WRITTEN QUESTION E-4024/00 by Jeffrey Titford (EDD) to the Commission. Terms on which European Commission staff are entitled to receive the dependent child allowance.
Date: 2000-12-21
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Commission, European official, custody, dependant

C 235 E/50

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

21.8.2001

The Commission is not aware of any evidence concerning the type of abuse of mandatory insolvency
9.
insurance described. Should evidence of such abuse come to light this would be a matter of concern to the
Commission and to the relevant Member State or Member States responsible for the implementation of the
relevant Directive.

(1) Commission Decision 1999/1973/EC British Airways, [2000], (OJ L 30, 4.2.2000).
(2) See for example Commission notice concerning the alliance between Lufthansa, SAS and United Airlines, [1998]

(OJ C 239, 30.7.1998).
(3) OJ C 280 E, 3.10.2000.
(4) OJ L 158, 23.6.1990.

(2001/C 235 E/053)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-4024/00

by Jeffrey Titford (EDD) to the Commission

(21 December 2000)

Subject: Terms on which European Commission staff are entitled to receive the dependent child allowance

On what terms are payments made to the dependants of European Commission staff?

1. What rate of exchange is applied to payments made by the Commission to the dependant(cid:146)s bank
account in the country of the dependant?

Do members of the European Commission(cid:146)s staff have to prove that the person is financially

2.
dependent on them?

3.

How is the dependent child allowance calculated?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(13 March 2001)

The Commission only makes a payment to (the bank account of) a person other than the official (in the
name and on behalf of the official) if the member of staff does not have the custody of the dependant
children and if the custody has been entrusted to that other person by law or by an order of court or of
the competent administrative authority. In all other cases the Commission pays directly to the official(cid:146)s
bank account.

Article 2(2) of Annex VII to the Staff regulations defines a (cid:145)dependent child(cid:146) as follows: (cid:145)the legitimate,
natural or adopted child of an official, or of his spouse, who is actually being maintained by the official(cid:146).
Furthermore, Article 2(4) of Annex VII defines the conditions for a person to be treated as dependant child
as follows: (cid:145)Any person whom the official has a legal responsibility to maintain and whose maintenance
involves heavy expenditure may, exceptionally, be treated as if he were a dependent child by special
reasoned decision of the appointing authority, based on supporting documents(cid:146).

Payments are made in euros in all Member States having adopted the euro. In other Member States the
exchange rate used for the implementation of the general budget of the Community on 1 July 2000 is
used (€ 1 = GBP 0,6257 for the United Kingdom).

Based on supporting documents, the household allowance is paid to a married official or other servant
whose spouse is either not gainfully employed or whose salary does not exceed the basic salary of
a Grade C3/3 official or to an official or other servant who has one or more dependent children. The Staff
Regulations (1) set the household allowance at 5 % of the basic salary.

21.8.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 235 E/51

Under Article 67 of the Staff Regulations and Article 2 of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations the
dependent child allowance is € 223,99 per child per month. Based on supporting documents,
the
allowance is granted automatically for children under 18 years of age and on application, with supporting
evidence, for children between 18 and 26 who are receiving educational or vocational training.

(1) Article 67 of the Staff Regulations, Article 1 of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations, general implementing provisions.

(2001/C 235 E/054)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-4033/00

by Mar(cid:237)a Sornosa Mart(cid:237)nez (PSE) to the Council

(3 January 2001)

Subject: Need to standardise emergency lights on vehicles in the EU

In Spain, the colour of emergency lights on vehicles is not currently in line with the rest of the Member
States, where such lights are blue. This means that emergency lights displayed by priority and emergency
services such as firemen and ambulances are of the same amber colour as other services such as refuse
collection and slow-moving vehicles, with blue being reserved for police only. As well as being a source of
confusion, this causes traffic problems for emergency vehicles and puts citizens at risk.

In October 1995 and May 1996, the European Federation of Fire Officers(cid:146) Associations urged the Spanish
Directorate-General for Traffic to revise their regulations on the lights carried by the emergency services.
The Spanish Firemen(cid:146)s Association has also repeatedly requested the Directorate-General to bring Spain
into line with the rest of Europe by replacing amber with blue for flashing lights carried by priority
vehicles, and the Directorate-General for Civil Protection has also concurred with the need to bring the
country into line with the rest of the EU.

the UN Economic Commission for Europe rules that emergency lights be
Regulation No 65 of
standardised, but it does not specify which colour is to be assigned to each type of vehicle. In any case,
the Community has not ratified this regulation, because the Member States wish to retain the right to rule
on the use and technical specifications of such equipment.

In reply to Written Question E-3022/00 (1), the Commission said that if there were a change in the attitude
of the Member States the Community should then make provision for harmonisation of the lights carried
by priority vehicles, differentiating them from those carried by slow-moving vehicles.

Does the Council think that, in view of the safety considerations involved, the use of emergency lights
should be standardised, as called for by Spanish and European firemen?

If not, would the Council state its specific reasons for rejecting such harmonisation?

(1) OJ C 113 E, 18.4.2001, p. 230.

Reply

(7 May 2001)

As the Honourable Member rightly points out, Regulation No 65 of the United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe stipulates that emergency lights be standardised, but does not specify the colour
that different emergency services should use.

It is for the Commission, which alone possesses the right of initiative in this matter, to take whatever steps
are deemed necessary to advance further the harmonisation of technical specifications for motor vehicles,
including requirements for emergency lights, with a view to maximising road safety in the Community.

Should the Commission submit a proposal on this subject in the future, the Council would undertake to
closely examine the suggested provisions.