L 253/22 Official Journal of the European Union 25.9.2013 DECISIONS COUNCIL DECISION of 23 September 2013 on the granting of daily allowances to and the reimbursement of travelling expenses of members of the European Economic and Social Committee and their alternates (2013/471[EV) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular the third paragraph of Article 301 thereof, Whereas: (1) Council Decision 81/121/EEC (') laid down rules on the granting of daily allowances to and the reimbursement of travelling expenses of members of the European Economic and Social Committee (‘the Committee), alternates and experts. 2)  In its resolution of 10 May 2012 (%), the European Parliament noted that the Bureau of the Committee undertook to reform the system for reimbursing expenses to members of the Committee and their alter- nates. (3)  On 12 October 2012, the Committee requested the Council to adopt a new Decision on the granting of daily allowances and the reimbursement of travelling expenses of members of the Committee and their alter- nates, repealing and replacing Decision 81/121/EEC. (4)  The amounts of the daily allowances paid to members of the Committee and their alternates should be adapted. Provision should also be made for a system for the reimbursement of transport expenses on the basis of actual costs, as well as for allowances compensating for the time spent by those members and their alternates in performance of their duties and for related administrative costs. (5)  Where appropriate, detailed rules relating to the granting of allowances, the reimbursement of travelling expenses (") Council Decision 81/121/EEC of 3 March 1981 on the granting of daily allowances and the reimbursement of travelling expenses of members of the Economic and Social Committee, alternates and experts (O] L 67, 12.3.1981, p. 29). () OJ L 286, 17.10.2012, p. 110. and the setting of the reimbursement ceilings for travelling expenses should be established at the level of the Committee. (6)  In order to guarantee an appropriate degree of continuity for the members of the Committee and their alternates, transitional rules should be provided for. (7)  Decision 81/121/EEC should therefore be repealed, HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: Article 1 The members of the European Economic and Social Committee (‘the Committee’) and their alternates (together referred to as the ‘beneficiaries) shall be entitled to a daily allowance for meeting days, to the reimbursement of their travelling expenses and to distance and duration allowances in accordance with this Decision. Article 2 1. The daily allowance for beneficiaries attending meetings shall be set at EUR 290. The Committee may decide to increase the daily allowance by a maximum of 50 %: (a) where a beneficiary duly invited to one or more meetings is obliged to pay for overnight accommodation at the meeting venue both before the first meeting and after the last meeting; or (b) in the event of a mission outside Brussels, where the rates of the hotels selected as accommodation for the beneficiaries exceed EUR 150 per night. 2. The daily allowance may be paid to beneficiaries for a maximum of two days bridging the gap between two meetings, where that allowance is less than the reimbursement of the travelling expenses which would otherwise be incurred by the beneficiary in making a return journey between those meetings.