Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Regulation amending, for the benefit of European parliamentary assistants, Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons, self-employed persons and to members of their families moving within the Community, and Council Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 laying down the procedure for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71
Date: 2001-06-25
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Economic Area, Member of the European Parliament, free movement of workers, labour mobility, servant (EU), social security, staff regulations (EU)

25.9.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 270 E/141

Proposal for a European Parliament and Council regulation amending, for the benefit of European
parliamentary assistants, Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 on the application of social security
schemes to employed persons, self-employed persons and to members of their families moving
within the Community, and Council Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 laying down the procedure for
implementing Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71

(2001/C 270 E/20)

(Text with EEA relevance)

COM(2001) 344 final (cid:151) 2001/0137(COD)

(Submitted by the Commission on 25 June 2001)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Articles 42 and 308 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article
251 of the Treaty,

Whereas:

(1) Under Article 14 of the set of rules governing the payment
of expenses and allowances to Members of the European
Parliament (MEPs), adopted by its Bureau, MEPs are entitled
to an allowance to cover the expenses arising from their
employing one or more assistants, and several MEPs may
jointly employ the same assistant within the limits of the
secretarial assistance allowance as set by the Bureau and
contained in (cid:145)Section 1 (cid:151) European Parliament(cid:146) of the
General Budget of the European Union.

(2) The social security arrangements pertaining to European
parliamentary assistants are governed by the national law
of the competent Member States, within the meaning of
Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of 14 June 1971 on
the application of social security schemes to employed
persons, self-employed persons and to members of their
families moving within the Community (1), and Council
Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 of 21 March 1972 laying
down the procedure for implementing Regulation (EEC)

No 1408/71 on the application of social security schemes
and to
to employed persons,
members
the
of
Community (2).

self-employed persons
families moving within

their

(3) Given the wide range of possible situations and the specific
nature of the tasks of parliamentary assistants working for
one or more Members of the European Parliament, deter-
the social security legislation applicable to
mination of
to Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 has
them pursuant
created a lack of certainty and practical difficulties in
arranging for their social cover. This situation is detri-
mental not only to such employed persons and their
employers but also to Member States’ social security bodies.

(4) In order to be able to identify more easily and beyond
doubt the social security legislation of the Member State
to which the European parliamentary assistants are subject,
and in order to provide the latter with appropriate social
cover, it seemed appropriate to introduce, for their benefit,
a right of option regarding the social security legislation to
be applicable to them. Given the exceptional nature of
these rules,
justified by the assistants’ specific role in
regard to Members of the European Parliament, this right
of option should be limited to employed assistants alone.

this

right

(5) This right of option for this specific category of employed
persons should now be incorporated into Regulation (EEC)
No 1408/71 and its implementing regulation, and the
logical extension of
should be taken into
account where European parliamentary assistants simul-
taneously pursue other professional activities as employed
and/or self-employed persons. There is also a need to
include
transitional provisions within this Regulation
relating to parliamentary assistants already in their post
prior to the date on which this Regulation enters into
force.

(1) OJ L 149, 5.7.1971, p. 2, as updated by Regulation (EC) No 118/97
(OJ L 28, 30.1.1997, p. 1) and last amended by Regulation (EC)
No 1399/1999 (OJ L 164, 30.6.1999, p. 1).

(2) OJ L 74, 27.3.1972, p. 1, as updated by Regulation (EC) No 118/97
(OJ L 28, 30.1.1997, p. 1) and last amended by Commission Regu-
lation (EC) No 89/2001 (OJ L 14, 18.1.2001, p. 16).

C 270 E/142

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

25.9.2001

(6) This amendment of the rules governing coordination of
national social security schemes under Regulation (EEC)
No 1408/71 and its implementing regulation is intended
to facilitate the free movement of assistants employed by
Members of the European Parliament to assist them in the
performance of their elective office within that Community
institution,

State for whose legislation they have opted, shall also be
subject to the legislation of that latter Member State.

