CELEX: 51991PC0077
Language: en
Date: 1991-03-15
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) ADJUSTING THE DAILY SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCE RATES FOR OFFICIALS ON MISSION LAID DOWN IN ARTICLE 13 OF ANNEX VII TO THE STAFF REGULATIONS OF OFFICIALS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                               C0M(91) 77 final
                                               Brussels, 15 March 1991
                              Proposal for a
                         COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC)
adjusting the daily subsistence allowance rates for officials on mission
      laid down in Article 13 of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations
                of Officials of the European Communities
                      (presented by the Commission)
 ---pagebreak---                               ~i-
                      EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1. The last general revision of the rates of the allowances for missions
within the Community vas based an a survey carried oat In January and
February I960 the results of which were incorporated In Council Regulation
No 2339/88 of 23 July 1988.
The scales fixed then no longer reflect prevailing economic conditions and
so the rates of the daily subsistence allowanoe and the owning for the
reimbursement of hotel expenses for ^g^(ff«? within the Member States
urgently need revision.
The rates currently payable are as follows:
                        Al-,
                           -A3          A4 - B         Other Cyr*Ae*i
    Country       Hôtel    Allowance   Allowance         Allowance
 GERMANY        2 925       2 295      4 060              3 755
 BELGIUM        2 700       2 485      3 625              3 355
 DENMARK        4 960       2 940      5 455              5 045
 SPAIN          3 345       2 015      3 975              3 675
 FRANCE         3 105       2 215      3 845              3 555
 GREECE         2 120       1 480      2 390              2 210
 TBETAMn        4 000       2 400      4 480              4 145
 ITALY          4 260       2 355      4 535              4 195
 LUXEMBOURG     2 410       2 330      3 625              3 355
 NETHERLANDS     3 660      2 520      4 390              4 060
 PORTUGAL       3 155       1 680      3 260               3 015
 UNITED
 KINGDOM        3 490       2 130      4 740              4 385
 ---pagebreak---                                             - 2 -
2.   Ttasrlfl n f tJre «ivrvwy
2.1. The latest survey (during the first half of 1990) covered the hotels
used in the previous survey, conducted in January and February 1988.
Only in the odd oases where the hotels used previously had closed down or
had been substantially regraded were other hotels substituted.
2.2.5. First-class hotels, other than those charging excessively high
prices, were taken for officials in Grades Al - A3 and second-class hotels
for those in other grades.
To provide a coherent frame of reference and in the absence of
internationally accepted hotel gradings, there was no alternative but to
use the Michelin guide, which is the only currently available work that
covers all the Community countries. There the following classification is
used:
         one house                       fairly comfortable
         two houses                      comfortable
         one turret                     very oornfortahl e
         .two turrets                    extremely oomfortable
         three turrets                   luxurious and traditional
First-class hotels are those with one or two turrets in the Michelin guide.
Second-class hotels are those with two houses, and occasionally one turret
if there are too few of the others. Those with only one house do not
offer a sufficient standard of comfort, often have too few roams with
bathrooms and often have rooms lacking telephones and writing tables. They
have therefore not been Included as reference hotels.
3.   Rrvwltrinun r>4> -hh*     ftltnwMV*»
The allowance covering all mission expenses (Article 13(6) of Annex VII to
the Staff Regulations) may be broken down as follows:
 ---pagebreak---                                     - 3 -
Grades A1-A3:
        hotel op.111ng plus flat-rate allowance covering breakfast
                                                         two meals
                                                         sundry expenses
Other grades:
        flat-rate allowanoe covering hotel costs
                                      breakfast
                                      two meals
                                      sundry expenses.
4.   Assessment of the various factors oonsti1avM:ng +ba A.11 nwarra
4.1.   Hotel costs: see 2.2 above.
4.2. Cost of brftairP*.crh: average of prices quoted by the hotels used for
reference.
Hotel costs do not include breakfast (Article 13 of Annex V U to the Staff
Regulations).
If, in the case of staff in Grades A1-A3 the hotel price includes
breakfast, a deduction is made of either its actual cost or, if this cannot
be determined, a flat 7.7% of the price of the room (Commission decision -
procedure E/447/67, 9.4.1987).
4.3.   P-nsrh n f -hun mftalg
4.3.1.    Lunch
For Brussels and Luxembourg (average of a + b )
(a)   Snack or moderately priced lunch - average price of:
        - a set menu at an institution restaurant,
        - a set menu at an institution oafetaria,
        - a set menu at a snack bar in town,
        + a drink and a coffee.
(b) Simple meal: average price in a reference hotel or, falling that, in
a Michelin Guide two-fork restaurant in the case of officials in
Grades A1-A3 and in a one-fork restaurant in the case of other officials,
for:
        - a menu of the day or business lunch,
        + a drink and a coffee.
 ---pagebreak---                                    - 4 -
For the other places (average of o + d ) :              •
(o) snack
(d) same as (b) above
The sum of the prices of these meals is divided by two to give the part of
the allowance covering the cost of the midday meal.
4.3.2.   rH^r**7»
Price of one full meal (à la carte - average prices with a drink and
coffee) in the reference hotels or, falling that, in the restaurants used
for (b).
The price of these meals (average of midday plus evening meal) is added
together to give the part of the allowanoe covering meals.
4.4.   Sundry expenses.
Sundry expenses are supposed to oover the cost of four (two return)
Journeys by publio transport and two local telephone calls.
5.   Agreements with hotels
5.1.   General
Generally speaking, except for Brussels, Luxembourg and Madrid, it has
proved virtually impossible to conclude agreements with hotels to secure
price reductions, because:
- hotels cannot be guaranteed a minimum number of bed-nights, since the
   Administration would be unable to provide efficient central 1 zed
   management of reservations or compel staff to use particular hotels;
-  special prices are impossible to obtain, hotels being already fully
   booked at certain times, as in tourist centres and towns of special
   specific interest, such as Strasbourg when Parliament is sitting.
