General implementing provisions concerning the granting of the education allowance
Article 1 - Eligibility
Article 2 - Definition of types of education allowance
Article 3 - Regular full-time attendance
Article 4 - Start and end of entitlement to education allowance
Article 5 - Education costs
Article 6 - Primary and secondary education
Article 7 - Higher education
Article 8 - Continued payment of the allowance during the school holidays
Article 9 - Duties of the official
Article 10 - Entry into force
THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,
having regard to the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union (hereafter referred to as 'the Staff Regulations'), and in particular to Article 67(1)(c) thereof and Article 3 of Annex VII and Article 15 of Article X thereto, and to the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (hereafter referred to as 'the CEOS'), and in particular to Articles 20, 21, 92 and 132 thereof,
having regard to the Bureau Decision of 9 December 2013 delegating to the Secretary-General the powers necessary for the adoption of internal rules, rules of application and implementing measures necessitated by the revision of the Staff Regulations and the CEOS, having regard to the opinion of the Staff Regulations Committee of 28 September 2016,
having consulted the Legal Service, the Data Protection Officer, the Staff Committee and the Committee on Equal Opportunities and Diversity,
HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING GENERAL IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS:
Article 1 - Eligibility
These general implementing provisions shall apply to officials. Pursuant to Articles 20, 21, 92 and 132 of the CEOS, they shall also apply to temporary staff, contract staff and accredited parliamentary assistants.
Article 2 - Definition of types of education allowance
1. Education allowance A means a flat-rate allowance paid to an official for each dependent child, within the meaning of Article 2(2) of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations, who is less than five years old or is not yet in regular full-time attendance at a primary school (Article 3(2) of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations).
2. Education allowance B means an allowance granted to an official for each dependent child, within the meaning of Article 2(2) of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations, who is in regular fulltime attendance at a primary or secondary school or at an establishment of higher education (Article 3(1) of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations).
In respect of children attending a primary or secondary school, education allowance B shall take the form of a reimbursement of the education costs referred to in Article 5, in accordance with the arrangements laid down in Article 6. However, in respect of children attending a primary or secondary school that does not charge fees, only school transport costs shall be reimbursed, without prejudice to Article 6(4).
In respect of children attending an establishment of higher education, education allowance B shall take the form of a flat-rate education allowance paid in accordance with the arrangements laid down in Article 7.
Article 3 - Regular full-time attendance
Temporary attendance at educational or training courses shall not be regarded as regular full-time attendance at an educational establishment within the meaning of these provisions.
Article 4 - Start and end of entitlement to education allowance
1. Entitlement to education allowance A shall commence on the first day of the month in which the child is considered for the purposes of the Staff Regulations to be dependent on the official and shall cease at the end of the month preceding the month in which the child satisfies the following two conditions:
a) is at least five years old and
b) is in regular full-time attendance at a primary school.
Entitlement to education allowance A shall cease in any case not later than the end of the month in which the child reaches the age of eight.
2. Entitlement to education allowance B shall commence on the first day of the month in which the child satisfies the conditions referred to in Article 2(2) of these provisions. It shall cease at the end of the month in which the conditions giving rise to such entitlement are no longer met or at the end of the month in which the child reaches the age of 26 if that date is earlier.
3. An official not in service for an entire month and hence not entitled to the full monthly remuneration shall receive, for the relevant part of the month, an education allowance A or B divided into thirtieths in accordance with the method of calculation laid down in Article 16(2) of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations.
4. Where the factual circumstances by virtue of which education allowance B is granted change, the amount of that allowance shall be recalculated with effect from the first day of the month in which the change occurs.
Article 5 - Education costs
Education allowance B shall cover:
a) registration and attendance fees at educational establishments;
b) transport costs;
excluding all other costs, and in particular:
- compulsory expenditure such as for the purchase of books, school equipment, sports equipment, school insurance and medical expenses cover, examination fees, costs of joint extra-curricular activities (school excursions, visits and trips, sports courses, etc.), and other expenses connected with following the curriculum of the educational establishment attended;
- costs incurred as a result of the child's participation in educational trips to winter, seaside and countryside resorts and similar activities.
