Decision of the Bureau of 19 May and 9 July 2008 concerning implementing measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament

The Bureau shall adopt any additional measures deemed necessary to facilitate the implementation of Members’ decisions with regard to paragraph 3.

Former Members shall be entitled to the transitional allowance. Where they hold a mandate in another parliament or a public office, the salary to which they are entitled shall be offset against the transitional allowance.

Article 2(3) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the transitional allowance.

For the purposes of this Article, ‘another parliament’ shall mean any parliament with legislative powers which is established in a Member State.

For the purposes of this Article, ‘public office’ shall mean any of the following:

Where a former Member is simultaneously entitled to the transitional allowance and to an old-age or invalidity pension as referred to in Article 14 and Article 15 respectively of the Statute, the former Member shall receive whichever of the two payments he or she opts to receive. He or she shall notify the Secretary-General of his or her decision no later than three months after the end of his or her mandate. That decision shall be irrevocable.

If the former Member opts for payment of the transitional allowance, this shall result in suspension of payment of the old-age pension or invalidity pension for the duration of the period of payment of the transitional allowance.

In order to be able to receive the transitional allowance, the former Member shall apply to the Secretary-General for it not later than three months after the end of his or her mandate, attaching a written statement indicating whether he or she is performing any of the duties referred to in Article 46.

If Article 47(1) applies, this statement shall be accompanied by the decision referred to there.

Any change in the conditions which gave rise to the award of the transitional allowance which may necessitate a change in this entitlement shall be notified to the Secretary-General without delay. Where there is any doubt, the Secretary-General may ask the person concerned to submit his or her observations.

If, on the basis of facts verifiable from sources available to the public, it comes to the knowledge of the Secretary-General that the former Member is performing the duties referred to in Article 46, he shall suspend payment of the transitional allowance and inform the person concerned accordingly.

A former Member may renounce his or her entitlement to the transitional allowance at any time. He or she shall notify the Secretary-General of that decision.

After the cessation of their term of office, Members who have exercised their mandate for at least one complete year shall be entitled, for life, to an old-age pension payable from the first day of the month following that in which they reach the age of 63.

Payment of the old-age pension shall be suspended in the case of any pension claimant who is re-elected to Parliament. Old-age pension entitlements which he or she acquires as a result of his or her new mandate shall be added to the old-age pension entitlements acquired before his or her re-election. Payment of the old-age pension shall resume when the Member relinquishes his or her mandate in Parliament.

When a Member’s mandates are separated by an intervening period, the periods of all the mandates shall be added together for the purpose of calculating the old-age pension.

An old-age pension which a former Member receives by virtue of a mandate which he or she exercised in another parliament simultaneously with his or her mandate in the European Parliament shall be offset against the old-age pension.

‘Another parliament’ as referred to in paragraph 1 shall mean the parliament defined in Article 2(2).

The calculation shall be based on the total of the two salaries before the deduction of tax.

Any former Member who has exercised a mandate in another parliament simultaneously with the mandate in Parliament shall declare the old-age pension to which he or she is entitled by virtue of the mandate in that other parliament.

A Member who has been recognised, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 55, as suffering from total invalidity preventing him or her from performing his duties and who therefore resigns shall be entitled to an invalidity pension from the date on which the resignation takes effect, without prejudice to paragraph 3.

The entitlement to an invalidity pension shall lapse if the Member fails to notify his or her resignation within three months of the date on which the decision establishing his or her invalidity has been officially communicated to him or her.

The entitlement to an invalidity pension shall begin at the end of the parliamentary term during which the invalidity has arisen:

The amount of the invalidity pension shall be 3,5 % of the salary referred to in Article 10 of the Statute for each complete year in which the mandate was exercised and, for each additional complete month, one-twelfth of that sum, but shall be at least 35 % of that salary, while not exceeding a total of 70 %.

The rules on the calculation of the old-age pension shall apply mutatis mutandis to the calculation of the invalidity pension.

An invalidity pension which a former Member receives by virtue of a mandate which he or she exercised in another parliament simultaneously with the mandate in Parliament shall be offset against the invalidity pension.

‘Another parliament’ as referred to in paragraph 1 shall mean the parliament defined in Article 2(2).

Any former Member who has exercised a mandate in another parliament simultaneously with the mandate in Parliament shall declare the invalidity pension to which he or she is entitled by virtue of the mandate in that other parliament.

The Member or his or her legal representative shall submit the application for retirement on grounds of invalidity to the President of Parliament, accompanied by a medical certificate, indicating the name of the doctor who has been instructed to represent him or her in the invalidity committee referred to in Article 56.

Within three months of being convened by the Secretary-General, the invalidity committee referred to in Article 56 shall submit, in accordance with the terms of reference issued by Parliament, a medical report, stating reasons, assessing whether the conditions referred to in Article 51 have been met. In exceptional cases, this time-limit may be extended by the Secretary-General.

