HAVING REGARD TO the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities, as last amended by Council Regulation No 723/2004 of 22 March 2004, particularly Article 90 thereof;

HAVING REGARD TO the Agreement on working conditions and financial terms for conference interpreters recruited by the institutions of the European Union as annotated on 13 October 2004 following the adoption of the above-mentioned regulation and revised on 31 July 2008;

On 3 October 2001 the Bureau adopted rules for the application to auxiliary staff engaged by the European Parliament as conference interpreters on behalf of the Community institutions and bodies of the conditions of recruitment and remuneration as referred to in the first paragraph of Article 78 of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities (CEOS).

Those rules included an annex listing the methods to be used to calculate the expenses and allowances payable under contracts concluded with conference interpreters to meet the needs of the European Parliament; these methods have not been renegotiated and must be confirmed.

In the interests of administrative simplification, those articles which duplicate provisions already contained in the Agreement should be deleted from the rules.

The insertion, in the course of the adoption of the new Staff Regulations, of a new Article 90 in the CEOS to replace Article 78 thereof as the legal basis for the appointment of staff in this category with effect from 1 January 2007 and the changes made to the salary scales of officials and their allowances and mission expenses make it necessary to amend those rules.

Those rules must also be updated to take account of certain changes which have occurred since 2001 in the administrative organisation of the EP departments responsible for recruiting these staff,

Article 1 - Conference interpreters

All staff recruited by the European Parliament as part-time conference interpreters under Article 90 of the CEOS (hereinafter referred to as 'conference interpreters') shall be subject to these rules throughout the term of their engagement.

Article 2 - Recruitment

Conference interpreters shall be recruited by the authority empowered to conclude contracts of employment (hereinafter referred to as 'the AECE'), namely the Director-General of Interpretation and Conferences or his or her representative.

Article 3 - Cancellation of the contract

1. In the event of cancellation of a meeting by the institution concerned, conference interpreters shall receive the remuneration originally provided for, except where cancellation occurs at least 60 days before the date of performance of the contract.

2. The first paragraph shall not apply where conference interpreters enter into another contract covering the period for which they were originally recruited on behalf of the Community institution or body concerned or are on sick leave during that period. In the first case, conference interpreters shall inform the AECE and the interpretation service concerned in advance of the substitute engagement, in order to comply with the obligations incumbent on them.

In the event of cancellation of the last day of a meeting, where conference interpreters cannot bring forward their return journey for reasons duly substantiated as being beyond their control their allowances shall be paid as if performance of the engagement had continued unchanged.

Article 4 - Payment

1. The fee and the flat-rate travel allowance provided for in Articles 6, 7 and 7a of the Agreement shall be subject, as regards conference interpreters, to the Community tax introduced by Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 260/68. OJ L 56, 4.3.1968, p. 8..

2. For the purposes of calculating the tax, the scale set out in Article 4 of Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 260/68 shall be adjusted annually in accordance with Article 5 of that Regulation.

3. The monthly remuneration serving as the basis for calculating the tax shall be the daily fee multiplied by 18. 18 = 20 working days - two days' unpaid leave.

Article 5 - Guide to Missions

Without prejudice to the relevant provisions of the Agreement and the annex to these rules, the provisions applicable to travel by conference interpreters shall be those specified in the Guide to Missions of the institution by which they are engaged together with the relevant rules on their application.

Article 6 - Certificates

The institution which engages them shall provide conference interpreters on request with a certificate of payment of the Community tax referred to in Article 4, as well as any other relevant certificate concerning them.

Article 7 - Staff Committee

The Staff Committee shall receive a copy of these rules and shall be informed of any implementing provisions adopted by the European Parliament.

Article 8 - Implementation

The European Parliament shall take appropriate measures to implement these rules.

Article 9 - Annex

The annex to these rules shall constitute an integral part hereof.

Article 10 - Entry into force

These rules replace and repeal the rules of 3 October 2001 on conference interpreters and shall come into force on the first day of the second month following their adoption by the Bureau.

ANNEX - Arrangements applicable to travel by conference interpreters

Article 1 - Means of transport used:

1. Train:

Conference interpreters shall be entitled to reimbursement of the cost of first-class rail tickets. The following shall also be reimbursed on the production of supporting documents: the cost of reserving seats and transporting requisite luggage; extra charges for fast trains (reimbursed on presentation of the tickets, where special tickets are issued); extra charges for 'double' category sleeping cars (reimbursed on presentation of the ticket) if the journey includes travel at night between 24.00 and 7.00.

