Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-03-15-Speech-4-214"
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"en.20010315.12.4-214"2
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". – The Commission attaches a great deal of importance to the matter of assistants to Members of the European Parliament. In 1998 the Commission, with Parliament's agreement, drew up a proposal to amend the conditions of employment for other staff so that Parliamentary assistants would become auxiliary staff. I happened to be the Commissioner responsible at the time.
This would have ensured equal treatment for assistants in terms of their salary, employment conditions and tax, with a choice of a social security system. As you know, however, this proposal was not accepted by the Council.
By agreement with the European Parliament and the Council, the Commission then commissioned an expert study with various solutions that would be compatible with Community law and the interests of the assistants and the Members of Parliament. The experts suggested that one aspect of the assistants' legal status could be dealt with by another Community instrument, namely Regulation No 1408/71, which coordinates the social security schemes of the Member States. The assistants are already covered by this regulation and it brings them, in principle, under the social security system of the Member State where they work.
Vice-President Onesta has contacted my colleague, Commissioner Diamantopoulou, suggesting that the Commission puts forward a proposal to the Council and Parliament for an amendment to this regulation, allowing assistants to chose between the Member State where they work, the Member State where they were last insured or the Member State of which they are a national. A similar option is already available to auxiliary staff of the institutions.
Such an amendment would only resolve a very specific and small part of the assistants' legal position and would not exonerate them from the obligations of national law in regard to labour conditions, tax and social security. However, the Commission has committed itself to finding solutions which are in the interests of both assistants and Members of Parliament. The suggested amendment can indeed clarify the legal position of the assistants as far as their social security rights are concerned. It seems that the application of Regulation No 1408/71 to this category of workers still gives rise to uncertainty, which can be removed by the amendment. Once they have made a choice there should be no further misunderstanding as to which Member State 's system they are subject to.
Moreover, it seems justified to derogate from the general rules of the regulation for persons working on a temporary basis for members of Community institutions, such as auxiliary staff. My draft then reads as follows: ‘Therefore the Commission intends to propose shortly to Parliament and Council the suggested amendment to Regulation No 1408/71’. If asked what ‘shortly’ means, I can say that it will be before the summer. That means that this issue can be decided during the Belgian Presidency."@en1
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