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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