Commission proposes 1.7% pay rise for EU officials

Calls for Commission not to use its normal calculation method were rejected.

The European Commission has proposed giving EU officials a 1.7% pay increase.

However, the Commission said that, even with the proposed increase, EU officials in Belgium would still be worse off. This is because the figures take into account the cost of living index in Belgium, which is currently 3.6%.

The 1.7% increase (which is for 2011, as the award is made retroactively) is calculated using the ‘method’, a formula that calculates the weighted average of changes in the pay of civil servants in eight national administrations.

As inflation is relatively high in Belgium compared to other EU member states, the nominal increase is lower in other countries. For example, the increase for EU officials based in Germany is 0.6%, it is 0.4% for officials based in the Netherlands, and 1.9% for EU staff working in France.

The Commission said that civil servants working for the national administrations in those three countries will receive higher increases. In Germany, local civil servants have been awarded an increase of 1.3% while in the Netherlands the increase is 2%. In France, civil servants are also getting a 2% increase.

For EU officials working in Athens, Ljubljana, Prague, Rome and Sofia, there will be a pay cut ranging from 2.7% (Prague) to 0.1% (Rome).

The Commission rejected a request from national governments to suspend the use of the method this year. A suspension is possible if there is “a serious and sudden deterioration in the economic and social situation”. The Commission decided that this was not the case.

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The decision to grant the pay award recommended by the Commission is taken by EU national governments. In 2009, member states refused to approve the award, which led to a challenge in the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The court upheld the complaint and the increase was paid out in full.

The decision on the 2011 pay award comes as national governments, the Commission and staff unions fight over changes to EU officials’ pay and conditions.

The Commission has proposed a range of measures to save €1 billion in staff costs by cutting staff numbers by 5% and raising the retirement age from 63 to 65. But a majority of national governments want the Commission to make bigger savings by reducing pension benefits and cutting allowances.

EU staff unions have threatened to take strike action over plans to cut their pay and benefits.