Brussels, 12/06/2009
RELEX-K.4 - AK/MDH/MA - No.(D2009) 128844
VM 0290/09
NOTE FOR OFFICIALS, TEMPORARY AGENTS AND CONTRACT AGENTS
SERVING IN THIRD COUNTRIES
Subject: |
Education allowance A
Academic year 2008/2009 in the northern hemisphere (NH)
Academic year 2008 in the southern hemisphere (SH) |
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 €87.69 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 €3,156.84 for 2008/2009 (in the northern hemisphere) and
€2,804.22 for the whole year 2008 (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 2008/2009
(northern hemisphere) or 2008 (southern hemisphere) requests for
reimbursement as well as their requests to exceed the ceiling by 30
September 2009 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: €2,104.56 for the northern hemisphere and €1,869.48 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 (€1,052.28 for the
northern hemisphere and €934.74 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 19 exceptional
reimbursements in 2007/2008. 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”
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