Council Regulation (EU) 2016/300 of 29 February 2016 determining the emoluments of EU high-level public office holders

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 243 and Article 286(7) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) It is for the Council to determine the salaries, allowances and pensions of EU high-level public office holders (‘public office holders’), including the President of the European Council (1), the President and members of the Commission (2), the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (3), the Presidents, Judges, Advocates-General and Registrars of the Court of Justice of the European Union (4), the President and members of the Court of Auditors (5), and the Secretary-General of the Council (6), together with any payment to be made instead of remuneration.

(2) It is appropriate that the emoluments and other benefits of public office holders reflect their high responsibilities, and therefore such emoluments and other benefits may differ from those referred to in the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union (‘Staff Regulations’).

(3) Some adjustments to the current emoluments and other benefits of public office holders are nonetheless appropriate in order to reflect the institutional developments in the Union and to modernise the structure of emoluments, in particular by reflecting, where necessary, the amendments introduced by Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1023/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (7) (‘Staff Regulations’). In light of the reforms to the Staff Regulations, several amendments need to be made to Regulation No 422/67/EEC, No 5/67/Euratom. Similarly, Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 2290/77 (8) also needs to be updated to take account of reforms to the Staff Regulations. In light of the number of substantial modifications to both Regulations (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 2290/77 and Regulation No 422/67/EEC, No 5/67/Euratom, regulating emoluments of various public office holders, it is appropriate, in the interests of clarity, transparency and good legislative practice, to merge the two Regulations.

(4) With a view to safeguarding a balance between EU staff members and public office holders, as regards emoluments, it is appropriate to include measures to align the treatment of public office holders with that of EU staff members in situations where the latter have benefited from a modernised structure of emoluments, such as with regard to automatic updates of allowances and to the possibility of joining the Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme, including after termination of a mandate.

(5) Furthermore, it is appropriate to adjust the annual pension accrual rate and to align the pensionable age with the amendments to the Staff Regulations and the applicable accrual rate to be determined with reference to the Staff Regulations, to ensure automatic adjustment with regard to future amendments to the Staff Regulations.

(6) Other amendments should ensure that the duration of the entitlement of former public office holders to the monthly transitional allowance should correspond directly to the period of service. However, this duration should not be less than 6 months and no more than 2 years, on the understanding that the purpose of the transitional allowance for public office holders is to ensure, for a limited period directly following their term of office, a certain level of financial security until their next paid employment with a similar level of remuneration, or other source of income such as their pension.

(7) It is also appropriate to align the allowances and reimbursement of costs due upon taking up duties and when ceasing to hold office with those paid to officials and other servants under the Staff Regulations, while providing for some flexibility when it is necessary, in particular in the case of the reimbursement of removal costs that takes into account the representative functions of public office holders.

(8) It is necessary to bring into line the conditions for sickness insurance cover for current and former public office holders by aligning them with the conditions of insurance cover applicable to officials and other servants under Articles 72 and 73 of the Staff Regulations.

(9) For the same reasons, since the rules established by this Regulation should replace those laid down in Regulation No 422/67/EEC, No 5/67/Euratom, Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 2290/77, and Decisions 2009/909/EU, 2009/910/EU, and 2009/912/EU with the exception of Article 5 thereof, those acts should be repealed without prejudice to their continuing application to all public office holders to whom one or more of those acts apply and whose mandates are ongoing on, or have ended before, the date of entry into force of this Regulation,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

CHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

Scope

(a) the President of the European Council;

(b) the President and members of the European Commission, including the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy;

(c) the President and members, as well as the Registrar, of the Court of Justice of the European Union, including those of the General Court and of specialised tribunals;

(d) the Secretary-General of the Council;

(e) the President and members of the Court of Auditors.

CHAPTER II

REMUNERATION

Article 2

Salaries

From the date of taking up their duties until the last day of the month in which they cease to hold office, public office holders shall be entitled to a basic salary equal to the amount resulting from application of the following percentages to the basic salary of an official of the Union on the third step of grade 16:

Article 3

Tax for the benefit of the Union — Solidarity levy

CHAPTER III

ALLOWANCES

Article 4

Installation and resettlement allowances — Removal and travelling expenses

Public office holders shall be entitled to:

(a) an installation allowance on taking up their duties as provided for in Article 5 of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations which is to apply mutatis mutandis;

(b) a resettlement allowance on ceasing to hold office as provided for in Article 24(2) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union which is to apply mutatis mutandis;

(c) reimbursement of travelling expenses incurred for themselves and for members of their family; and

(d) reimbursement of the cost of removal of their personal effects and furniture, including insurance against ordinary risks, such as theft, breakage, and fire, up to the ceiling fixed for officials of the institution to which public office holders are appointed, pursuant to Article 9 of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations. Upon presentation of invoices, the institutions may provide for derogations for reimbursement of the effective removal costs that in any case shall not exceed by more than 50 % the ceiling fixed by the corresponding institutions for their staff.

