27.2.2009 Official Journal of the European Union L 55/1 | (Acts adopted under the EC Treaty/Euratom Treaty whose publication is obligatory) REGULATIONS COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 160/2009 of 23 February 2009 amending the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 283 thereof, Having regard to the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities, and in particular Article 13 thereof, Having regard to the proposal presented by the Commission after consulting the Staff Regulations Committee, Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (1), Having regard to the opinion of the Court of Justice, Having regard to the opinion of the opinion of the Court of Auditors, Whereas: In accordance with Article 21 of Decision 2005/684/EC, Euratom of the European Parliament of 28 September 2005 adopting the Statute for Members of the European Parliament (), Members are entitled to assistance from personal staff whom they may freely choose. (") Opinion of 16 December 2008 (not yet published in the Official Journal). () O] L 262, 7.10.2005, p. 1. ) At present, Members of the European Parliament employ all their staff directly under contracts subject to national law, while recovering the costs incurred from the European Parliament, subject to a fixed maximum amount. On 9 July 2008, the Bureau of the European Parliament adopted implementing measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament. Pursuant to Article 34 of those implementing measures, Members shall make use of: (a) ‘accredited parliamentary assistants’, employed at one of the European Parliament’s three places of work under the specific legal arrangements adopted on the basis of Article 283 of the Treaty and whose contracts are concluded and administered directly by the European Parliament, and (b) natural persons who are to assist Members in their Member States of election and who have concluded an employment or service contract with them in keeping with applicable national law, in accordance with the conditions laid down in the aforementioned implementing measures, hereinafter referred to as local assistants’. In contrast to local assistants, accredited parliamentary assistants are, as a general rule, expatriates. They work in the premises of the European Parliament in a European, multilingual and multicultural environment and undertake tasks which are directly linked to the work carried out by one or several Members of the European Parliament in the exercise of their functions as Members of the European Parliament.