Brussels, 28.4.2004 C(2004)
1597
COMMISSION DECISION
on outside activities and assignments
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the
Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities, and in
particular Article 1c, the second paragraph of Article 11, Article 11a,
Article 12, Article 12b, the second paragraph of Article 15, Article 16,
Article 17, Article 17a, Article 19, the first paragraph of Article 55 and
article 13 and 40 of Annex VIII thereof, and to the Conditions of
Employment of Other Servants of the Communities, and in particular
Articles 11, 16, 54, 57, 81 and 91 thereof;
Whereas in the
interest of transparency the provisions governing permission to engage in
an outside activity and assignment should be incorporated in a single
measure indicating in detail which factors have to be taken into account
when taking a decision on such permission;
Whereas the Commission,
in the context of the reform process, has decided to encourage external
mobility to enable officials to acquire new skills and knowledge which are
of benefit both to the officials themselves and to the
institution;
Whereas the present rules are intended to prevent
conflicts of interest from arising, without imposing unreasonable
restrictions on officials’ outside activities,
HAS
DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
-
Article
1 - Definition
-
Chapter 1 - Officials in active employment (Article 35(a)
of the Staff Regulations)
-
Chapter 2 - specific provisions for officials on leave on
personal grounds (Articles 35(c) and 40 of the Staff
Regulations)
GENERAL PROVISIONS
-
Article
14 - Permission for outside activities or assignments for
officials on leave on personal grounds (Article 12b of the Staff
Regulations)
-
Article
15 - Consultation of the Director-General for Administration and
Personnel
-
SPECIFIC PROVISIONS
-
Article
16 - Work dealing with active service in the Commission
-
Article
17 - Contracts with the Commission
-
Chapter 3 - officials having left the service of the European
Commission
-
SPECIFIC PROVISIONS FOR CERTAIN GROUPS OF FORMER OFFICIALS
-
Article
19 - Former officials receiving a retirement pension or on
non-active status or retired in the interests of the service
-
Article
20 - Former officials receiving an invalidity allowance or
invalidity pension
-
Chapter 4 - Temporary staff
-
Chapter 5 - Final provisions
Article 1 Definition
For the purposes of the present decision
- “Public office” means any public office, paid or unpaid, that is
filled following an election or otherwise;
- “Assignment” means the taking-on of a defined, time-limited
task;
- “Outside activity” means any other activity, paid or unpaid, that is
of an occupational character or goes otherwise beyond what can be
reasonably considered a leisure activity.
Chapter 1 Officials in active employment
(Article 35(a) of the Staff Regulations)
Article 2 Assignments and outside activities
Officials in active employment or secondment wishing to engage in an
assignment or outside activity within the meaning of Article 1 of this
Decision must request permission from the appointing authority pursuant to
Article 12b of the Staff Regulations. Applications, accompanied by the
necessary supporting documents, must be submitted through their immediate
superiors, where possible, 2 months before the beginning of the activity
or assignment. The appointing authority shall respond to this request
within 1 month of receipt of the application.
Article 3 Exercise of a public office
- Officials that are elected or appointed to public office and who
continue working are subject to the obligations that normally apply to
officials. By way of exception, any payment made to an official in that
connection shall not count towards the ceiling for net remuneration set
out in Article 9 of this Decision.
- Officials who are elected or appointed to public office and who take
leave on personal grounds in order to fill it shall require prior
authorisation for assignments or outside activities that are not related
to the performance of the duties that it entails. This provision shall
not apply where an elective office is covered by legal immunity.
Article 4 Activities carried out in the framework of a
mission
An official may not accept any remuneration that is offered in exchange
for any work done - and in particular participation in a conference or a
presentation - in the course of a mission ordered by the appointing
authority. The official should however ask for the costs of the mission to
be reimbursed by the body to which he renders such services. Any such
reimbursement shall be declared to the appointing authority and deducted
from the official’s mission costs.
Article 5 Voluntary work
Without prejudice to Article 8, permission shall in principle be
granted for work not giving rise to remuneration or the like, whether
charitable or not, provided that it is not so onerous as to be likely to
impair the official’s ability to work for the Commission, and in
particular his obligations under Article 55 first indent of the Staff
Regulations.