Article 6 - Primary and secondary education
1. The costs specified in Article 5 shall be reimbursed, up to the ceiling referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 3(1) of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations, without prejudice to paragraph 4 below. For staff posted outside the Union, reimbursement shall be made in accordance with the arrangements provided for in Article 15 of Annex X to the Staff Regulations.
2. Education costs shall be reimbursed on production of supporting documents.
The costs shall be reimbursed by means of either monthly payments of one-twelfth of the total costs incurred during the school year or a single payment of those total costs.
3. For the same journey from home to school, transport costs shall be reimbursed on the basis of either a special school transport service or public transport, but not both. No reimbursement of transport costs for extracurricular activities shall be authorised.
Where the dependent child does not use public transport or a special school transport service, reimbursement shall be made on the basis of the cost of:
- a season ticket for the public means of transport, or
- the special school transport service,
with account being taken of the form of transport that is the less expensive of the two and takes the shorter route between home and school.
Where a special school transport service is organised for a European School by its parents' association, the transport cost reimbursed per pupil in accordance with Article 5(b) of these provisions shall be the sum of the actual cost charged to the association by the transport companies and the cost of any staff employed by the association and the administrative expenses borne by the association in connection with the provision of the transport service, plus an allowance, where the association considers this necessary, of up to 2% for contingencies, divided by the number of persons using the service.
4. The costs specified in Article 5 shall be reimbursed by payment of a flat-rate monthly allowance equal to the amount referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 3(1) of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations, for each child attending a primary or secondary school or equivalent educational establishment at a place away from the family home, on condition that accommodation for the child is provided against payment at that place and that the educational establishment is located outside the place of employment and the family's place of residence.
5. On production of supporting documents, the official shall be entitled to receive up to twice the amount set out in the first subparagraph of Article 3(1) of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations by way of reimbursement of the costs specified in Article 5, provided that his/her place of employment is at least 50 km either from a European School or from a school teaching in his/her mother tongue and that the child must attend such a school for imperative educational reasons, adequate proof of which must be provided.
Article 7 - Higher education
1. The costs specified in Article 5 shall be reimbursed by payment of a flat-rate monthly allowance equal to the maximum amount specified in the first subparagraph of Article 3(1) of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations for each child attending an establishment of higher education.
For staff posted outside the Union, reimbursement shall be made in accordance with the arrangements provided for in Article 15 of Annex X to the Staff Regulations.
2. An official whose place of employment is at least 50 km from an establishment of higher education in the country of which he/she is a national that works in his/her language shall be entitled to reimbursement of the costs specified in Article 5 by payment of a monthly flat-rate allowance equal to twice the maximum amount specified in the first subparagraph of Article 3(1) of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations, provided that the following conditions are met:
a) the child actually attends an establishment of higher education at least 50 km from the official's place of employment;
and
b) the official is entitled to the expatriation allowance.
The latter condition shall not apply if the child attends a higher education establishment in a country other than that of the official's place of employment.
Article 8 - Continued payment of the allowance during the school holidays
The flat-rate allowance provided for in Article 6(4) and Article 7 of these provisions shall also be paid during school holidays provided that the child continues his/her studies or immediately begins a fresh cycle of studies the following academic year.
Article 9 - Duties of the official
The official shall declare any similar allowances received from other sources and shall notify any change of circumstance which could give rise to the cessation or reduction of education allowance A or B.
Article 10 - Entry into force
These general implementing provisions shall enter into force on the first day of the month following that in which they are signed. They replace the general implementing provisions of 18 May 2004.
Done in Luxembourg, 18 November 2016
Klaus WELLE
Secretary-General