WRITTEN QUESTION E-0216/01 by Wilfried Kuckelkorn (PSE) to the Commission. Expatriation allowance of EU officials.
Date: 2001-02-05
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European official, allowances and expenses, expatriate worker, regulations for civil servants

14.2.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 40 E/9

(2002/C 40 E/008)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0216/01

by Wilfried Kuckelkorn (PSE) to the Commission

(5 February 2001)

Subject: Expatriation allowance of EU officials

Article 4 of Section 2 of Annex VII of the Staff Regulations applicable to officials of the European Union
provides for the payment of an expatriation allowance of 16 % of the basic salary.

1. Why should such an allowance exist at all when staff voluntarily decide to become European officials
and therefore live abroad?

In addition to that, there are other inconsistencies: the allowance is paid throughout the period of
employment and taken into account in the subsequent pension payments in the case of officials who are
not nationals of the country in which they are working. However, staff who habitually resided or carried
on their main occupation in the territory of the relevant State for a period of five and a half years prior to
entering the service of the EU receive an expatriation allowance of only 4 %. On the other hand, anyone
who was working for an international organisation, i.e. including the European institutions, still receives an
allowance of 16 %.

How can this interpretation of the Staff Regulations or the Staff Regulations themselves be reconciled

2.
with the principles of equal treatment established by European case law?

3. Why exactly must the European taxpayer fund this allowance, which amounts to a considerable sum
over a longer period and which, in view of the facts outlined above, is evidently not paid to compensate
staff for having to adjust to life in a different country?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(22 March 2001)

Expatriation allowances or comparable benefits are commonly and rightly salary components in
representations and in international
international organisations, national embassies or permanent
companies. A recent independent study has confirmed that the remuneration of Community officials
(including the expatriation allowance) in Brussels is broadly comparable to that of expatriate Member State
officials, much lower than that of comparably qualified and employed staff in multinational companies,
and close to that of comparable staff in other international organisations. If an independent European
public service of good quality is to be maintained with officials of high standards of ability, efficiency and
integrity who are recruited on the broadest possible geographical basis from among the nationals of
Member States, then all of the European Institutions have to ensure they are attractive as employers.

It follows that contrary to what the Honourable Member says, the fact that staff have chosen to go abroad
is not a reason for not paying the allowance. Without the allowance, people who have to leave their own
countries to come to work for the Institutions will not have a sufficient incentive to make that choice. It
must be possible to attract officials from all Member States, including those where salaries are highest and
where there is the greatest range of competing job opportunities. The Honourable Member(cid:146)s point is also
true of others whose careers are likely to take them abroad, such as diplomats, staff of multinational
companies etc, yet similar often more generous incentives are paid to them, because their employers know
that they have to do so.

The White Paper on (cid:145)Reforming the Commission(cid:146) (1) of 1 March 2000 confirmed that
the overall
conditions of employment,
in the Commission and the other European
Institutions should remain attractive and competitive in order to ensure an independent, permanent, high
quality European Civil Service. This political intention has been endorsed by the Parliament in the Harbour
Report on the White Paper on reforming the Commission, adopted on 30 November 2000.

including the salary package,

C 40 E/10

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

14.2.2002

In relation to the detail of conditions under which expatriation allowance is granted, the following should
be noted:

(cid:129) The expatriation allowance is granted in accordance with the Staff Regulations, which have been
adopted by the Council after consultation with the Parliament. Its purpose is to compensate the
official for additional burdens resulting from the work outside his country of origin, like the absolute
obligation to work in one or more foreign languages, the frequent loss of income on the part of an
accompanying spouse or partner, and the need to maintain, over the whole period of his employment,
close links to the home country.

(cid:129) It is the major means to differentiate salary levels between officials who have the nationality of the
(cid:145)host country(cid:146) and those who have left their country of origin to take up work in a European
Institution.

(cid:129) Expatriation allowance is granted only to an extent strictly proportionate to the existence of a
situation of expatriation and in narrowly-defined and objectively verifiable circumstances. Contrary to
what the Honourable Member says,
is
required to live outside his/her own country for service-related reasons and it does not count for the
calculation of pension rights; moreover the case-law concerning this allowance has never suggested
that it involves any element of unlawful discrimination as between expatriate and (cid:145)host-country(cid:146)
officials, since the difference in salary is directly related to a difference of situation.

it is granted only during active service while the official

(cid:129) The economic obligations resulting from work outside the country of origin generally do not decrease

over time and they are not affected by any gradual integration into the host country.

(cid:129) Certain costs (cid:129) like ensuring care for invalid parents, supporting childrens(cid:146) school or University
attendance, or maintenance of a home in the home country (cid:129) can, and generally do, increase over
time.

(cid:129) The lower rated foreign residence allowance is granted to officials who do not have the nationality of
the (cid:145)host country(cid:146), but who have lived or worked in that country already before with a likely
perspective of a long-term stay. This is why working periods for another international organisation or
a national embassy, which are normally postings of a limited duration, are not
taken into
consideration in this context.

(1) COM(2000) 200 final.

(2002/C 40 E/009)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0436/01

by Klaus-Heiner Lehne (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(16 February 2001)

Subject: Pension entitlements payable by Italy

A Mr Wolfgang Kaltenbrunner, resident in Germany, holds a pension entitlement payable by the Italian
state. Despite repeated applications to the Italian insurance agencies responsible, his case is not being
processed by the Italian authorities. Mr Kaltenbrunner had submitted numerous applications for payment
between 3 September 1998 and 25 October 2000. No answer was however received from the Italian
authorities.

According to Mr Kaltenbrunner, other pensioners resident in Germany with pension claims on the Italian
authorities are being similarly treated.

Can the Commission answer the following:

1. Do efforts to secure harmonisation exist at European level in the form of directives or regulations in
accordance with which conduct by the Italian authorities as described above would be prohibited?

2. What action will the Commission take against the conduct of the Italian authorities in the event that

such regulations or directives exist?

3.

If no relevant harmonisation provisions exist, will the Commission submit proposals for appropriate
directives or regulations?