Article 6 Educational activities
Subject to Article 5 and 8 of this decision, teaching and other
educational activities, whether gainful or not, shall in principle be
authorised for one year provided that their duration does not exceed 100
hours per academic year.
In exceptional circumstances, where the
activity is clearly in the interest of the institution, the educational
activities may be extended to academic activities, including research. In
those cases no decision may be taken without prior consultation of the
Director-General for Personnel and Administration.
Article 7 Professional activities
Without prejudice to Articles 5, 6 and 8 of this Decision, permission
shall not be granted for assignments or outside activities which are
pursued in a professional or similar capacity (e.g. architect, lawyer,
economist, accountant, computer expert, engineer, interpreter, doctor,
translator, consultant etc.).
Article 8 Commercial activities
Permission shall not be granted for assignments or activities for firms
and companies, whose objects are commercial, even if the official’s
relationship with the company or firm in question entails no remuneration
or purely nominal remuneration.
Article 9 Maximum net remuneration
The maximum annual ceiling for net remuneration, including any fees
received, which an official may receive in connection with all his
assignments or outside activities combined, shall be € 4500. The
reimbursement of costs (e.g. transportation etc.) shall not be taken into
account for this purpose. The official shall hand over to the appointing
authority amounts exceeding the sum of € 4500.
Royalties received
for publications shall be excluded from the calculation of net
remuneration.
Article 10 Prizes and awards
Officials given a prize or award for an assignment or outside activity
are required to apply to the appointing authority for permission to accept
it. Such permission shall be granted or withheld by the appointing
authority depending on the circumstances of each case, regardless of the
value of the prize or award. Permission shall only be refused if the
acceptance of the prize or award is incompatible with the interests of the
institution or could impair the independence of the official.
Article 11 Special leave
Where unpaid activities are of benefit to the Communities, the
appointing authority may grant special leave amounting to half the number
of working days involved, up to a maximum of twelve days per year.
Article 12 Period of validity
Permission granted pursuant to Article 12b of the Staff Regulations
shall be valid for the period set out in the authorisation but in
principle not more than one year. A new application must be submitted for
any prolongation or renewal at least two months before expiration of the
period.
Article 13 Officials working part time
- Officials who have been authorised to work part time may take on
unpaid outside assignments and activities if such outside assignments
and activities are not incompatible with the reasons for which part-time
work has been authorised.
- Officials elected or appointed to public office who have been
authorised to work part time may take on paid outside assignments and
activities directly related to the reasons for which part-time work has
been authorised.
Chapter 2 specific provisions for officials on leave
on personal grounds (Articles 35(c) and 40 of the Staff
Regulations)
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 14 Permission for outside activities or assignments for
officials on leave on personal grounds (Article 12b of the Staff
Regulations)
- Officials on leave on personal grounds must seek permission pursuant
to Article 12b of the Staff Regulations to undertake an assignment or an
outside activity at any time during the period of leave in accordance
with the present decision.
- Such permission shall in principle be granted except where the
assignment or the activity could give rise to a conflict of interest or
be detrimental to the interest of the Communities. A conflict of
interest shall be deemed to exist where the assignment or the activity
would reflect on the official’s status as an official and would be
detrimental to the loyalty she owes to the institution and its
authorities but also where it would be incompatible with her duty to
conduct herself in a manner that is beyond suspicion in order that the
relationship of trust between that institution and herself may at all
times be maintained.
- An official requesting permission pursuant to Article 12b of the
Staff Regulations in order to take up an assignment or outside activity
shall in particular provide to the appointing authority:
- a description of her activity during her last three years of
active service at the Commission;
- a description of the activity that she wishes to take up including
information on the position the official is to occupy and the expected
duration of the activity;
- the name, address and telephone number of the potential
employer;
- the employer’s fields of activity;
- the links with the official’s functions exercised in the
Commission, if any;
- any other information that could reasonably be considered relevant
by the appointing authority in deciding on the request.
To this end the official will fill in and file with the Commission an
application form provided by the appointing authority. Applications,
accompanied by the necessary supporting documents, must be submitted
through her immediate superiors, at least two months before the
beginning of the activity or assignment. Authorisation shall only be
refused if the work referred to above is incompatible with the interests
of the institution or could impair the independence of the
official.