On a proposal from the invalidity committee, the President of Parliament shall establish that the Member concerned qualifies for retirement on grounds of invalidity and shall inform him or her of the decision, asking him or her to resign. In the event of a negative decision, the President shall inform the Member of the available appeal procedures.

The invalidity committee shall consist of three doctors:

The expenses arising from the work of the invalidity committee, including travel expenses, shall be borne by Parliament.

The Member may submit to the invalidity committee all reports or certificates issued by the doctor treating him or her or by those practitioners whom he or she has seen fit to consult.

The proceedings of the invalidity committee shall be secret.

Former Members who no longer meet the conditions laid down in Article 51 shall forfeit their entitlement to an invalidity pension.

Until the former Member reaches the age of 63, Parliament may require him or her to undergo examination every five years by a doctor appointed to check whether he or she still meets the required conditions for eligibility for an invalidity pension.

This examination may also be conducted before the time indicated in paragraph 2, particularly if Parliament has received information that the former Member is performing duties in return for payment. If the occasion arises, this situation shall be assessed on the basis of facts verifiable from sources available to the public, in the light of the circumstances of each case and after an investigation in which each side has the opportunity to submit its case and reply to the case of the other side.

At the proposal of the doctor conducting the examination, the invalidity committee may establish that the state of health of the former Member has so improved that he or she no longer meets the conditions referred to in Article 51.

The decision to terminate the invalidity pension shall be taken by the President of Parliament, on the basis of the conclusions of the invalidity committee. Articles 55 and 56 shall apply mutatis mutandis. If the former Member fails to appoint a doctor to represent him or her in the invalidity committee, Article 56(1), second subparagraph, shall apply.

The surviving spouse and any children who, at the time of the death of a Member or former Member who was entitled to or was in the process of acquiring an entitlement to an old-age or invalidity pension, were dependent on him or her, shall be entitled to a survivor’s pension and orphans' pensions respectively.

For the purpose of the application of the provisions of this chapter, stable non-marital partners shall be treated in the same way as spouses, on condition that the couple produce an official document recognised as such by a Member State or by any competent authority of a Member State acknowledging their status as non-marital partners.

The term ‘dependent child’ means the legitimate, natural or adopted child of a Member, or Member’s spouse, who was actually being maintained by the Member or former Member. The term ‘dependent child’ also means an unborn child or a child in respect of whom the Member or former Member has started an adoption procedure and whose adoption is completed after his or her death.

The maximum amount of the survivor’s pension and the orphan’s pension may not exceed the amount of the old-age pension to which the Member would have been entitled at the end of the parliamentary term, taking into account the period which passes between the date of death and the date of the end of the parliamentary term.

In the case of former Members, the maximum amount of the survivor’s and the orphan’s pension may not exceed the amount of the old-age pension which the Member was receiving or to which he or she would have been entitled.

The amount of the survivor’s pension for the surviving spouse shall be 60 % of the amount referred to in paragraph 1 or 2 and, at the minimum, 30 % of the salary referred to in Article 10 of the Statute, even if the latter amount exceeds the amounts referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2.

The amount of the orphan’s pension for a dependent child shall be 20 % of the amount referred to in paragraph 1 or 2.

Where the number of children exceeds two, the maximum amount of the orphans' pensions which may be awarded shall be shared equally among the orphans entitled to them.

Where applicable, the maximum amount of the pension to be paid shall be shared between the spouse and the dependent children in accordance with the percentages laid down in paragraphs 3, 4 and 5.

A survivor’s or orphan’s pension shall be awarded with effect from the first day of the calendar month following decease.

In the event of the death of the beneficiary, the entitlement to a survivor’s pension shall lapse at the end of the month in which the beneficiary dies.

The entitlement to an orphan’s pension shall lapse at the end of the month in which the orphan reaches the age of 21.

The implementation of these Implementing Measures and any application for payment submitted under these Implementing Measures shall be consistent with the provisions of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council ([^E0007]) and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012 ([^E0008]).

Where these implementing measures provide for the conclusion of contracts between Parliament and third parties, the competent authorising officer shall be empowered to sign them.

The sums paid pursuant to these implementing measures, on the basis of the provisions of Title I, Chapters 4, 5 and 6, shall be reserved exclusively for the funding of activities linked to the exercise of a Member’s mandate and may not be used to cover personal expenses or to fund grants or donations of a political nature.

Members shall pay back any unused amounts to Parliament except where they are defrayed in the form of a lump sum.

Payments under these implementing measures shall be made by bank transfer in accordance with the provisions of Directive 2007/64/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 November 2007 on payment services in the internal market ([^E0009]). Parliament shall bear the charges payable by the payer. Any other charges shall be payable by the payee.

