave continue to be subject to the provisions of Article 12 of the Staff Regulations which require officials to obtain permission before engaging in any outside activity, and which allow for refusal of permission or imposition of conditions where it is considered that the activity would otherwise be detrimental to the work of the Communities. The Commission would, of course, interpret the creation of conflicts of interests as being detrimental to the Community, and would thus take appropriate action to prevent conflicts arising.

- Article 17 meanwhile requires officials whether in work or on leave not to disclose to unauthorised persons information not already made public. If an official who was working in the private sector did make use of such privileged information, he or she would certainly face disciplinary proceedings.

- The Staff Regulation rules governing leave on personal grounds will be clarified by the reform amendments proposed by the Commission, which are currently before the Council. In addition, the Commission is examining ways to provide more detailed guidance to officials and to potential employers in order to reinforce understanding of the need to ensure that the objectives of allowing exchange between the Commission and other bodies are fulfilled while protecting the integrity and security of the Commission.