- In addition, the official shall sign a declaration confirming that
she has full knowledge of her obligations in the sense of the present
decision.
- The appointing authority shall make permission to undertake an
activity whilst on leave on personal grounds conditional upon the
official’s consent to the Commission making her name, position in the
undertaking, and the name of the undertaking for which she intends to
work, publicly available. To this end the official will sign a
declaration provided by the appointing authority.
- Any permission granted pursuant to an application under paragraph 3
of this article shall be limited to employment with the named employer,
and any person with whom the employer merges or transfers the
undertaking by which the official is employed.
- An official on leave on personal grounds who wishes to transfer to a
different employer shall seek a revised authorisation pursuant to
Article 12b of the Staff Regulations. Obligations of the present
decision shall apply.
- An official shall inform the appointing authority without delay
where any other change in one or more of the circumstances set out in
paragraph 3 of this article arises after permission pursuant to Article
12b, second paragraph, of the Staff Regulations has been granted. The
appointing authority shall examine whether to modify the conditions of
or to withdraw its permission in the light of such a change. Such
withdrawal shall take effect after the official has had a reasonable
time to take the necessary measures.
Article 15 Consultation of the Director-General for Administration
and Personnel
A decision on a request for permission to engage in an outside activity
or assignment which is made in connection with:
- a request for leave on personal grounds,
- a request by an official who is already on leave on personal grounds
to engage in an outside activity or assignment,
shall be taken after consultation of the Director-General for Personnel
and Administration.
SPECIFIC PROVISIONS
Article 16 Work dealing with active service in the
Commission
- If the official intends to undertake work that requires her to deal
directly or indirectly with subjects that fall within a policy area in
which she was or has been working during the three years of active
service immediately preceding the probable or actual date of
commencement of her leave on personal grounds, she shall provide full
details thereof to the appointing authority. Such work may not be
undertaken unless and until she has received the written authorisation
of the appointing authority.
- The official may not deal with individual cases that she had worked
on in the course of the three years of active service in the Commission
immediately preceding the probable or actual date of commencement of her
leave on personal grounds. When officials have worked on individual
cases prior to the said period of three years, they are not thereby
automatically authorised to deal with those individual cases.
- The official may not participate in meetings or have contacts of a
professional nature with her former Directorate General or service for a
period of :
- 1 year where the official occupied a management function in this
Directorate General or Service,
- 6 months in all other cases.
- The appointing authority may make any authorisation it grants
subject to such conditions as it reasonably sees fit, in the light of
the particular characteristics of a policy area or of the circumstances
of the case. The appointing authority may in particular increase the
restrictions laid down in paragraph 3
Article 17 Contracts with the Commission
- No official on leave on personal grounds may be given an assignment
of any kind that carries remuneration other than a daily allowance and /
or a reimbursement of expenses unless an exemption has been granted
under paragraphs 2 to 4 of this article.
For the purposes of this
Article, « assignment » includes in particular:
- any direct contractual relationship between the Commission and an
official on leave on personal grounds as an individual; and
- any contractual relationship between the Commission and an
undertaking in which an official on leave on personal grounds has
directly or indirectly a significant financial interest.
- The Director-General for Personnel and Administration may grant
exemptions in cases which fall under paragraph 1 of this article, where
an official has been granted leave on personal grounds in accordance
with Article 40 paragraph 2 2nd indent, of the Staff Regulations
(accompanying a spouse who is also an official) except for assignment
mentioned in paragraph 1 (b).
- The Director-General for Personnel and Administration may grant an
exemption from paragraph 1 of this Article in a case of an urgent need
by the Commission of the official’s services except for assignment
mentioned in paragraph 1 (b). However, in the case of a direct contract
between the official and the Commission, the remuneration may not exceed
the salary (on a pro-rata basis) the official would have obtained if she
had carried out the task when in active service, plus any reasonable
professional expenses.
- In cases other than those referred to in paragraph 1 of this
Article, where the official on leave on personal grounds is asked by a
third party to work on the performance of contracts with or for the
Commission, whether directly or by way of sub-contracting, and where she
intends to give a positive answer, she shall immediately inform the
appointing authority about this request and give all the necessary
information allowing the appointing authority to assess the request and
take a decision.
