EU Staff / 2,500 jobs to go in austerity deal

Two thousand five hundred EU officials are set to lose their jobs in the next four years as part of new austerity measures for EU institutions.

Under the deal announced on Friday (28 June) by MEPs and ministers, the job cuts, which represent a 5 percent reduction of staff across the 50 EU institutions and agencies dotted around Europe, will be imposed gradually between 2013 and 2017.

Meanwhile, remaining staff will see a two-year pay and pension freeze alongside a small increase to the minimum working week from 37.5 hours to 40 hours.

The planned overhaul of the so-called “method,” which calculates the pay and pensions of officials based on the wages paid to national civil servants in 11 member states, will also be suspended until 2015.

The retirement age will increase from 63 to 66 for new staff, and 65 for existing staff, while officials will face a new “solidarity levy” of 6 percent, to be paid on top of existing income tax rates.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor

via EUobserver.com / Headline News / EU officials: 2,500 jobs to go in austerity deal