Brussels, 22/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 20 December, the Council adopted a regulation adjusting the salaries and pensions of officials and other employees of the EU with effect from 1 July 2010. It also approved a regulation adjusting the level of contributions to the pensions scheme for officials and other EU employees. In so doing, the Council followed clear rules on the annual adjustment of remuneration and pensions for EU civil servants of all institutions and agencies, linking them to the evolution of purchasing power for civil servants in eight member states - Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg - representing 76% of EU GDP, the Commission states in a memo issued after the Council adopted its decision on Monday 20 December.
Situation for 2010-2011. The purchasing power of the civil servants in the eight reference member states decreased by - 2.2% in the reference period (1 July 2009-30 June 2010). This has to be reflected at European level for civil servants of the European Union. The Brussels International Index - a targeted inflation index for expatriate staff in Brussels which is the reference - is +2.4%. To arrive at a purchasing power decrease of -2.2%, salaries have to be increased by +0.1% for staff in Brussels and Luxemburg. A salary increase of +0.1% in Brussels and Luxembourg does not mean that this increase applies to all places of employment for EU civil servants. It is the -2.2% decrease in purchasing power which has to be reflected in all places of employment and leads to different adjustments in different centres.
The Commission gives an example: Varese in Italy is, after Brussels and Luxembourg, the third biggest Commission site (with the Joint Research Centre) with some 1,500 staff. Salaries here will fall by -5% because of the decrease in the cost of living there. Since 2004, when the method was introduced into the Staff Regulations, EU staff salaries have lost 4.2% of their purchasing power.
The method for adjusting remuneration and pensions was an integral part of the whole reform package of 2004, which also included creation of the contract agent category with lower salaries; higher retirement age, lower pension rights, higher pension contributions, a special levy increasing every year to 2012 (up to a maximum 5.5%), and lower recruitment salaries.
Some figures in the 2010-2011 annual adjustment/summary. Reduction in purchasing power of civil servants in the eight reference member states: -2.2%. Purchasing power loss for EU civil servants: -2.2%. Brussels International Index (inflation): +2.4%. Increase of gross basic salary for EU civil servants assigned to Brussels or Luxembourg: +0.1%. Average impact on net salaries including the increase of the pension contribution rate and the increase of the special levy (tax): -0.5%. Impact on the total budget 2011: -0.0157%. (G.B./transl.rt)