Chapter 3 officials having left the service of the
European Commission
Article 18
- An official leaving the service of the Commission shall sign a
declaration following a form provided by the Appointing authority so as
to acknowledge that he is aware of his continuing obligations to the
Commission, in particular under Articles 16, 17b and 19 of the Staff
Regulations.
- For a period of 2 years after leaving the Commission, a former
official wishing to take up an assignment or outside activity shall
inform the appointing authority. The former official shall in particular
provide:
- a description of his activity during his last three years of
active service at the Commission;
- a description of the activity that he wishes to take up including
information on the position he is to occupy and the expected duration
of the activity;
- the name, address and telephone number of the potential
employer;
- the employer’s fields of activity;
- the links with his former functions in the Commission, if any.
To this end the former official will fill in and file with the
Commission the application form provided by the Appointing
Authority.
- Any permission granted pursuant to the application form under
paragraph 2 of this Article shall be limited to employment with the
named employer, and any person with whom the employer merges or
transfers the undertaking by which the official is employed.
- A former official shall inform the appointing authority without
delay where any other change in one or more of the circumstances set out
in paragraph 2 of this Article arises after permission has been granted.
The appointing authority shall examine whether to modify the conditions
of or, in exceptional circumstances, to withdraw its permission in the
light of such a change.
SPECIFIC PROVISIONS FOR CERTAIN GROUPS OF FORMER
OFFICIALS
Article 19 Former officials receiving a retirement pension or on
non-active status or retired in the interests of the service
- Former officials in receipt of a retirement pension may be requested
by the Commission to undertake assignments or carry out activities
provided that such assignments or activities are unpaid and do not give
rise to remuneration of any kind. However costs reasonably incurred in
connection with such assignments or activities may be reimbursed. The
above restriction shall not apply to assignments and activities which,
although not directly paid by the Commission, give rise to payments that
are financed from Community funds.
- The Director-General of Personnel and Administration may authorise a
former official who is receiving a retirement pension to provide
services to the Commission.
- such permission will only be given when it is in the general
interests of the institutions and to fulfil a specific need demanding
a knowledge that is difficult to find other than with the official in
question;
- the former official can receive ad hoc payments for his services,
which when cumulated with his retirement pension or allowance for the
then current year, do not exceed his last total annual remuneration
whilst in activity; the reimbursement of costs shall not be taken into
account for this purpose. The annual remuneration is established on
the basis of the salary table in force on the first day of the month
for which the pension is paid;
- an official may render services described in this paragraph until
a date of 3 years after his day of retirement.
- The provisions of this Article shall apply by analogy to officials
on non-active status or who have been retired in the interest of the
service.
Article 20 Former officials receiving an invalidity allowance or
invalidity pension
- Former officials receiving an invalidity allowance or invalidity
pension may not be given an assignment of any kind, paid or unpaid, by
the Commission.
- In addition, the official shall sign a declaration confirming that
he has full knowledge of his obligations in the sense of the present
decision.
- When deciding whether to grant the permission to undertake an
activity or assignment on the basis of Article 13 of annexe VIII
paragraph 2 of the staff regulation, the appointing authority must
consider whether such an assignment or activity is consistent with the
original reasons for granting an invalidity allowance or pension.
Chapter 4 Temporary staff
Article 21
- The present decision shall apply by analogy to members of the
temporary staff, of the auxiliary staff and of the contract
staff.
Only those contract staff who have had access to sensitive
information shall be subject to the obligations laid down in Article 18
(2). Contract staff shall be informed by their service whether Article
18 (2) is applicable on leaving the service.
- Former temporary, auxiliary and contract staff in receipt of an
unemployment allowance may not be given an assignment of any kind, paid
or unpaid, by the Commission for as long as the allowance is paid.
Chapter 5 Final provisions
Article 22 Former decisions
The Decisions of 21 July 1976(1) and of 14 May
1992(2) are repealed.
Article 23
Article The present Decision shall enter into force on 1 May
2004.
Done at Brussels, 28.4.2004.
_________________ Footnotes
(1) Administrative Notice No 117 – 1976
(2) Administrative Notice N° 745
– 1992
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