Payments shall be made in euros, unless the recipient, who was elected or who has his or her place of residence in a Member State which does not belong to the eurozone, requests full or part payment in the currency of that Member State.

Conversions between the euro and other currencies shall be carried out using the monthly accounting rate for the euro fixed in accordance with Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 of 23 December 2002 laying down detailed rules for implementing the Financial Regulation ([^E0010]).

In respect of payments of parliamentary assistance expenses, by way of derogation from paragraph 3 conversions between the euro and other currencies shall be carried out using the monthly accounting rate for the euro for the December of the preceding year. However, over the course of a parliamentary term the maximum monthly defrayal to a Member denominated in a national currency may not, following annual index-linking and any increase decided on by the Bureau, be lower than the amount fixed for the previous year.

On taking up his or her duties, each Member shall forward to Parliament’s relevant department details (IBAN number, BIC (SWIFT) code and address of the bank) of one or more accounts in his or her name intended to receive payments in respect of the salary provided for in Article 10 of the Statute, the other allowances and the reimbursement of other expenses.

Any payment to a person other than the Member shall be contingent on prior submission of a document issued by the recipient’s bank confirming that he or she is the holder of the account into which payment is to be made and setting out the IBAN number of the account, the BIC (SWIFT) code and the address of the bank.

As regards payments in connection with parliamentary assistance, the Member shall forward details of the personal staff member’s bank account to the paying agent or, in the case referred to in  Article 32(5), to the relevant department. The personal staff member’s bank account shall be opened in the Member State where he or she primarily carries out his or her duties. The payments shall be denominated in the currency in which the personal staff member’s salary or fees are fixed.

The salary provided for in Article 10 of the Statute, the transitional allowance and pensions shall be paid on the 15th day of the month for the current month. The general expenditure allowance shall be paid on the first day of the month for the current month.

Payments in respect of parliamentary assistance expenses shall be made to the paying agent or, in the case referred to in  Article 32(4) and (5), the local assistant on the 15th day of the month for the current month.

Other expenses shall be reimbursed on submission of the documents required by these implementing measures.

The deadlines for submitting the documents required by these implementing measures shall be as follows:

The Secretary-General may make specific arrangements concerning advance payments in respect of ordinary travel expenses and subsistence expenses.

Any sum unduly paid pursuant to these implementing measures shall be recovered. The Secretary-General shall issue instructions with a view to recovery of the sums in question from the Member concerned.

Any decision concerning the recovery of undue payments shall be consistent with the requirement that Members should be able to exercise their mandate effectively and with the smooth running of Parliament. Before any decision is taken, the Member concerned shall be heard by the Secretary-General.

This article shall also apply to former Members and third parties.

The amounts referred to in Article 15, point (c), and Articles 20, 22(1) and (3), 24(2)  and 42(2) may be index-linked annually by the Bureau up to a maximum increase equal to the annual inflation rate in the European Union in October of the previous year, as published by Eurostat.

Where appropriate, the amount referred to in  Article 29(4) shall be index-linked annually by the Bureau on the basis of the joint index established by Eurostat, by agreement with the national statistical offices of the Member States, pursuant to Article 65 of Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68. That index-linking may be backdated to the July of the year to which the index relates.

The salary provided for in Article 10 of the Statute, the transitional allowance or the old-age pension may be the subject of an attachment order, up to a maximum of one-third of the sum involved, on the basis of a decision by the courts or by the competent administrative authority.

The Secretary-General shall issue instructions with a view to the implementation of such a measure. Those instructions shall be consistent with the requirement that Members should be able to exercise their mandate effectively and with the smooth running of Parliament. Before any such instructions are issued, the Member concerned shall be heard.

A Member who takes the view that these implementing measures have not been correctly applied to him or her by the competent service may address a written complaint to the Secretary-General.

A Member who does not agree with the decision of the Secretary-General may, within two months after notification of the Secretary-General's decision, request that the matter be referred to the Quaestors, who shall take a decision after consulting the Secretary-General.

If a party to the complaint procedure does not agree with the decision adopted by the Quaestors, he or she may, within two months after notification of that decision, request that the matter be referred to the Bureau, which shall take the final decision.

This Article shall also apply to a Member's legal successor as well as to former Members and their legal successors.

Where these Implementing Measures refer to the submission of applications for reimbursement or defrayal, such applications may be submitted in electronic form together with a digital signature.

Where these Implementing Measures require the submission of supporting documents, such documents may be submitted in the form of scanned copies, provided that the Member declares on his or her honour that the documents submitted match the originals thereof.

In order that checks may be carried out to match scanned copies of supporting documents with the originals thereof, Members shall keep the originals until 31 December of the calendar year following that in which the application for reimbursement or defrayal was submitted.

