Proposal for a Council Regulation introducing special measures to terminate the service of European Parliament officials and temporary staff working in the Political Groups
Date: 2002-03-20
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Commission, European official, early retirement, institutional reform, pension scheme, recruitment, survivor's benefit, termination of employment

30.7.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 181 E/309

Proposal for a Council Regulation introducing special measures to terminate the service of
European Parliament officials and temporary staff working in the Political Groups

(2002/C 181 E/18)

COM(2002) 136 final — 2002/0070(CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission on 20 March 2002)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 283 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal made by the Commission after
consulting the Staff Regulations Committee in accordance with
Article 10a of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European
Communities (1),

(6) Special measures

should accordingly be adopted with
regard to termination of service together with internal
administrative arrangements for effective monitoring of
the implementation of this Regulation.

(7) These measures must be applied as far as possible with due
in compliance with the

regard for geographical balance,
principles governing this Regulation.

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

(8) These measures must be budget-neutral,

Having regard to the opinion of the Court of Justice,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Having regard to the opinion of the Court of Auditors,

Whereas:

(1) The European Parliament has been engaged in a thorough
restructuring of its way of operating since 1997, when the
Bureau adopted the new staff policy.

(2) In the light of four years' experience of implementing this
new policy, and with a view to establishing a longer term
policy for recruitment and appointments, based on fore-
for specific skills, Parliament has
seeable requirements
been studying its human resource requirements for the
years to come, as part of an exercise to draw up an oper-
ational list of duties.

(3) Parliament intends to take steps, mainly through training,
to help redeployed staff to adjust in the most satisfactory
and effective way possible.

(4) However, the skills of some officials and temporary staff
working in the Political Groups, particularly older members
of staff, are deemed not to be in line with the duties to be
performed.

Article 1

The Parliament is hereby authorised,
in the interests of the
service and in order to take account of the need to renew
skills arising from the process of adjusting its resources to its
activities, to adopt measures up to 31 December 2004 for
terminating the service within the meaning of Article 47 of
the Staff Regulations of officials and temporary staff working in
the Political Groups who have reached the age of 55 and have
completed at least 15 years' service, with the exception of
those in Grades A1 and A2, under the conditions specified
below.

Article 2

The total number of officials to be covered by the measures
referred to in Article 1 shall be 100. The total number of
temporary staff working in the Political Groups
to be
covered by the measures referred to in Article 1 shall be 24.

This measure shall be without prejudice to decisions to be
taken under the annual budget procedures.

(5) Parliament needs new skill profiles and a rebalancing of its
establishment plan, but the number of officials retiring in
the normal way will not be sufficient to allow the necessary
skills to be acquired through recruiting new staff within a
satisfactory timescale.

(1) Hereinafter called the ‘Staff Regulations’.

Article 3

Within the ceilings laid down in Article 2, and with due regard
to the interests of the service, the European Parliament, after
having consulted its Joint Committee, shall select from among
the officials and temporary staff working in the Political
Groups applying for
service under
termination of
Article 1 those to whom it wishes to apply this measure.

their

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EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

30.7.2002

It shall consider as a priority officials and temporary staff
affected by the reorganisation measures and measures for
adjusting its resources to its activities,
rede-
ployment, whose skills are deemed not to be in line with the
duties to be performed. It shall take account of the amount of
training necessary for them to undertake new tasks, their age,
ability, performance, conduct in the service,
family circum-
stances and length of service.

in particular

Article 4

1.
Former officials and temporary staff whose service is
terminated under Article 1 shall be entitled to a monthly
allowance set as a percentage of the last basic salary received
according to age and length of service at the time of departure
as shown in the table in the Annex to this Regulation. The last
basic salary shall be that for the grade and step held by the
official or member of the temporary staff concerned at the time
of departure, determined by reference to the table in Article 66
of the Staff Regulations in force on the first day of the month
for which the allowance is payable.

2.
Such former officials and temporary staff may at any
time, at their own request, receive a retirement pension on
the terms and conditions laid down in the Staff Regulations.
Entitlement to the allowance shall then cease. It shall cease in
any event not later than the last day of the month in which the
former official or member of the temporary staff concerned
reaches the age of 65 years or as soon as he or she is
eligible before that age for the maximum retirement pension
of 70 % (Article 77 of the Staff Regulations).

At that point the former official or member of the temporary
staff shall automatically receive a retirement pension, which
shall
the calendar month
following the month in which the allowance was paid for
the last time.

take effect on the first day of

The allowance provided for in paragraph 1 shall be
3.
adjusted by the weighting fixed for
the country situated
inside the Community in which the recipient proves that he
is resident. Recipients shall provide evidence each year of their
place of residence.

the recipient

resides in a country situated outside the
If
Community, the weighting to be applied to the allowance
shall be 100.

