Brussels, 12 September 2008
RELEX-K.4 - AK/MDH/MA - No.(D2008)513322
VM 0258/08
NOTE FOR OFFICIALS, TEMPORARY AGENTS AND CONTRACT
AGENTS SERVING IN THIRD COUNTRIES
Subject: |
Education allowance A
The 2007/2008 academic year in the northern hemisphere
The 2007 academic year in the southern hemisphere |
In the reformed Staff Regulations, Article 3(2) of Annex VII
introduces the notion of "education allowance A". This is an allowance
for children less than eight years old who do not attend primary
school.
Since September 2007, the allowance has been fixed at €68.10 per
month during the third year of the transitional phase (as defined in
Article 15 of Annex XIII to the Staff Regulations). The allowance will
be raised over a four-year period to a maximum of €85.14 per month. The
allowance is granted automatically as soon as the official declares the
child to the Institution.
Article 15 of Annex X enables officials and agents who come within its
scope to triple the ceiling laid down in Annex VII, provided they
supply supporting documents. At present the upper limit for
reimbursement is €2,451.60 for 2007/2008 (in the northern hemisphere)
and €2,030.04 for the whole year 2007 (in the southern hemisphere).
Under exceptional circumstances, the Appointing Authority may allow the
ceiling to be exceeded.
In conformity with Conclusion 243/05 issued by the Heads of
Administration (as revised and approved at their 248th
meeting of 19 April 2007) the relevant provisions cover the
reimbursement of costs relating to education allowance A and incurred at
educational pre-school establishments (kindergarten classes) excluding
early childhood institutions.
Officials and agents concerned are asked to submit their 2007/2008
(northern hemisphere) or 2007 (southern hemisphere) requests for
reimbursement as well as their requests to exceed the ceiling by 31
December 2008 at the latest. Every request (Annex I) must be
accompanied by the following supporting documents concerning eligible
costs (i.e. all registration and tuition fees only): (a) the original
invoices, itemised and personalised; (b) a copy of proofs of payment;
and (c) an original attendance certificate for each child (Annex II).
Requests for reimbursements within the limit of the ceiling will allow
applicants to receive the difference between the monthly allowance paid
through the salary and the expenses actually incurred. The full amount
is reimbursed for as long as the sum total of eligible expenses is not
higher than the amount of the ceiling (third paragraph above). After
subtracting the monthly allowance, the remaining balance of the ceiling
which is still available is: €1,634.40 for the northern hemisphere and
€1,352.42 for the southern hemisphere.
Requests to exceed the ceiling will be considered by the Appointing
Authority according to the following criteria, in order of priority:
- Cases where prices are exceptionally high for pre-primary
educational establishments in the place of posting, and where
eligible expenses, after deduction of the annual allowance (€817.20
for the northern hemisphere and €677.62 for the southern hemisphere)
exceed the basic salary of the applicant.
- Pre-primary educational establishments following an
international curriculum are prioritised if attendance is obligatory
to ensure continuity in the child’s studies or guarantee the child a
place at the primary level in the same school.
- The official/agent’s family situation.
Within the context of a constraining budget, the number of the
Appointing Authority’s decisions to grant an exceptional reimbursement
in excess of the ceiling will be very few and limited to reimbursements
of only part of the fees.
I would draw your attention to the fact that implementation of the
criteria stated above resulted in granting only 16 exceptional
reimbursements in 2006/2007. May I therefore ask colleagues who clearly
do not meet the necessary conditions and criteria not to apply for the
ceiling to be exceeded. This would only burden our administration
needlessly.
Please fill in the forms in Annexes I and II and make sure to include
all the necessary information. This will speed the processing of
your file. Any incomplete file received by the relevant department
will be returned to the official/agent with the letter shown below
in Annex III.
Thierry de Saint Maurice
“signed”
Encl: |
Annex
I
(the application form),
Annex II
(attendance certificate),
Annex III
(standard letter to be used when returning files that are
incomplete). |
|