The survivor’s pension, the invalidity pension, the additional invalidity pension granted for dependent children and the old-age pension paid pursuant to Annexes I, II and III to the PEAM Rules shall continue to be paid pursuant to those annexes to those persons who were in receipt of the benefits in question prior to the date of entry into force of the Statute.

The old-age pension rights acquired prior to the date of entry into force of the Statute pursuant to the aforementioned Annex III shall be maintained. Persons who have acquired rights under that pension scheme shall receive a pension calculated on the basis of their acquired rights pursuant to the aforementioned Annex III as soon as they meet the relevant conditions laid down by the national law of the Member State concerned and they have submitted the application referred to in Article 3(2) of the aforementioned Annex III.

An additional pension which becomes payable from 1 July 2023 to former Members or other beneficiaries pursuant to Articles 1, 3 and 4 of Annex VII to the PEAM Rules shall be paid subject to the following conditions and derogations:

Any additional pension pursuant to Articles 1 and 2 of Annex VII to the PEAM Rules, which has not yet become payable on 1 January 2019, shall be subject to a special levy amounting to 5 % of the nominal amount of the pension. The levy shall be directly payable to the Additional (Voluntary) Pension Fund.

Members elected in 2009:

Members must pay their contributions to the additional pension fund from their own income.

Without prejudice to Article 1(6) of Annex VII to the PEAM Rules, during a period of six months from 1 July 2023, a Member or former Member, who has joined the Additional (Voluntary) Pension Scheme within the meaning of Annex VII to the PEAM Rules may lodge an application to withdraw from the Additional (Voluntary) Pension Scheme and to receive the additional pension in the form of a one-off lump sum final payment. That application shall be signed by the Member or former Member and submitted by him or her to the Secretary General of the European Parliament. An application countersigned by the Secretary General shall become binding and irrevocable. The Secretary General may delegate the power to countersign to a representative of the competent service of the European Parliament.

The transitional allowance granted pursuant to Annex V to the PEAM Rules shall continue to be paid, pursuant to that annex, to those persons who were in receipt of the allowance prior to the date of entry into force of the Statute.

Members who definitively cease to exercise their parliamentary mandate at the end of the sixth parliamentary term shall be paid the transitional allowance provided for in the aforementioned Annex V.

For those Members who receive the salary provided for in Article 10 of the Statute and whose term of office ends after the date of entry into force of the Statute, the period during which they exercised their mandate prior to that date shall be taken into account when calculating the amount of the transitional allowance granted pursuant to Article 13 of the Statute.

However, the Members referred to in paragraph 3 may ask that the pro rata amount of the transitional allowance should be calculated, in respect of the part of their term of office which precedes the date of entry into force of the Statute, in accordance with the rules laid down in Annex V to the PEAM Rules. The period taken into account when calculating that pro rata amount shall be deducted from the maximum period laid down in Article 13(2) of the Statute.

The provisions of  Articles 30 and 31, as amended by the Bureau decision of 26 October 2015, concerning the number of assistants and the remuneration of assistants and paying agents shall not affect contracts that are still valid, provided that applications for defrayal of the expenses arising from them have been submitted to the relevant department before 27 October 2015.

Contracts of the kind referred to in paragraph 1 may only be renewed or modified in accordance with the provisions of Title I, Chapter 5.

Members re-elected in 2009 who have exercised the right conferred on them by Article 25 of the Statute shall be paid the salary, the transitional allowance, the old-age pension, the invalidity pension and the survivor’s pension in respect of the period after the entry into force of the Statute only in accordance with the conditions laid down by their national laws, the cost to be debited solely to the budget of the Member State concerned.

This arrangement shall also apply to Members in respect of whom their Member State of election has adopted a derogation pursuant to Article 29 of the Statute.

By way of derogation from Article 7(2), in the case of Members in respect of whom their Member State of election has adopted a derogation pursuant to Article 29 of the Statute or who, pursuant to Article 25 of the Statute, have themselves opted for a national scheme, the one-third part of the insurance premium payable by Members shall be paid directly and individually from a personal account.

By way of derogation from Article 3(1), former Members who are in receipt of a national pension, pursuant to Article 25 or Article 29 of the Statute, shall be entitled to reimbursement of two-thirds of their medical expenses, of pregnancy-related expenses or of expenses relating to the birth of a child in accordance with the conditions laid down in these implementing measures if they do not enjoy primary cover against the risk of illness.

The former Members who are in receipt of a national pension, pursuant to Article 25 or Article 29 of the Statute, and are suffering from a recognised serious illness shall be entitled to reimbursement of their medical expenses related to the continuation of an ongoing treatment, in accordance with the conditions laid down in these implementing measures, provided that: