In the past few months, Generation 2004 published several articles on the Court of Justice’s April 2024 judgement on the place of origin. The issue contested was the 2014 staff regulations reform which moved all places of origin located outside the EU to the capital city of the staff Member State. The colleagues won their case, reinstating the real place of origin. We provided an analysis on repercussions on staff and mentioned that Generation 2004 was in close contact with the administration to mitigate as much as possible the negative effects of the judgement that has negatively affected approximately 300 colleagues. Continue reading The shark attack! Place of origin losses
allowances
Education allowances – Higher education
Are you a parent navigating the complexities of higher education allowances for your dependent child? This informative session, organised by PMO, might be interesting for you. It will focus on the various types of allowances available and the essential steps to complete the education declaration in Sysper for the 2024/25 academic year.
Continue reading Education allowances – Higher education
Housing allowance in Luxembourg – where are we?
*Update 23.01.2025 Luxembourg-based staff; check the email received Wendesday 22.01.2025 ‘Housing allowance // Allocation de logement’ for info. The decision is neither final nor public. Luxembourg media announced a housing allowance in December 2024. We expect the final version to fall short of its stated intention of addressing the recruitment and retention of staff in Luxembourg (‘the Luxembourg attractivity problem‘).* Continue reading Housing allowance in Luxembourg – where are we?
More clarity about the changes to the annual travel allowance
*Update 16.09.2024 we have received no response to our May note as yet.*
Original article: In our May newsletter, we informed you about the changes to the annual travel payment following a recent judgement by the Court in case C‑567/22 P. Before the judgement and following the 2014 reform of the staff regulations, colleagues with a place of origin outside the EU had their place of origin moved fictionally to the capital city of the Member State of their EU nationality. Continue reading More clarity about the changes to the annual travel allowance
Securing pensions for Contract & Temporary Agents during unemployment
*Update 12.03.2025 refusing a contract renewal is counted as resigning, this is not new, but the information could be made clearer.*
Original article: Your Contract Agent CA3B (or a different non-permanent) contract at the European Commission has ended. Despite your determination to continue contributing to the EU project, you can no longer work directly for the Commission (e.g. you have reached six years as CA3B). You can work for another institution or for the Commission, but on a different contract than CA3B.
Continue reading Securing pensions for Contract & Temporary Agents during unemployment
Automatic declarations of Belgian Third-party allowances announced by PMO
European Union staff has the right to 3 types of family allowances: household allowance, dependent child allowance, school allowance. The statutory provisions (articles 67 § 2 and article 68 § 2 of the staff regulations) foresee rules against the overlapping of all family allowances granted by the European Union and received from other sources.
Continue reading Automatic declarations of Belgian Third-party allowances announced by PMO
Streamlining the Family Allowance Process: A Welcome Change for EU Staff in Belgium
*Update 08.07.2024. We will not claim that PMO reacted to our note of May and implemented the new system within this one month. But we do believe that we gave a bit of a push. Lately, the European Union’s Paymaster’s Office (PMO) has been under scrutiny due to prolonged delays in processing school fee reimbursements and third-party allowances.
Continue reading Streamlining the Family Allowance Process: A Welcome Change for EU Staff in Belgium
End of service: informed decisions please!
*Update 09.01.2025 Please be aware of the end of contract admin and that the payment of the EU unemployment allowance (the extra, supplementary part) is not automatic: it must be requested and the deadline is very short: ‘within eight days after your contract ends, submit a formal application for EU unemployment allowance’ (p.7, Practical Guide, August 2023).* Continue reading End of service: informed decisions please!
No EU allowances unless you first try elsewhere
It’s always nice to get financial support (e.g. family allowances), and some of us can get it from either our institution or a national authority. While this is a fortunate situation, it is quite clear that you should not be paid twice for the same request, whether that is for your medical expenses or allowances for your children. The staff regulations are quite clear in this respect, and we all have to declare any allowances received from national sources (check out our IDOC article).
Continue reading No EU allowances unless you first try elsewhere