The allowance shall be expressed in euro. It shall be paid in the
currency of the country of residence of the recipient. However,
if
is subject to the weighting of 100 under the second
subparagraph, it shall be paid in euro.

it

An allowance paid in a currency other than euro shall be
calculated on the basis of the exchange rates referred to in
the second paragraph of Article 63 of the Staff Regulations.

allowance provided

4. Where gross income accruing to the former official or
member of the temporary staff from any new employment,
when combined with the
in
remuneration last
paragraph 1,
total gross
exceeds
the temporary staff
received by the official or member of
concerned, determined by reference to the salary scales in
force on the first day of the month for which the allowance
is payable, the amount of the excess shall be deducted from
that allowance. That
remuneration shall be weighted as
provided for in paragraph 3.

the

for

Gross income and total gross remuneration last received, as
referred to above, mean sums paid after deduction of social
security contributions but before deduction of tax.

The former official or member of the temporary staff shall give
a formal undertaking to provide any written proof which may
be required, including an annual statement of income in the
form of a salary statement or audited accounts, as appropriate,
and a sworn or authenticated declaration that he or she is not
in receipt of any other income from any new employment, and
shall notify the institution of any other factor which may affect
his or her right to the allowance, failing which he or she shall
be liable to disciplinary action as provided for in Article 86 of
the Staff Regulations.

child

thereto,

allowance

As set out in Article 67 of the Staff Regulations and
5.
the household
Articles 1, 2 and 3 of Annex VII
education
allowance,
dependent
allowance shall be payable either
the
allowance provided for in paragraph 1 or to the person or
persons to whom custody of the child or children has been
entrusted by law or by an order of court or of the competent
the household allowance shall be
administrative authority;
calculated by reference to the allowance provided for
in
paragraph 1.

and
to the recipient of

insurance,

recipients of

in respect of

6.
Provided that they are not receiving income from any
gainful employment,
the allowance shall be
entitled,
themselves and persons covered by
insurance
their
scheme provided for in Article 72 of the Staff Regulations
provided they pay the relevant contribution, calculated on
the basis of the allowance provided for in paragraph 1, and
are not covered by another sickness insurance scheme by virtue
of legal or statutory provisions.

to benefits under

the sickness

for not more than 65 months,

7.
During the period for which they are entitled to receive
former
the allowance, but
officials and temporary staff shall continue to acquire further
rights to retirement pension based on the salary carried by
their grade and step, provided that the contribution provided
for in the Staff Regulations by reference to that salary is paid
during that period and provided that the total pension does not
exceed the maximum specified in the second paragraph of
Article 77 of
the purposes of
Article 5 of Annex VIII to the Staff Regulations, such period
shall be considered to be a period of service.

the Staff Regulations. For

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 181 E/311

Subject to Articles 1(1) and 22 of Annex VIII to the Staff
8.
Regulations, the surviving spouse of a former official who dies
while in receipt of the allowance provided for in paragraph 1
shall be entitled, provided that the marriage was contracted at
least one year before the former official or member of the
temporary staff left the service of the Council, to a survivor's
pension equal to 60 % of the retirement pension which, irre-
spective of length of service or age, would have been payable
to the former official if he or she had qualified for it at the
time of death.

The survivor's pension referred to in the previous subparagraph
shall not be less than the amounts specified in the second
paragraph of Article 79 of the Staff Regulations. However, in
no case may it exceed the amount of the retirement pension to
which the former official or member of the temporary staff
would have been entitled had he or she survived and been
granted a retirement pension when ceasing to be eligible for
the allowance referred to above.

The minimum duration of the marriage as referred to in the
first subparagraph shall not be taken into account if there are
one or more children of a marriage contracted by the official
or member of the temporary staff before he or she left the
service provided that the surviving spouse maintains or has
maintained those children.

Nor shall the duration of the marriage be taken into account if
the death of the former official or member of the temporary
staff resulted from one of the circumstances referred to at the
end of the second paragraph of Article 17 of Annex VIII to the
Staff Regulations.

9.
On the death of a former official or member of the
temporary staff in receipt of the allowance provided for in
paragraph 1, dependent children within the meaning of
Article 2 of Annex VII
to the Staff Regulations shall be
entitled to an orphan's pension on the conditions set out in
the first, second and third paragraphs of Article 80 of the Staff
Regulations and in Article 21 of Annex VIII to the Staff Regu-
lations.

Article 5

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

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

ANNEX

ALLOWANCE PERCENTAGE

The allowance percentage referred to in Article 4(1) of this Regulation will be determined on the basis of the age and
length of service of officials or temporary staff at the time of departure as shown in the table below:

Level of allowance depending on age and length of service

Age

From 55 to
56 years

From 57 to
58 years

From 59 to
60 years

From 61 to
62 years

Over
63 years

60,0 %

60,0 %

62,0 %

64,0 %

60,0 %

60,0 %

64,0 %

66,0 %

60,0 %

62,0 %

66,0 %

68,0 %

62,0 %

64,0 %

68,0 %

70,0 %

64,0 %

66,0 %

70,0 %

70,0 %

Length of service

From 15 to 19 years

From 20 to 24 years

From 25 to 29 years

30 years and over

Age and length of service will be considered in relation to the actual date of termination of service of the official or
member of the temporary staff concerned.

Applying these conditions to the target group of officials and temporary staff on a weighted basis gives a maximum
average allowance of 62,5 %.