2000/178/CFSP: Council Decision of 28 February 2000 on the rules applicable to national experts in the military field on secondment to the General Secretariat of the Council during the interim period
Date: 2000-02-28
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: armed forces, consultancy, working conditions

2. 3. 2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 57/1

(Acts adopted pursuant to Title V of the Treaty on European Union)

COUNCIL DECISION

of 28 February 2000

on the rules applicable to national experts in the military field on secondment to the General
Secretariat of the Council during the interim period

(2000/178/CFSP)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Article 2

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in par-
ticular Article 28(1),

A military expert on secondment shall be a national of a
Member State of the European Union.

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 207(2),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

The Council adopted on 14 February 2000 Decision
2000/144/CFSP setting up the Interim Military Body (1).

The Council adopted on 14 February 2000 Decision
2000/145/CFSP on the secondment of national experts
in the military field to the General Secretariat of the
Council during an interim period (2).

Pursuant to Article 4 of Decision 2000/145/CFSP, that
Decision takes effect only after the Council has estab-
lished the rules applicable to the secondment of such
experts.

(4)

It is therefore appropriate to establish these rules,

Article 3

Period of secondment

1. Military experts may be seconded for a maximum of
three years. In exceptional cases, and taking account of par-
ticular tasks to be performed, the secondment may be extended
for a period up to one year.

They shall serve on a full-time basis throughout the period of
secondment.

2.
The probable period of secondment shall be fixed at the
outset in an Exchange of Letters between the Secretary-General/
High Representative and the Permanent Representative of the
Member State concerned.

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

CHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

The national experts in the military field on secondment to the
Council General Secretariat during the interim period as
referred to in Decision 2000/145/CFSP (hereinafter ‘military
experts’), shall be subject to the rules set out in this Decision.

(1) OJ L 49, 22.2.2000, p. 2.
(2) OJ L 49, 22.2.2000, p. 3.

Article 4

Tasks

1. Military experts on secondment will provide military
expertise to the Interim Military Body and to the Secretary-
General/High Representative.

the authority of

the Secretary-General/High
Acting under
Representative and under the military guidance of the Interim
Military Body, they shall carry out the tasks assigned to them in
a predetermined work programme or job description.

instructions to the contrary are given
2.
Unless special
under the authority of
the Secretary-General/High Repres-
entative, military experts on secondment shall not enter into
any commitment on the General Secretariat's behalf with third
parties.

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Article 5

Social security and health care

1. Military experts remain covered by their national social
security legislation and health care provisions.

Before the period of secondment begins, the national
2.
administration from which the military expert
to be
seconded shall certify to the General Secretariat that he/she will
remain subject through the period of secondment to the social
security legislation (including health care) applicable to that
administration which will assume responsibility for expenses
incurred abroad.

is

Article 6

Accident insurance

The General Secretariat shall cover military experts on second-
ment against the risk of accidents on the same terms as General
Secretariat employees not covered by the Staff Regulations.
This shall apply from the day the military expert takes up duty.

Article 7

Breaks in or termination of periods of secondment

1.
The Secretary-General/High Representative may authorise
breaks in periods of secondment and specify the terms applic-
able. The allowances referred to in Articles 13 and 14 when
applicable shall be paid only if the break is at the Secretary-
General/High Representative's request.

2.
Periods of secondment may be terminated if the interests
of the General Secretariat or the expert's national administra-
tion so require or for any other sufficient cause.

A military expert on secondment shall exercise the
4.
greatest discretion with regard to all facts and information
coming to his/her knowledge in the course of or in connection
with the performance of his/her duties. He/she shall not in any
form whatsoever disclose to any unauthorised person any
document or information not legally made public. He/she shall
continue to be bound by this obligation after his/her period of
secondment without prejudice to national provisions in this
field.

5.
A military expert on secondment shall not, whether alone
or together with others, publish or cause to be published any
text dealing with the work of the European Union without
obtaining permission in accordance with the conditions and
rules in force at the General Secretariat.

6.
A military expert on secondment shall be subject to the
security rules and regulations in force in the General Secretariat
without prejudice to his/her continuing national security obli-
gations.

7.
A military expert on secondment shall continue to be
subject to his/her national disciplinary rules. The Secretary-
General/High Representative may bring to the attention of
national authorities any violation by the military experts of the
rules set out or referred to in the present Decision.

All rights in any work done by a military expert on
8.
secondment in the performance of his/her duties shall be the
property of the General Secretariat.

A military expert on secondment shall reside at his/her
9.
place of employment or at no greater distance therefrom as is
compatible with the proper performance of his/her duties.

A military expert on secondment

10.
shall assist and
provide advice to the superiors to whom he/she is assigned;
he/she shall be responsible to them for performance of the
tasks entrusted to him/her.

CHAPTER II

CHAPTER III

RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF A MILITARY EXPERT ON
SECONDMENT

WORKING CONDITIONS OF THE MILITARY EXPERT ON
SECONDMENT

Article 8

1.
A military expert on secondment shall carry out his/her
duties and conduct himself/herself solely with the interests of
the Council
in mind and in accordance with the national
provisions applicable to his/her secondment.

2.
A military expert on secondment shall abstain from any
action, and in particular any public expression of opinion,
which may reflect on his/her position.

A military

expert on secondment who,

3.
in the
performance of his/her duties, is called on to pronounce on a
matter in the handling or outcome of which he/she has a
personal interest such as to impair his/her independence shall
inform the head of the department to which he/she is assigned.

