EC Staff Regulations: Conditions of Employment of Other Servants (CEOS); parliamentary assistants (amend. Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68)
The Commission presented the 2013-2018 report on the financial situation of the unemployment insurance scheme for former members of the temporary or contract staff and parliamentary assistants who are unemployed after the termination of their service in a European Union institution.
Under the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants (CEOS), every two years the Commission must present a report on the financial situation of the unemployment insurance scheme and the Special Unemployment Fund.
To make it easier to trace the evolution of the Fund, the reference period for the report is December 2013 to December 2018.
As a reminder, the Community unemployment allowance is intended for former contract staff (CAs), accredited parliamentary assistants (APAs) or temporary staff (TAs) who are involuntarily unemployed (excluding, for example, staff who have resigned) following termination of their service in a European Union institution. This unemployment allowance is in addition to any national unemployment allowance received by the former staff member.
These allowances are financed from the Special Unemployment Fund, which is financed by the contributions of staff covered by the CEOS (who are potential beneficiaries) and by their employer’s contributions.
Operating results 2013-2018
There were significant increases in expenditure from 2013 to 2015, primarily owing to the new parliamentary term of the European Parliament and the fact that APAs became eligible for the Unemployment Fund. However, from 2016 this expenditure decreased because a majority of APAs ceased to be eligible for unemployment benefits and CA contracts were extended from three to six years (2014 reform of the Staff Regulations).
Revenue continued to rise, primarily because new agencies were created (executive and decentralised agencies) and the number of staff members employed by the agencies increased. There was also an increase in the number of TA and CA contracts within the institutions.
Overall, although in 2013 the Unemployment Fund had a deficit of EUR 1 million, and its accumulated reserve fell from EUR 16.1 million at the start of 2009 to EUR 2 million at the end of 2015, the Fund’s reserve has been reconstituted and amounted to nearly EUR 28 million at the end of 2018.
Expenditure and revenue by institution and for all the agencies 2013-2018
The effect of the end of the European Parliament’s parliamentary term is particularly visible, with an increase in expenditure relating to the European Parliament of over EUR 8 million between 2013 and 2014. In 2015 expenditure remained high but was nevertheless lower than in 2014. It declined strongly from 2016, to around EUR 3 million in 2018.
The agencies in particular currently have a level of contributions that exceeds expenditure. This situation can be attributed to the fact that a large proportion of their staff members have open-ended contracts. However, it should be noted that although expenditure relating to agency personnel increased sharplyduring the 2013-2015 period, it decreased up until 2018 and ended up at around EUR 4 million, i.e. a decrease of around 50% compared with 2015 (from EUR 6 021 292 in 2015 to EUR 4 083 952.15 in 2018)
Prospects of the Unemployment Fund in the short and medium term
On the basis of past observation of the expenditure level, it seems that the substantial reserve achieved at the end of 2018 should make it possible to finance the increased expenditure relating to the end of the European Parliament’s parliamentary term in view of the expected increase in the number of former APA beneficiaries from mid-2019.
It should also be stressed that there are other factors that could increase expenditure, such as the departure of 3b CAs who have reached the maximum of six years under contract, or the possible consequences of the process of withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union in accordance with Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union.
The Commission will therefore monitor the financial position of the scheme on a regular basis and take appropriate action with a view to ensuring the financial stability of the Fund.