The European Ombudsman
Jacob Söderman

005062

Strasbourg, 20-01-1999

Mr Philip Sargent
27 Greville Road
UK-Cambridge
CB1 3QJ

942/98/ME/IJH

Dear Mr Sargent,

Please find enclosed the opinion that I have received from the European Commission with regard to your complaint of 15 September 1998. Your complaint concerned the alleged repeated failure by the European Commission to provide you with information about your social security at the Joint Research Centre.

The opinion from the Commission has already been sent to your old address (TP 262, JRC Ispra, 1-21020 Ispra VA)). After receiving your e-mail of 7 January 1999, informing the Ombudsman of your new postal address, I send you again the opinion to your new address.

If you wish to make any observations on the opinion from the Commission, please send them to me before 28 February 1999.

Please note that if I do not receive any observations from you, I may decide to close the file on your complaint on the basis of the information that you have already supplied and the opinion received from the Commission.

Yours sincerely,

{signature}
Jacob Söderman

Enclosure

TRANSLATION

Comments of the Commission on a request for information from the European Ombudsman
- Complaint by Philip Sargent, ref. 942/98/ME

By e-mail of 15 September 1998, Philip Sargent lodged a complaint with the European Ombudsman about alleged maladministration by the Commission, and specifically the Directorate-General for the Joint Research Centre (JRC).

1. Mr Sargent joined the JRC on 1 December 1997 as a visiting scientist at the Institute for Space Applications (Ispra, Italy) for a period of 12 months.
   
   On 24 November 1998 Mr Sargent signed and dated his contract letter, marking it "Read and approved" (see annex), and returned it to the appropriate department of the JRC in Ispra, as requested. Annexed to this contract letter was a copy of the Administrative guidelines applicable to scientists visiting the Joint Research Centre, dated 14 February 1994 ("the Guidelines"), which govern his visit.
   
   According to this contract letter and in accordance with his status of visiting scientist, Mr Sargent enjoys only those rights accorded to him in the Guidelines. He is not, therefore, covered by the Staff Regulations of Officials or the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities and hence does not qualify for the benefits accorded to officials and other servants, in particular the exemption from tax provided for in Article 13 of the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities.
   
   In addition, in order to clarify the requests made by Mr Sargent after the date on which the complaint was lodged, the Commission would point out that Article 1 of the Conditions ofEmplovment states that:
   
   "The conditions of employment shall apply to servants engaged under contract by the Communities. Such servants shall be:
   - temporary staff,
   - auxiliary staff,
   - local staff,
   - special advisers."
   
   In the light of the foregoing, contrary to Mr Sargent's interpretation, a visiting scientist is not an "other servant" within the meaning of the Conditions of Employment.
   
   Moreover, Article 11.2 of the Guidelines states that "A visiting scientist shall comply with any national tax laws applicable to him with regard to the allowance paid to him pursuant to Article 2 [of the Guidelines]", which in this case is ECU 5 500.
   
2. With regard to the request for reimbursement of the costs of medical insurance that Mr Sargent claims he should not have had to pay, the Commission would refer to Article 6 of the Guidelines and to the contract letter signed by Mr Sargent. In addition, before the start of his visit Mr Sargent had supplied the relevant department with proof of his membership of a sickness and accident insurance scheme.
   
   The Commission cannot be held responsible for any differences in health insurance cover between different Member States of the Union.
   
3. In addition, in his complaint cited above, Mr Sargent is seeking payment of fullsocial security cover fiom 1 December 1997. It should be noted in this regard that the flat-rate allowance referred to in Article 2 of the Guidelines is deemed to cover everything and it is up to visiting scientists to provide their own social security cover.
   
4. In his complaint Mr Sargent claims that the JRC failed or refused to provide information.
   
   Enquires conducted by the Directorate-General for the JRC and by Directorate General V have shown that, contrary to these allegations, neither of the two Commission departments ever failed or refused to reply to the many requests for information on a range of subjects that Mr Sargent addressed to them. The considerable volume of correspondence exchanged since Mr Sargent's arrival at the JRC as a visiting scientist testifies to this.

In the light of the foregoing, the Commission maintains that it cannot be held responsible for any maladministration with regard to Mr Sargent and that the claims made in his complaint are therefore unfounded.

Annex {copy of letter of invitation fax dated 19 Nov.1998, countersigned by Philip Sargent 24 Nov.1998}