Article 9

Hours of work

A military expert on secondment shall be bound by the rules
on hours of work in force at the General Secretariat.

Article 10

Leave and official closing dates

Military experts on secondment shall be subject
to their
national rules on annual leave and special leave. Official closing
dates in force at the General Secretariat shall apply to them.

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Article 11

Management and control

Management and control of leave and working time shall be
the responsibility of the Secretary-General/High Representative
or the Deputy Secretary-General. For that purpose, the relevant
information on the leave entitlement
including the annual
credit shall be communicated in the Exchange of Letters
referred to in Article 16(2).

CHAPTER IV

EMOLUMENTS

A . R e m u n e r a t i o n

Article 12

Remuneration

The remuneration of the military expert on secondment shall
continue to be the full responsibility of the Member State
concerned.

B . R e i m b u r s e m e n t o f e x p e n s e s

Article 13

Travel expenses

If a military expert on secondment has not removed
1.
his/her personal effects from his/her place of recruitment to
his/her place of employment, he/she shall be entitled each
month to the cost of a return journey from his/her place of
employment to his/her place of recruitment. This payment
shall be made at the end of each month or on the last day
worked if
the whole month is not worked. This flat-rate
payment shall be based on the cost of the first-class rail fare
where the single journey does not exceed five hundred kilo-
metres. Where the journey exceeds five hundred kilometres or
involves a sea crossing, payment shall be based on the reduced-
price economy-class air fare (the lowest fare offered by the
national companies serving the place of recruitment and the
place of employment).

The rate applied shall be that in force on 1 January of the
2.
current year at the General Secretariat's Travel Office. This rate
shall be reviewed on 1 July in respect of journeys where the
price has increased by more than 5 % since 1 January. Where a
whole month is not worked, the amount shall be calculated in
proportion to the number of days worked.

3.
If a military expert on secondment does remove his/her
personal effects from his/her place of recruitment to his/her
place of employment, he/she shall be entitled each year for
himself/herself, his/her spouse and his/her dependent children
to a flat-rate payment equal to the cost of a return journey
from his/her place of employment to his/her place of recruit-
ment in accordance with the rules and conditions in force at
the General Secretariat.

In accordance with the rules and conditions in force at
4.
the General Secretariat, a military expert on secondment shall
be entitled to reimbursement of travel expenses:

(a) for himself/herself:

— from his/her place of recruitment to his/her place of
employment at the beginning of the period of second-
ment,

— from his/her place of employment to his/her place of
recruitment at the end of the period of secondment,

(b) for his/her spouse and dependent children:

— from the place of recruitment to the place of employ-

ment when removal takes place,

— from the place of employment to the place of recruit-

ment at the end of the period of secondment.

5.
For the purpose of this Decision, the place of recruitment
shall be the place where the military expert on secondment
performed his/her duties prior to his/her secondment. The
place of employment shall be the place in which the depart-
ment to which he/she is assigned is located. The Exchange of
Letters referred to in Article 16(2) shall identify these places.

The Exchange of Letters referred to in Article 16(2) may
travel expenses shall not be covered by the

6.
stipulate that
General Secretariat.

Article 14

Removal expenses

A military expert on secondment shall be entitled to
1.
reimbursement of
the costs of removing his/her personal
effects in accordance with the rules and conditions in force at
the General Secretariat and with paragraphs 2 and 3.

2.
A military expert on secondment who moves his/her
residence to his/her place of employment to comply with the
obligation set out in Article 8(9) may remove his/her personal
effects no later than six months after taking up duty provided
that the probable period of secondment is at least two years
and that the place of recruitment is at least 50 km from the
place of employment.

At the end of the period of secondment, removal must

3.
take place within one year.

The Exchange of Letters referred to in Article 16(2) may
4.
stipulate that removal expenses shall not be covered by the
General Secretariat.

Article 15

Official travel and related expenses

1. Military experts on secondment may be sent on official
travel, subject to compliance with Article 4.

2.
Official travel expenses shall be reimbursed in accordance
with the rules and conditions relating to the reimbursement of
such expenses for officials in force at the General Secretariat.

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CHAPTER V

ADMINISTRATIVE AND BUDGETARY PROVISIONS

into a bank account opened at a banking institution in
Belgium.

Article 16

Budgetary allocations and contracts

1.
Expenditure arising from the secondment of military
experts shall be charged to line 1113 of the Council budget.

2.
Secondment and any extension thereof shall be imple-
mented by an Exchange of Letters between the Secretary-
General/High Representative and the Permanent Representative
of the Member State concerned. The Exchange of Letters shall
indicate the names of the individuals authorised to lay down
the practical detailed arrangements for secondment under this
Decision. A military expert on secondment shall present
himself/herself to the appropriate department of the Direc-
torate-General for Administration and Protocol on the first day
of his/her secondment to complete the relevant administrative
formalities.

Article 17

Settlement of expenditure

Payments shall be made by the appropriate department of the
Directorate-General for Administration and Protocol, in euro

Article 18

Expenditure on infrastructure

Expenditure on the provision of working facilities (offices,
furniture, machines, etc.) for military experts on secondment
paid from administrative appropriations shall be charged to
administrative appropriations.

Article 19

1.

This Decision shall take effect on the date of its adoption.

It shall apply until the permanent bodies of the Common

2.
European Security and Defence Policy are established.

This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal.

Article 20

Done at Brussels, 28 February 2000.

For the Council

The President

J. PINA MOURA