WRITTEN QUESTION E-1847/02 by Guido Bodrato (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Lack of coordination between the Community pension scheme and the Member States' pension schemes.
Date: 2002-06-28
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European official, cumulative pension entitlement, pension scheme, regulations for civil servants, social security, transfer of pension rights

12.12.2002

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 309 E/169

(2002/C 309 E/196)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1834/02

by Jorge Hernández Mollar (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Protection of Costa del Sol beaches

(27 June 2002)

The succession of storms which have affected the Costa del Sol this year have left its beaches in a
condition totally unsuitable for bathing or for the enjoyment of the many thousands of tourists who visit
that tourist region of Spain.

The beaches have been the subject of political debate in recent months, and are now at the centre of a full-
blown controversy. It has been proposed, as a long-term solution, that a substantial fleet of dredgers
should be created for the permanent maintenance of the beaches.

This fleet of dredgers would not come cheap, but appears to be a necessity if the beaches are to be kept in
condition on a permanent basis. Can the Commission state in what form it could contribute to such a
dredger system, and what programmes could be used to finance the purchase of the vessels, given their
role in ensuring the wellbeing of the tourist business in the region and the users of the Costa del Sol’s
beaches?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(24 July 2002)

The project indicated by the Honourable Member can be part-financed from the Structural Funds under
the 2000-2006 integrated operational programme for Andalusia provided it is included in its strategy and
priorities. Under the subsidiarity principle Member States choose the actual projects for part-financing in
line with the selection criteria adopted in the programming and their own priorities.

Projects for environmental protection of beaches can in theory also be financed from the Environment
section of the European Financial Instrument for the Environment (LIFE). However LIFE does not finance
research, equipment and infrastructure projects but innovatory pilot and demonstration projects that
satisfy the general requirements and assessment criteria of the LIFE Regulation. Full information on LIFE
and project submission details can be found on the Commission site: http://europa.eu.int/comm/life/envir/
index.htm.

(2002/C 309 E/197)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1847/02

by Guido Bodrato (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(28 June 2002)

Subject: Lack of coordination between the Community pension scheme and the Member States’ pension

schemes

By means of Council Regulation (EC) No 1606/98 (1) of 29 June 1998, application of Regulation (EEC)
No 1408/71 (2) on social security has been extended to schemes covering public employees.

Will the Commission say whether or not the employees of Community institutions can take advantage of
Regulation (EC) No 1606/98 in order to secure, by means of the scheme for aggregating periods of
pension contributions, entitlement to a pension based on the periods of pension contribution completed
under the scheme of one of the Member States before taking up employment with a Community
institution?

Is it not paradoxical that the Community lawmakers have not bothered to make specific provision for
coordination between the Community pension scheme and the Member States’ pension schemes with a
view to safeguarding pension rights which have already been (or which are in the process of being)
acquired under national law, within the spirit of Regulation (EC) No 1408/71?

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12.12.2002

Although it is the case that European civil servants can ask for contributions paid under a national pension
scheme to be transferred to the Community pension scheme, it is also the case that many of them have
not taken (and do not take) advantage of this opportunity, either because they are poorly informed or
because they have little interest
to be
advantageous.

in an operation which, rightly or wrongly,

thought

is not

Does the Commission not consider that the current system has shortcomings and that it should be
improved so as to ensure that acquired pension rights are in all cases preserved?

(1) OJ L 209, 25.7.1998, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 149, 5.7.1971, p. 2.

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(4 September 2002)

Council Regulation (EC) No 1606/98 of 29 June 1998 amends Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 on the
application of social security schemes to employed persons to self-employed persons and to members of
their families moving within the Community, and Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 laying down the procedure
for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 with a view to extending them to cover special schemes
for civil servants (1).

Article 2 of the Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 applies to employed persons and self-employed persons who
are or have been subject to the legislation of one or more Member States. Community staff are subject to
the schemes of the European Institutions and not to Member States’ social security legislation. Therefore,
take advantage of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 as modified by Council
Community staff cannot
Regulation (EC) No 1606/98, for the co-ordination between a national scheme and the scheme applicable
to Community staff.