If their term of office is renewed, public office holders shall not be entitled to any of the allowances set out in this Article. Nor shall they be so entitled if they are appointed as public office holders, or elected members, of another institution of the Union, if that institution has its seat in the town where they were formerly required to reside by reason of their office and if, at the time of the new appointment or election, they have not already effected their resettlement.

Article 5

Residence allowance

From the date of taking up their duties until the last day of the month in which they cease to hold office, public office holders shall be entitled to a residence allowance equal to 15 % of their basic salary.

Article 6

Family allowances

From the date of taking up their duties until the last day of the month in which they cease to hold office, public office holders shall be entitled to family allowances fixed by analogy with Article 67 of the Staff Regulations and Articles 1 to 3 of Annex VII to those Regulations.

Article 7

Entertainment allowance

Public office holders shall receive a monthly entertainment allowance, in euros, amounting to:

Article 8

Special duty allowance

Presiding Judges of Chambers of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the First Advocate-General shall, in addition to the allowances set out in Articles 4 to 7, receive during their term of office a special duty allowance, in euros, per month as set out in the following table:

Article 9

Mission expenses

Public office holders required in the course of their duties to travel away from the seat of their institution shall be entitled to:

(a) reimbursement of travelling expenses;

(b) reimbursement of hotel expenses (room, service and taxes only);

(c) daily subsistence allowance while on mission equal, for each complete day of absence, to 105 % of the daily subsistence allowance as laid down in the Staff Regulations.

Article 10

Transitional allowance

The amount of the allowance shall be determined on the basis of the basic salary which the public office holder was receiving when that holder ceased to hold office and be as follows:

— 40 % if that period of service is less than or equal to 2 years,

— 45 % if that period is over 2 years but less than or equal to 3 years,

— 50 % if that period is more than 3 years but less than or equal to 5 years,

— 55 % if that period is more than 5 years but less than or equal to 10 years,

— 60 % if that period is more than 10 years but less than or equal to 15 years,

— 65 % if that period is more than 15 years.

That declaration shall be made in good faith and shall be treated as confidential. The information contained in that declaration shall not be used otherwise than for the purposes of this Regulation and shall not be communicated to third parties.

Additional remuneration legitimately received by former public office holders in the course of their duty as active public office holders shall not be deductible from the transitional allowance.

CHAPTER IV

PENSIONS

Article 11

Pensionable age

Article 12

Pension

The first sentence of the second paragraph of Article 77 of the Staff Regulations shall apply mutatis mutandis. The amount of the pension shall be equal to two times the rate referred to in the second sentence of the second paragraph of Article 77 of the Staff Regulations as applied to the basic salary last received for each full year in office and one-twelfth of that sum for each complete month.

When the public office holders concerned have performed various duties in the institutions of the Union, the salary on which their pension is to be calculated shall be directly proportional to the time they served in each duty respectively.

Article 13

Budgetary coverage

Payment of the benefits under the pension scheme provided for in this Regulation shall be entered in the general budget of the Union. Member States shall jointly guarantee payment of those benefits in accordance with the scale laid down for financing such expenditure.

CHAPTER V

SOCIAL PROVISIONS

Article 14

Disablement

Public office holders suffering from disablement deemed to be total which prevents them from performing their duties and who, on those grounds, resign or are compelled to resign shall be entitled, from the date of resignation or compulsory resignation, to the following benefits:

(a) where disablement is recognised as permanent, a pension for life calculated in accordance with Article 12, which shall be not less than 30 % of the basic salary last received. They shall be entitled to the maximum pension if the incapacity is the result of disablement that has occurred, or illness that has been contracted, in the performance of their duties;

(b) where disablement is temporary, for the duration of the disability, a pension at the rate of 60 % of the basic salary last received, if the disablement occurred, or illness was contracted, in the performance of their duties, and 30 % in other cases. When the recipient of such disability pension reaches the pensionable age laid down in Article 11 or the disability pension has been in effect for 7 years, it shall be replaced by a pension for life calculated in accordance with Article 12.

Article 15

Sickness and other forms of insurance, and benefits