2. Private car:

Conference interpreters shall be authorised to use their private cars. In that case, travel expenses shall be reimbursed on the basis of the first-class rail fare, or the air fare for any journey in excess of 300 km, calculated on the basis of the shortest and, in overall terms, cheapest route, regardless of any extra charge.

If a number of persons join together to use a single vehicle, they must all specify this fact on their application for reimbursement. Only the owner of the vehicle shall qualify for reimbursement of travel expenses.

If a private car is used, parking or motorway toll costs shall not be reimbursed.

The use of a private car may not serve to extend the duration of the journey, in which case the corresponding train or plane timetable shall apply.

The cost of travel to a station by private car shall not be reimbursed.

Conference interpreters authorised to use their private cars shall retain full liability in the event of an accident or theft. The European Parliament shall not meet requests for compensation regardless of the grounds on which conference interpreters used their private cars.

3. Plane:

Conference interpreters shall be authorised to travel by plane if their place of employment is situated more than 300 km from their place of residence.

Conference interpreters shall be reimbursed on the basis of a semi-flexible IATA ticket which is refundable and exchangeable subject to penalties, issued so as to maximise costeffectiveness.

Conference interpreters may purchase a ticket in a higher class in the circumstances indicated in the implementing provisions concerning Article 10 of the Agreement.

Long-distance journeys are defined in the implementing provisions concerning Article 12 of the Agreement.

A derogation entitling conference interpreters to travel in a higher class may be granted on an exceptional basis by the Director-General of Interpretation and Conferences or his or her representative if conference interpreters must accompany a Member of the institution who requests authorisation for them to travel first class.

The duration of the journey and the flight time shall be calculated, on the basis of the official timetables, from the time of departure until the time of arrival of the aircraft concerned.

Duty travel which does not satisfy certain conditions laid down above may also be regarded as long-distance travel, for example duty travel by a conference interpreter suffering from a physical disability which makes air travel particularly difficult, as recognised by Parliament's Medical Officer.

4. Taxis and hire cars:

The flat-rate daily allowance covers all conference interpreters' likely expenditure. Taxi fares at the place of work are thus included and cannot be reimbursed. However, if public transport is not available or not running, or if the use of a taxi shortens the duration of a journey and reduces its cost, reimbursement may be granted on submission of a reasoned request and a receipt to the Director-General of Interpretation and Conferences or his or her representative.

The hiring of a car may be authorised for certain journeys. The request must be forwarded in advance to the Directorate-General for Interpretation and Conferences.

Car hire costs shall be reimbursed only for travel undertaken in connection with the mission. The invoice must be attached to the statement that the engagement has been carried out.

Article 2 - Duration of the engagement:

1. If, in order to start work at the stipulated time, conference interpreters must leave their place of residence, using the authorised means of transport, before 8.00 the same day, they shall be authorised to leave as late as possible the day before, without, however, being required to arrive at the place of work after 23.00. By the same token, if they are unable to return to their place of residence before 23.00 on the day the engagement ends, they may use the first means of transport authorised the next day as from 8.00.

2. At all events, conference interpreters shall be deemed to have spent the night away from their place of residence if they have been unable to return to it before 00.01 or have been forced to leave it before 7.00.

3. Duration: rest days granted as part of long-distance duty travel shall entitle conference interpreters to payment of the daily remuneration and the daily allowance.

Illness during a mission: if, for health reasons, conference interpreters cannot perform their duties or are unable to return to their place of residence, they must immediately inform the Director-General of Interpretation and Conferences. Daily allowances may be paid, where appropriate, during that period up to a maximum of three days, provided that conference interpreters produce proof that they were unable, on medical grounds, to return to their place of residence and provided that they have incurred subsistence expenses during the period concerned.

Article 3 - Calculation of the duration of duty travel

The following rules shall apply:
a) the duration of a journey by train shall be determined on the basis of the train departure and arrival times, plus 45 minutes before departure and after arrival;

b) a journey by plane shall be regarded as beginning two hours before the official departure time and ending two hours after the actual landing time;

with regard to travel by private car, calculations shall be based on the time of departure and return to the interpreter's place of residence, provided that the duration of the journey is not longer than the equivalent journey by train. In that case, the times for an equivalent journey by train shall be taken as the basis for calculations.

Article 4 - Supporting documents

1. The supporting documents referred to in the annex to the Agreement shall be accepted.

2. If they have used a car, conference interpreters must state this, stipulating whether it was their private car, an official car or a car belonging to a third person.

3. If they have travelled by air, conference interpreters must attach the boarding card to the ticket or the counterfoil.

4. The actual times of departure and arrival for the means of transport used must be specified.

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