They shall be treated, for the purposes of applying the
legislation for which they have opted, as though they
pursued all their professional activities in the territory of
that Member State.(cid:146)

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Amendment of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71

Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 is amended as follows:

Article 2

Amendment of Regulation (EEC) No 574/72

Article 14 of Regulation (EEC) 574/72 is replaced by the
following text:

1. In Article 1, the following point (w) is added:

(cid:145)Article 14

(cid:145)(w) European parliamentary assistant means an employed
person employed by one or more Members of
the
European Parliament to assist them in the performance
of their elective office and during their term of office.(cid:146)

2. Article 16 is amended as follows:

(a) The title is replaced by the following title:

(cid:145)Special rules regarding persons employed by diplomatic
missions and consular posts, auxiliary staff of
the
European Communities and European parliamentary
assistants(cid:146)

(b) The following paragraph 4 is added:

European parliamentary assistants may opt for one

(cid:145)4.
of the following:

(cid:151) application of the legislation referred to either in
appropriate, Article

Article 13(2)(a) or, where
14(2)(b),

(cid:151) application of the legislation of the Member State to

which they were last subject,

(cid:151) application of the legislation of the Member State of

which they are nationals.

This right of option, which may be exercised once only,
takes effect when they commence their activity as
European parliamentary assistants.

parliamentary

European
simultaneously
pursuing other activities as employed person and/or
activities as self-employed persons in the territory of
one or more Member States other than the Member

assistants

Exercise of right of option by auxiliary staff of the
European Communities and European parliamentary
assistants

1.
The right of option provided for in Article 16(3) and
(4) of the Regulation must be exercised at the time when
the contract of employment is concluded. The authority
in respect of
empowered to conclude such contract
auxiliary staff
the European
and the Member(s) of
Parliament concerned in respect of parliamentary assistants
shall
inform the institution designated by the competent
authority of the Member State for whose legislation the
auxiliary staff member or
the European parliamentary
assistant has opted. The said institution shall, where
necessary, forward such information to all other institutions
of the same Member State.

2.
The institution designated by the competent authority
of the Member State for whose legislation the auxiliary staff
member or the European parliamentary assistant has opted
shall issue to him a certificate testifying that he is subject to
the legislation of that Member State while he is employed
by the European Communities as an auxiliary staff member
or employed as a European parliamentary assistant.

legislation is

Where a European parliamentary assistant simultaneously
pursues his activities as an assistant in the territory of one
or more Member States or simultaneously pursues other
activities as an employed and/or self-employed person in
the territory of one or more Member States other than the
Member State for whose legislation he has opted, the insti-
the
tution designated by the competent authority of
applicable
Member
shall
State whose
forward a copy of the certificate,
issued pursuant to the
to the institution designated by the
first subparagraph,
competent authority of any other Member State in whose
territory the assistant
is pursuing professional activities.
That latter institution or, where appropriate, those latter
institutions shall, where necessary, notify the institution
designated by the competent authority of
the Member
the information
State whose legislation is applicable of
necessary to determine
contributions which the
the
employer(s) and/or the assistant are liable to pay pursuant
to that legislation.

25.9.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 270 E/143

The competent authorities of the Member States shall,
3.
where necessary, designate the competent institutions in
respect of
the
European Communities and of the European parliamentary
assistants.

the auxiliary staff of

the members of

4. Where an auxiliary staff member or European parlia-
mentary assistant, employed in the territory of a Member
State other than Germany, has opted for German legislation
to be applied, the provisions of that legislation shall be
applied as though the auxiliary staff member or European
parliamentary assistant were employed in the place where
the German Government has its seat. The competent
authority shall designate the competent sickness insurance
institution.(cid:146)

Article 3

Transitional provisions

Regulation enters into force may exercise the right of option
provided for in Article 16(4) of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71
within a period of three months from the date this Regulation
enters into force.

This option takes effect
following that
Article 14(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 is sent.

the month
from the first day of
in which the communication referred to in

Article 4

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 . . . (the first day of
the second month following its publication in the Official
Journal of the European Communities).

A European parliamentary assistant already employed by one
or more Members of the European Parliament on the date this

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly
applicable in all Member States.