 ---pagebreak---                                      - 5-
5.2. ftrngfiglg - Luxembourg - ifaH-Hri
        For the cities of Brussels and Luxembourg, having regard to the
        presence of the institutions and the number of overnight stays
        and the frequency of trips that this gives rise to, it has been
        possible, in certain cases, to obtain special prices.
        For the same reasons, it has also been necessary to look very
        closely at the list of reference hotels ensure that they meet
        the minimum requirements set out above. Some adjustments have
        had to be made.
        For Madrid, with virtually all hotels offering price reductions,
        consideration was alsu given to this point when drafting the
        proposal.
5.3.   OtihflT plftOffi
In calculating the allowanoe for other places no account was taken of the
few, somewhat rare reductions (which in any event could not be relied on)
granted by certain establishments. The range of meeting places and hotel
facilities is so widely scattered as to make the sums in question almost
negligible and with little likelihood of staff staying in these hotels,
they cannot be regarded as representative.
6.   Cost saving
In an effort to save costs in reimbursing hotel expenses specifically for
Categories A1-A3 (reimtursement against bills) and to some extent other
categories of officials (flat-rate refund, unless otherwise authorized),
the Commission Administration is presently Issuing its officials with lists
of hotels offering value for money and/or granting price reductions under
specific agreements made during the survey.
7.   Short-term outlook - pmpnsw.1
In order to ensure that the allowances paid to officials on mission are
kept properly in line with the rising costs of hotel accommodation arrf
restaurants, and with requests from the other institutions to that effect,
the time has come to propose a new method of adjustment that will reflect
the economic realities in the places to which officials are sent.
 ---pagebreak---                                    - 6 -
Adjustments are currently made on the basis of 'one-off surveys conducted
at each place of destination listed In this proposal, in order to ascertain
in situ, whether our listed hotels and restaurants have maintained their
standards and how far their prices have risen.
These surveys commit substantial resources and might In future be scheduled
for every three years.
However, so that adjustments can be made annually^ as In all areas where
administrative expenditure is Involved, the Commission Administration is
having a study carried out to identify eoonomio indicators specific to the
hotel and catering trades.
The study is now under way and approaches have been made to the national
tourist boards and the Statistical Office of the European Communities.
Subject to its satisfactory outcome, and if the budgetary authority
approved this new method, future adjustments might be made on two separate
(i)     a special on-the-spot survey of a large number of selected hotels
        and restaurants every three years;
(11)   (the economic indicators for each intermediate year.
6.   Results of the survey
As stated at 7, the cost increases noted were recorded during the
on-the-spot surveys.
Although the percentage increases In the two sectors (hotels and
restaurants) are unrelated to the general rise In prices notified by the
Statistical Office, they still dearly to some extent correspond.
The rates of Inflation are therefore shown as a guide In the attached table
(Annex 1) but do not by any means necessarily reflect the Increases we have
found, particularly in the hotel trade where these Increases may be very
substantial.
As regards restaurants, the price rises have been much more in line with
inflation.
 ---pagebreak---                              - * -
Proposal for Council Regulation          adjusting the daily subsistence
allowanoe rates for officials on mission laid down in Article 13 of
Annex V U to the Staff Begulations of Officials of the European Comraunities
THE OUUNUIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing a Single Council and a Single
Commission of the European Communities,
Having regard to the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of
Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities laid down by
Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68,1 as last amended by
Regulation (Euratom, ECSC, EEC) No 3736/90,2 and in particular
Article 13(9) of Annex V U to the Staff Regulations and Articles 22 and 67
of the Conditions of Employment,
Having rega£ to the proposal from the Commission,
Whereas, in view of the increased costs recorded in the different places of
employment in the Member States, the rates of daily subsistence allowanoe
for officials on mission should be adjusted,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Articlel
Article 13 of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations is amended as follows:
1.   The scale in paragraph 1(a) is replaced by the following:
1 QJ L 56, 4.3.1968, p.l.
2 QJ L 360, 22.12.1990, p.l.
 ---pagebreak---                                 - t f -
                                                                    (BFR)
                          I                  H               HI
                   Grades Al to A3      Grades A4 to A6, Other grades
                       andIA3           IA4 to LA8 and
                                        Category B
 Belgium           -2 635                  4 690              3 900
                    3 130                  6 120              8 660
 Germany            2 468                  4 228              3 910
 Greece             1 680                  2 660              2 668
 France             2 398                  4 300              3 960
                    2 868                  8 238              4 640
 Italy              2 610                  8 618              6 198
 Inxprnhcflirg      2 638                  4 435              3 600
 Netherlands        2 628                  4 988              4 668
 United
                    2 610                  6 755              6 328
 Spain              2 680                  8 230              4 640
 Portugal           2 000                  4 180              3 640
2.    The first sentence of paragraph 2 is amended to read as follows:
"2. In addition to the rates set out in Column I of the foregoing scale,
the hotel bill covering room, service and taxes, but excluding breakfast
shall be reimbursed up to a maximum of BFR 2 838 for Greece, BFR 3 305 for
Luxembourg, BFR 3 670 for Belgium, BFR 3 210 for France, BFR 4 420 for the
Netherlands, BFR 3 228 for Germany, BFR 6 038 for Denmark, BFR 4 985 for
Italy, BFR 4 305 for the United Kingdom. BFR 4 418 for Ireland, BFR 4 665
for Spain and BFR 3 628 for Portugal. "
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.
Done at                                                    For the Council
                                                           The President
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---                                                                                ISSN 0254-1475
                                                                   COM(91) 77 final
                                                     DOCUMENTS
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