Amended proposal for a Council Regulation (ECSC, EC, Euratom) adjusting the daily subsistence allowance rates for officials on mission within the European territory of the Member States of the European Union laid down in Article 13 of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities and introducing an annual adjustment procedure
COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES lit •k * -k Brussels, 31. 07. 1997 COM(97) 429 final 96/ 0232 (CNS) Amended proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION ŒCSC. EC. Euratom) ADJUSTING THE DAILY SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCE RATES FOR OFFICIALS ON MISSION WITHIN THE EUROPEAN TERRITORY OF THE MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION LAID DOWN IN ARTICLE 13 OF ANNEX VII TO THE STAFF REGULATIONS OF OFFICIALS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND INTRODUCING AN ANNUAL ADJUSTMENT PROCEDURE (presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 189 a (2) of the EC-Treaty) EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 1. The Court of Auditors and the Court of Justice had no comments to make when consulted by the Council by letter of 21 October 1996 in accordance with Article 24 of the Treaty establishing a Single Council and a Single Commission of the European Communities. European Parliament, however, adopted a report by Mr Tappin on 12 March 1997 (PE A4-0039/97) proposing seven amendments to the Commission proposal. 2. The Commission can accept amendments 2, 4, 5 and 7 as they stand, and amendments 1 and 3 with some changes. Accordingly, the amended proposal will contain a new citation, five new recitals and a new Article 2. The Commission is of the opinion that these amendments should increase budgetary clarity and ensure sound financial management in an area where interinstitutional cooperation is called for. 3. The Commission was unable to accept amendment 6, giving the budgetary authority the power to decide whether or not the allowances in question should be adjusted. The system proposed runs counter to the Commission proposal's objective, which is to simplify the existing adjustment procedure provided for by Annex VII, which gives decision-making power to the Council, acting on a proposal from the Commission. 4. The old explanatory memorandum, reproduced below, has been amended to take account of the figures for 1997. The last general revision of the daily subsistence allowance rates for officials on mission within the European terri tory of the Member States of the European Union , has been decided by the Council the 22 July 199Ï (Regulation No 2232/91). Those allowances were based on surveys carried out in the first quarter of 1990. The scales fixed then no longer reflect prevailing economic conditions and this, compounded by the accession of three new Member States, means that the daily subsistence allowance rates and the ceilings for the reimbursement of hotel expenses for missions within the Member States urgently need revision. The attached proposal for a Regulation updates the rates on the basis of the consumer price indices in the hotel and catering sector supplied by Eurostat and the exchange rates applied between 1990 and 1996. However, applying this method of calculation to the entire period would have produced s different scale from the one used by European Parliament, partly because Partir ment has made an annual adjustment based on the values for the previous year and partly because column II of the scale is applied in Parliament to all grades other than Al to A3 for missions to the seats of the Community institutions. The attached proposal for a Regulation consequent!y takes as its point cf departure European Parliament's scale for 1997. Moreover, the Staff Regulations make no provision for the régulai' updating ofrat. es: this would make the allowances mere realistic as they would better reflect the costs incun-Qâ by staff on mission. The Commission is therefore proposing to introduce a system for the regular adjustment of the scales on the basis of trends in price indices in the he tel and catering sector as published by Eurostat and the exchange rates used for implementation of the general budget of the Communities. This adjustment would be made annually by the Commission, which would then inform the other institutions. AMENDED PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION (ECSC, EC, E U R A T O M) N°. OF ADJUSTING THE DAILY SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCE RATES FOR OFFICIALS ON MISSION WITHIN THE EUROPEAN TERRITORY OF THE M E M B ER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION LAID DOWN IN A R T I C LE 13 OF ANNEX VII TO THE STAFF REGULATIONS OF O F F I C I A LS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND INTRODUCING AN ANNUAL ADJUSTMENT PROCEDURE THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing a single Council and a single Commission of the European Communities, and in particular Article 24 thereof, Having regard to the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities laid down by Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68,1 as last amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom, ECSC) No 1329/972, and in particular Article 13 of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations and Articles 22 and 67 of the Conditions of Employment, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission after consulting the Staff Regulations Committee,3 Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,4 Having regard to the opinion of the Court of Justice,5 Having regard to the opinion of the Court of Auditors,6 OJL 56, 4. 3. 1969, p. 1. OJL 183, 11. 07. 97, p. 1. Opinion n° 158/96 du 3. 6. 96 Opinion given the 12. 3. 