Annex VIII of the Staff Regulations provides that ‘An official who enters the service of the Communities
after: (cid:1) leaving the service of a government administration or of a national or international organisation;
or (cid:1) pursuing an activity in an employed or self-employed capacity; shall be entitled upon establishment
to have paid to the Communities either the actuarial equivalent or the flat-rate redemption value of
retirement pension rights acquired by virtue of such service or activities. In such case the institution in
which the official serves shall, taking into account his grade on establishment, determine the number of
years of pensionable service with which he shall be credited under its own pension scheme in respect of
the former period of service, on the basis of the amount of the actuarial equivalent or sums repaid as
aforesaid’ (Article 11(2)). Through different mechanisms both the Staff Regulations and Regulation (EEC)
free
No 1408/71, pursue the same objective of ensuring that workers who exercise their right of
movement are not penalised in terms of social security, irrespective of whether they are moving between
European countries or becoming European Community officials. Therefore, the Commission does not
share the opinion of the Honourable Member that there is a need for a specific provision to co-ordinate
Community and Member States’ pension schemes and no staff representations have been made to that
effect.

Upon entering the service of the Communities, officials and temporary staff receive a copy of the Staff
Regulations of Officials of the European Communities which contain the aforementioned Article 11(2) of
Annex VIII on the transfer of contributions from a national pension scheme to the Community scheme. In
addition, officials and temporary staff receive comprehensive information during their introduction courses
and administrative notices informing them of any changes. The Court of Justice confirmed the validity of
the information procedure used by the Commission in its judgement in Case T-27-99 (2).

Furthermore, the Commission would like to point out that this entitlement under the Staff Regulations is
by no means an obligation on the person concerned. Officials of the European Institutions are free to
choose whether or not to request the transfer of their pension rights and, after receiving a detailed
quantified proposal from their Institution, make a free decision on whether to transfer their rights or to

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leave them with the previous scheme where they will be subject to the national rules on this matter and to
Council Regulations (EC) No 1606/98 and (EEC) No 1408/71 for the entitlements under the national
schemes.

(1) OJ L 209, 25.7.1998.
(2)

Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 17 October 2000. Humbert Drabbe v Commission (cid:1) European Court
reports (cid:1) staff cases 2000 Page IA-00213; II-00955.

(2002/C 309 E/198)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1848/02

by Guido Bodrato (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(28 June 2002)

Subject: Application of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 (cid:1) calculating the pensions of migrant workers

As the Commission is aware the Court of Justice, in its 24 September 1998 judgment in Case C-132/96
(Stinco-Panfilo vs INPS), condemned the prorata temporis method of pension calculation which was being
used by the Italian state social-security body (INPS) on the grounds that it is not in accordance with
Article 46(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 (1).

Three years later the body in question is still refusing to accept the above judgment on the grounds that it
applies only to the two parties which are directly involved, and is thereby forcing many Italian pensioners
to embark on a lengthy administrative and judicial procedure in order to secure recognition of their rights.

Would the Commission say:

(cid:1) whether or not it is acceptable for a state social-security body to disregard Court of Justice judgments,

declaring them to apply only to the parties to which they are directly addressed;

(cid:1) what action it intends to take in order to ensure compliance with the above Court of Justice judgment;

(cid:1) whether or not it considers, in view of the INPS’s resistance, that it should open an infringement

procedure against Italy, as provided for in Article 226 of the Treaty?

(1) OJ L 149, 5.7.1971, p. 2.

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(9 September 2002)

The Commission would like to inform the Honourable Member that interpretations given to provisions of
Community law by the Court of Justice of the European Communities in its judgments following requests
for preliminary rulings in accordance with Article 234 of the EC Treaty are valid in all Member States and
take precedence over interpretations by national courts. Court of Justice interpretations apply to all legal
situations that are identical to that which has arisen in the specific case referred to by a judgment.

As far as the Commission is aware, the Italian State has complied with Court of Justice jurisprudence in
case C-132/96 (Stinco and Panfilo). In this case the Court of Justice held that ‘Article 46(2)(a) of Council
Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes to employed
persons, to self-employed persons and to members of their families moving within the Community, as
amended and updated by Council Regulation (EEC) No 2001/83 of 2 June 1983, as amended in turn by
Council Regulation (EEC) No 1247/92 of 30 April 1992 and by Council Regulation (EEC) No 1248/92 of
30 April 1992, must be interpreted as requiring the competent institution, in determining the theoretical
amount of the pension on which the calculation of the pro rata pension is based, to take into account a
supplement intended to bring the pension to the level of the statutory minimum’,
i.e. the minimum
pension supplement provided for under Italian legislation.

To date, the Commission has not received any complaints concerning the problem referred to in the Stinco
and Panfilo judgment.

In the absence of any such complaints, the Commission has no reason to open infringement proceedings
against the Italian State.