Opinion of the European Central Bank of 10 February 2014 on the reduction of statutory remuneration for senior officials in the public and semi-public sector (CON/2014/12)
Date: 2014-02-10
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Netherlands, central bank, civil servant, national law, remuneration of work

EN 

ECB-PUBLIC 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 10 February 2014 

on the reduction of statutory remuneration for senior officials in the public and semi-public sector 

(CON/2014/12)  

Introduction and legal basis 

On 16 December 2013, the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from the Dutch Ministry of 

the  Interior  and  Kingdom  Relations  for  an  opinion  on  a  draft  law  amending  the  Law  on  standards  for 
remuneration for senior officials in the public and semi-public sector1 (hereinafter the ‘draft law’). 

The ECB’s competence to deliver an opinion is based on Articles 127(4) and 282(5) of the Treaty on the 

Functioning of the European Union and the third indent of Article 2(1) of Council Decision 98/415/EC of 

29 June  1998  on  the  consultation  of  the  European  Central  Bank  by  national  authorities  regarding  draft 
legislative provisions2 as the draft law relates to De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). In accordance with the 

first  sentence  of  Article 17.5  of  the  Rules  of  Procedure  of  the  European  Central  Bank,  the  Governing 

Council has adopted this opinion. 

1.  

Purpose of the draft law 

1.1  The  draft  law  uses  the  remuneration  of  a  minister  as  the  basis  for  the  calculation  of  the 

remuneration of senior officials and sets a limit on the salaries for senior officials to a maximum of 

100%  of  a  minister’s  salary,  rather  than  the  current  limit  of  130%.  Although  the  wording  of  the 

draft law does not explicitly mention DNB senior officials, the definition of ‘senior officials’ in the 

draft law makes it clear that the DNB officials fall under the definition of the draft law. 

1.2  The  draft  law  lays  down  a  transitional  arrangement  that  distinguishes  between  two  categories  of 

senior  officials.  The  first  category  consists  of  those  senior  officials  whose  remuneration  on 

1 January  2013  exceeded  the  current  statutory  remuneration  maximum  of  130%  of  a  minister’s 

salary  (€  228,599).  This  remuneration  will  remain  unchanged  for  four  years,  and  then  it  will  be 

reduced over a period of three years to 130%. Following this three-year period, their remuneration 

will  be  reduced  over  two  years  to  100%. The  second  category  consists  of  senior  officials  whose 

remuneration was at or below the current statutory remuneration maximum of 130% of a minister’s 

salary, but above the proposed remuneration maximum of 100%.  Their remuneration will remain 

unchanged for four years, and will subsequently be reduced over the following three years to the 

new statutory remuneration maximum of 100%. 

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2  

Wet normering bezoldiging topfunctionarissen publieke en semipublieke sector (‘WNT’). 
OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42. 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
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1.3  The  Law  on  standards  for  remuneration  of  senior  officials  in  the  public  and  semi-public  sector3, 

which the  draft law  proposes  to  amend,  already  introduced a  limit  on the remuneration  for these 

senior officials, with effect from 1 January 2013. The salary component of the remuneration was 
set at € 187 3404. The ECB was not consulted on this  law despite the fact that it also applied to 

DNB officials. 

2. 

General observations 

The ECB understands that, as set out in the explanatory memorandum attached to the draft law, there is 

an  economic  and  social  need  for  the  Dutch  government  to  limit  the  maximum  remuneration  for  senior 

officials, taking into account  economic circumstances in  the Netherlands and internationally, as well as 
the  Dutch  Government’s  current  efforts  to  stabilise  public  finances5.  According  to  the  explanatory 

memorandum, the rationale of the draft law is not to reduce salaries, but rather to bring the remuneration 

of senior officials in the Netherlands to more socially acceptable, balanced and responsible levels. 

The  transitional  arrangement  mentioned  in  paragraph  1.2  above  allows  the  senior  officials  affected  a 

reasonable  time  to  adjust  to  their  new  financial  situation  or  to  find  alternative  employment.  Since  the 

decrease  in  remuneration  may  have  significant  financial  consequences  for  the  senior  officials,  such  a 

transitional  period is  welcome.  Respecting  the  current  remuneration  system  in  place  for  four  years  and 

then reducing it over three years also creates transparency. 

3. 

Specific observations 

3.1.  Financial independence 

3.1.1  The  ECB  Convergence  Reports  and  several  ECB  opinions6  have  elaborated  on  specific  issues 

relevant to central bank autonomy in staff matters. With regard to the financial independence of a 

national central bank (NCB), Member States may not impair an NCB’s ability to employ and retain 

the qualified staff necessary for the NCB to perform independently the tasks conferred on it by the 

Treaty and the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank. 

Furthermore,  an  NCB  may  not  be  put  into  a  position  where  it  has  limited  or  no  control  over  its 

staff, or where the government of a Member State is in a position to influence the NCB’s policy on 

staff matters. 

3.1.2  Article 7(3) of the draft law introduces a sliding-scale to reduce the remuneration of DNB senior 

officials. To protect DNB’s autonomy in staff matters, the Dutch authorities should ensure that any 

amendment to the legislative provisions on remuneration for members of DNB’s decision-making 

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5   
6  

Law of 15 November 2012, published in the Staatsblad (Government Gazette) nr. 583 (2012). 
This amount is based on the gross salary of a minister multiplied by 130%.  The other remuneration components are an 
employer’s share of social premiums, taxable expenses and pension entitlements. 
See Opinion CON/2009/47. All ECB opinions are published on the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu. 
See Opinions CON/2008/9, CON/2008/10, CON/2009/45, CON/2009/47, CON/2010/42 and CON/2010/51. 

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bodies  and  staff  is  decided  in  close  and  effective  cooperation  with  DNB,  taking  due  account  of 
DNB’s views, to ensure the ongoing ability of DNB to independently carry out its tasks7. 

3.2.  Personal independence of the members of DNB’s decision-making bodies 

Article 130 of the Treaty prohibits, inter alia, national governments from influencing the members 

of NCBs’ decision-making bodies in the performance of their tasks. The draft law will affect not 

only DNB’s senior officials but, more generally, all senior officials in the public and semi-public 

sector. The ECB understands that the draft law forms part of a broader legislative reform that seeks 

to reduce remuneration for all employees in the public and semi-public sectors. Additionally, the 

draft  law  provides  for  a  transitional  period  before  changes  in  the  remuneration  apply.  However, 

Member States may also not seek to influence the members of the NCB’s decision-making bodies 

by  amending  national  legislation  affecting  their  remuneration,  which,  as  a  matter  of  principle, 

should  not  affect  the  terms  under  which  they  have  been  appointed.  Consequently,  the  draft  law 
should specifically provide that such an amendment should apply only for future appointments8. 

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 10 February 2014. 

[signed] 

The President of the ECB 

Mario DRAGHI 

7  
8  

See the ECB’s Convergence Report, 2013, p.27.  
See  the  ECB’s  Convergence  Report,  2013,  p.  23  and  Opinions  CON/2011/104,  CON/2011/106,  CON/2008/10  and 
CON/2010/42. 

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