97 Opinion given the 11. 11. 96 Opinion given the 7. 11. 96 9 Whereas the rates of daily subsistence allowance for officials on mission should be adjusted in order to take account of the increased costs recorded since 1991 in the different places of employment in the Member States within the European Union; Whereas, in the case of missions to the seats of the Community institutions, the European Parliament's practice of applying the same rates for officials in ail grades, except grades Al, A2 and A3, should be emulated; Whereas daily allowance rates should be fixed for missions to Austria, Finland and Sweden; Whereas, in the interests of equal treatment, the scale of rates should be aligned on those already applied by the European Parliament; Whereas (lie financial perspective adopted under the Interinstitutional Agreement of 29 October 1993 on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure, Whereas, as part of interinstitutional cooperation and in particular the conclus icns on the rationalization of admimstrative expenditure, common criteria should be established for the provisions governing mission expenses, Whereas a procedure should be introduced for the régulai- adjustment of daily subsistence allowance rates for missions to take account of changes in prices and exchange rates, Whereas the otlier institution* must be given details of the annual adjustments decided by the Commission, Whereas each institution must justify the overall budget adopted for mission expenses in its estimates on the basis of an ammal work programme, Whereas each institution, in exercising the powers conferred upon it by the Financial Regulation as regards autonomous implementation of the budget, shall ensure strict application of the principles of sound financial management and, in particular econonr and cost-effectiveness, 'C HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 Article 13 of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations is hereby amended as follows: 1. The scale in paragraph 1 (a) is replaced by the following: j— Member States iBelgium Denmark Germany iGreece |Spain j Fran ce jiralanci jitaly Luxembourg Netherlands •Austria Portugal i. -inland '•Sweden ]Ur;iied Kingdom 1 Grades AI to A3 and LA3 3344 3532 2953 2502 2743 2852 3030 2819 3222 3117 2930 2774 4029 4029 2916 II Grades A4 to A8, LA4 to LA8 and category B 5952 7004 5061 4299 5627 5120 6186 8064 5637 5383 4794 5756 3786 6786 5685 ' (in BFR) III Other grades 5507 6478 4684 3969 5207 4739 5719 5610 5211 5444 4794 5326 6786 6786 6186 2, The following subparagraph (c) is added to paragraph 1 : "In the case of missions to one of the seats of the institutions, Column II of the foregoing scale shall apply to categories C and D". c 3. The first sentence of paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: "In addition to the rates set out in Column. I of the foregoing scale, the hotel bill covering room, service and taxes, but excluding breakfast, shall be reimbursed up to a maximum of Belgian Belgian Belgian Belgian Belgian Belgian Belgian Belgian Belgian Belgian Belgian Belgian Belgian Belgian Belgian francs francs francs francs francs francs francs francs francs francs francs francs francs francs francs 4657 5785 3863 3775 5040 3822 5217 5340 4201 5248 5060 5028 6150 6150 5001 for Belgium for Denmark for Germany for Greece for Spain for for for for for for Austria for Portugal Finland for for Sweden for France Ireland Italy Luxembourg the Netherlands j the United Kingdom". 4. The following subparagraph is added to paragraph 9: The rates set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be adjusted by the Commission by 31 March each year on the basis of the hotel and catering price indices published by EUROSTAT for November of the preceding year and the relevant exchange rates. It shall notify the other institutions accordingly. The decision shall take effect on the first day of the month following its adoption/ % Article 2 Each institution shall attach to the annual estimate a statement justifying its request for appropriations for mission expenses on the basis of its annual work programme by sector of activity, including expenses engendered by professional training. This statement shall take account of the specific nature of each institution and provide information on measures, in particular on the final accounts for daily subsistence allowances. These measures shall seek to ensure strict application of the principles of sound financial management and, in particular, economy and cost-effectiveness. Article 3 This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities. J This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels For the Council The President <T 1997 Daily subsistence allowances « ; C :. Î Financial statement Annex 2 1. Difference between current and proposed allowances The European Parliament is not taken into account as it already applies these indemnities Number of Total allowances per Difference per difference per allowance BFR year million BFR year Belgium Denmark Germany Greece Spain France Ireland Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Austria Portugal Finland Sweden United Kingdom | 24. 458 3. 220 20. 620 12. 063 10. 943 34. 509 3. 659 19. 238 9. 383 5. 740 3. 368 5. 795 2. 453 2. 964' 18. 798 1. 262 884 836 1. 409 397 820 951 449 1. 202 923 1. 153 1. 606 314 314 930 Total million BFR 30,9 2,8 17,2 17,0 4,3 28,3 3,5 8,6 11,3 5,3 3,9 9,3 0,8 0,9 17,5 161,6 Exchange rate at 1. 5. 97 1 ECU = 40,4529 Total million ECU 3,99 2. Budget items concerned: A-1300(96%); A-1040(4%) /O ISSN 0254-1 :75 COM(97) 429 final ^TTTvrF. ]S[xs EN 01 Catalogue number : CB-C0-97-433-EN-C ISBN 92-78-23S43-C Office for Official Publications of the European Communities L-2985 Luxembourg u