Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1746/2002 of 30 September 2002 introducing, in the context of the reform of the Commission, special measures to terminate the service of officials of the European Communities appointed to an established post in the Commission of the European Communities
Date: 2002-09-30
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: European official, early retirement, institutional reform, pension scheme, recruitment, survivor's benefit, termination of employment

2.10.2002

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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I

(Acts whose publication is obligatory)

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC, EURATOM) No 1746/2002

of 30 September 2002

introducing, in the context of the reform of the Commission, special measures to terminate the
service of officials of the European Communities appointed to an established post in the Commis-
sion of the European Communities

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu-
nity, and in particular Article 283 thereof,

Having regard to the Commission proposal submitted after
receiving the opinion of the Staff Regulations Committee,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (1),

(8)

(9)

Having regard to the opinion of the Court of Justice (2),

Having regard to the opinion of the Court of Auditors (3),

administrative arrangements for effective monitoring of
the implementation of this Regulation.

These measures must be applied as a matter of urgency
and as far as possible with due regard for geographical
balance, in compliance with the provisions of this Regu-
lation.

These measures must be budget-neutral. To this end a
monitoring mechanism should be
set up by the
budgetary authority,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

The reform of the Commission is designed in particular
to refocus the use of resources on its priority activities.

In its communication of 9 February 2000 (4)
the
Commission indicated that it intends to use its human
resources as efficiently as possible.

The Commission meets a significant part of its needs
through internal rationalisation and redeployment.

The Commission moreover is taking the necessary steps,
in particular through training, to help redeployed staff to
adjust in the most satisfactory and effective way possible.

However, the skills of a section of officials, who have
reached the age of 55 and who have completed at least
15 years of service, are too far removed from the duties
to be performed.

The Commission needs new skill profiles and a rebalan-
cing of its establishment plan; 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.

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The Commission is hereby authorised, in the interests of the
service and in order to take account of the need to renew skills
arising from the refocusing of the use of
its resources on
priority 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 who have reached the age of
55 and have completed at least 15 years service, regardless of
the budget (operating or research) from which they are paid,
with the exception of those in Grades A 1 and A 2, under the
conditions specified by this Regulation.

Article 2

The total number of officials to be covered by the measures
referred to in Article 1 shall be 600.

(7)

Special measures should accordingly be adopted with
regard to termination of service together with internal

(1) Opinion delivered on 24 September 2002 (not yet published in the

Official Journal).

(2) Opinion delivered on 15 May 2002.
(3) OJ C 236, 1.10.2002, p. 1.
(4) OJ C 81, 21.3.2000, p. 1.

Respect for budgetary neutrality shall be monitored during the
the Appointing
end,
annual budget procedure. To this
Authority shall,
the link between the
taking into account
number of officials whose service was terminated and the
number of officials recruited, report to the budgetary authority
the condition of
at
budgetary neutrality is met.

the appropriate time, certifying that

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Article 3

Within the ceilings laid down in Article 2, and with due regard
to the interests of the service, the Commission, after having
consulted its Joint Committee, shall select, from among the offi-
cials applying for termination of their service under Article 1,
those to whom it wishes to apply this measure.

It shall consider as a priority officials affected by the reorganisa-
tion measures and measures for refocusing the use of
its
resources on priority activities,
in particular redeployment,
whose skills are deemed to be too far removed from 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 circumstances and
length of service.

Article 4

1.
Former officials 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 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.

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

4. Where gross income accruing to the former official from
any new employment, when combined with the allowance
provided for in paragraph 1, exceeds the total gross remunera-
tion last received by the official concerned, determined by refer-
ence 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.

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

The former official 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 allow-
ance, failing which he or she shall be liable to disciplinary
action as provided for in Article 86 of the Staff Regulations.

Such former officials may at any time, at

2.
their own
request, receive a retirement pension on the terms and condi-
tions 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
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).

5.
As set out in Article 67 of the Staff Regulations and Art-
icles 1, 2 and 3 of Annex VII thereto, the household allowance,
dependent child allowance and education allowance shall be
paid either to the recipient of 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
household allowance shall be calculated by reference to the
allowance provided for in paragraph 1.

the competent administrative authority;

At that point the former official shall automatically receive a
retirement pension, which shall take effect on the first day of
the calendar month following the month in which the allow-
ance was paid for the last time.

3.
The allowance provided for in paragraph 1 shall be
adjusted by the weighting fixed, in accordance with the second
subparagraph of Article 82(1) of the Staff Regulations, 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

If
resides in a country situated outside the
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 it is subject to the weighting of 100 under the second sub-
paragraph, it shall be paid in euro.

Provided they do not

receive income from gainful
6.
employment, recipients of the allowance shall be entitled, in
respect of themselves and persons covered by their insurance,
to benefits under the sickness insurance scheme provided for in
Article 72 of the Staff Regulations provided they pay the rele-
vant contribution, calculated on the basis of the allowance
provided for in paragraph 1.

During the period for which they are entitled to receive
7.
the allowance, but for not more than 65 months, former offi-
cials shall continue to acquire further rights to a retirement
pension based on the salary carried by their grade and step,
provided that the contribution provided for in the Staff Regula-
tions 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 subparagraph of Article 77 of the Staff
Regulations. For the purposes of Article 5 of Annex VIII to the
Staff Regulations, such period shall be considered to be a period
of service.

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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 they have been the spouse of the
former official for at least one year when he or she left the
service of the institution, to a survivor's pension equal to 60 %
of the retirement pension which would have been payable, in
the absence of any reduction under Article 9 of Annex VIII to
the Staff Regulations being made, 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
subparagraph 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 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.

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 resulted from one of the circum-
stances referred to at the end of the second subparagraph of
Article 17 of Annex VIII to the Staff Regulations.

9.
On the death of a former official in receipt of the allow-
ance provided for 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 subparagraphs of Article 80 of the
Staff Regulations and in Article 21 of Annex VIII to the Staff
Regulations.

Article 5

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

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that
of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Commu-
nities.

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

Done at Brussels, 30 September 2002.

For the Council

The President

P. S. MØLLER

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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 at the time of departure as shown in the table below:

Length of service

Age

from 55 to 56
years

from 57 to 58
years

from 59 to 60
years

from 61 to 62
years

63 years and
over

from 15 to 19 years

60,0 %

60,0 %

60,0 %

62,0 %

64,0 %

from 20 to 24 years

60,0 %

60,0 %

62,0 %

64,0 %

66,0 %

from 25 to 29 years

62,0 %

64,0 %

66,0 %

68,0 %

70,0 %

30 years and over

64,0 %

66,0 %

68,0 %

70,0 %

70,0 %

Level of allowance depending on age and length of service

Age and length of service will be considered in relation to the actual date of departure of the official concerned.

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