EU pay raise battle
January 6, 2010
The European Commission officially decided to take European Union member states to court over their refusal to accept a 3.7-percent pay raise for EU employees, announced commission spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen on Wednesday in Brussels.
The decision was unanimously made by the 27 commissioners, Hansen said.
The court complaint pits the European Council, which is the collective entity for the 27 member states, against the commission, the bloc's executive, in the Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice.
It's a battle that may prove embarrassing to the EU at a time when the bloc is attempting to rebrand itself after passing the Lisbon reform treaty.
Formula determines salaries
The salaries of EU bureaucrats are calculated with a complex and legally binding formula that incorporates pay levels in Brussels and eight of the EU's wealthiest countries. But with some national governments cutting their own civil servants' pay amid ongoing economic difficulties, member countries decided to approve only a 1.85 percent increase.
The commission would have none of it.
"We are talking here about the respect for agreed rules," spokeswoman Hansen said. "It is not an issue where political discretion is at play."
According to the commission, some 50,000 EU employees and contract staff at the commission, parliament, council and court are due the 3.7-percent raise, including the judges who will hear the case.
The basic gross income of these workers ranges from 2,550 euros ($3,800) a month to 17,700 euros ($25,373). The salaries are paid out from the EU's central budget, which is ultimately funded by taxpayers in member countries.
The commission has asked the court for a speedy decision, to be made within six months. However, the case could drag on for more than a year, during which the 1.85-percent raise would take effect.
hf/AFP/dpa
Editor: Trinity Hartman