WRITTEN QUESTION P-1233/02 by Gabriele Stauner (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Supplements to Commissioners' salaries.
Date: 2002-04-23
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Court of Justice of the European Union, EU law, European Commission, European Court of Auditors, European official, budget, capital transfer, pay, ratio, regulations for civil servants

C 277 E/162

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

14.11.2002

As stated in the answer given by the Commission to written question E-0917/01 by Mrs Hulthén (3) on the
same issue, the report concluded that all dental restorative materials have the potential for causing some
adverse reactions and that most contain components which are toxic. However, it also concluded that
currently available data indicate that mercury from dental amalgams will not cause an unacceptable risk to
the general population. Local reactions to dental amalgams fillings and other dental restorative materials do
occur but are relatively rare; cases have also been reported of such reactions to materials used as
alternatives to dental amalgams. According to the report, the benefits of restoring teeth with dental
amalgam outweigh significantly the documented risks, and the risk-benefit ration corresponds to the
currently acknowledged and accepted state of the art.

Commission and national authorities, in close co-operation with other interested parties, keep the use of
dental amalgams under constant scrutiny and follow attentively the development of substitutes and their
impact on health.

(1) Available on website http://www.nordiskadental.se/default.htm.
(2) Council Directive 93/42/EEC of 14 June 1993 concerning medical devices, OJ L 169, 12.7.1993.
(3) OJ C 318 E, 13.11.2001.

(2002/C 277 E/185)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1233/02

by Gabriele Stauner (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(23 April 2002)

Subject: Supplements to Commissioners’ salaries

Can the Commission confirm that some of its Members have parts of their salaries transferred to other EU
states, and not paid into a bank account in Belgium as set out in the relevant regulations?

Can it confirm that because of so-called weightings it pays supplements on these transfers, which for
example increase the amount transferred to the United Kingdom by more than 60 %?

In view of the very generous salaries and allowances paid to Commissioners, how can such increases in
income be justified?

Can the Commission confirm that although the Council has provided for the payment of
these
supplements in the case of officials’ salaries, within certain limits, this does not apply to Commissioners?

Can it confirm that Article 4a of
the
Commission, given as a legal basis in the budget (budget heading A-1090), includes no provisions which
would allow weightings to be used on transfers to other countries?

the Regulation determining the emoluments of Members of

Can it state whether
responsible for
administrative expenditure and the Budget Commissioner responsible for financial control have benefited
from such supplements?

the Commission Vice-President

to what extent)

(and if so,

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(10 June 2002)

The legal basis for the salary of Members of the Commission is set down in Council Regulation (EC, ECSC,
Euratom) No 422/67/EEC, No 5/67/Euratom (1) and it determines the emoluments of the President, Vice-
presidents and Members of the Commission; the President, Judges, Advocates-General and Registrar of the
Court of Justice and of the President, Members and Registrar of the Court of First Instance (2).

Furthermore, the provisions in the Staff Regulations as they apply to permanent officials are applied to
Members of the Commission, Court of Justice and Court of Auditors provided, of course, that these two
sets of rules do not conflict. For instance, because the conditions to which Members are subject in their
countries of origin are comparable with those of permanent officials, Article 17(2) and (3) of Annex VII of

14.11.2002

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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the Staff Regulations have always applied by extension to Members of the Commission, of the Court of
Justice and the Court of Auditors along with the joint rules on transfers of part of salaries with weightings.
The rules governing these transfers relating to officials of the European Civil Service, including limits, have
identical application to Members of the Commission, the Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors.

Under the terms of existing law and practice, the sum transferred to the country of origin is subject to the
adaptation of the weighting factor of the country in question. This weighting factor corrects for differences
in purchasing power as calculated by Eurostat and adopted annually by the Council. Like officials,
Members find themselves obliged to meet expenses in another Member State, normally their country of
origin, arising from the need to fulfil family or domestic obligations.

This practice has always been applied not only to the President and Members of the Commission but also
to the President, Judges, Advocates-General and the registrar of the Court of Justice, and to Members of the
Court of Auditors.

The Council and the European Parliament in their capacity as the Budgetary Authority have annually
approved the arrangements for Members of the Commission, the Court of Justice and the Court of
Auditors to make transfers with weightings by making available the necessary means under budget heading
A-1090 on ‘Weightings’. The comment on that heading says that ‘This appropriation … also covers the
cost of weightings applied to the part of emoluments transferred to a country other than the country of
employment’.

However, on 17th May 2002 the Court of Auditors informed the Commission of a decision of Court of
Audit Members on 16th May that they consider that there is not a clear legal basis for the transfer of part
of a salary with weightings and that, unless and until such clarity is achieved, Members of the Court will
suspend transfers with weightings from 1 July.

While the Commission continues to believe that the practice which has conventionally been followed is
justifiable in legal terms, it has nevertheless taken note of the Court of Auditors’ decision and thinks that it
would be right to take the same approach, as a provisional measure, from 1 July. Instructions to that effect
have been given to the relevant services.

More generally, the Commission will review this matter with the other institutions concerned and give
consideration to all relevant issues. Those issues include the fact that, as part of the Reform of the Staff
Regulations, the Commission has proposed that the scope for making transfers with weightings should be
significantly reduced for officials and H therefore H for Commissioners, and the question of whether an
explicit legal base should be developed, for the avoidance of doubt, to relate specifically to Members of the
Commission, the Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors.

(1) OJ L 187, 8.8.1967.
(2)

as last amended by Council Regulation (EC, ECSC, Euratom) No 2581/2001 of 17 December 2001 adjusting with
effect
the European
Communities and the weightings applied, OJ L 345, 29.12.2001.

from 1 July 2001 the remuneration and pensions of officials and other servants of

(2002/C 277 E/186)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1235/02

by Michl Ebner (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(30 April 2002)

Subject: Recognition of the Dolomites as part of the World Heritage

The answer given by Commissioner Wallström on behalf of the Commission to the Written Question
E-1560/01 (1) states that ‘the Community is not a party to the World Heritage Convention’.