Top EU court backs Commission over staff pay rise
Baku, November 24 (AZERTAC). The EU`s top court has backed the European Commission`s bid to boost pay for EU staff by 3.7%, instead of the 1.85% that the member states wanted, BBC reports.
The 27 governments - collectively called the Council - wanted to limit the pay rise to 1.85% because of tough economic conditions in Europe.
The European Court of Justice says the Council "exceeded its powers" when it decided on the 1.85% figure.
The court case, affecting about 45,000 EU staff, began in January.
"The articles of the [Council] regulation that fix new amounts for salaries are annulled," the court ruling said on Wednesday.
Under the rules, staff salary adjustments take effect on 1 July, so the pay increase will have to be backdated. The move will still require a new Council regulation in line with the court ruling.
The green light for the higher EU pay rise comes as national civil services are shedding jobs and freezing or cutting staff pay.
The pay settlement for 2009-2010 was based on 2008 figures, reflecting economic conditions that were much better at the time.
The Commission said it was satisfied with the court`s decision, which was in line with the agreed method of salary adjustment.
A Commission spokesman, Michael Mann, told the BBC that for 2010-2011 the salary calculation indicated a 2% cut in purchasing power for EU staff in Brussels, to match an equivalent cut in civil servants` salaries in the eight EU reference countries.
So to keep pace with the 2.4% inflation rate in Brussels the EU pay increase for 2010-2011 would have to be 0.4%, he said.
Since 2004 EU salaries have lost 5.3% of their purchasing power, he said.
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