Decision of the European Ombudsman in the above case on the European Commission’s alleged failure to certify to national authorities the employment periods of a former EURATOM staff member for pension purposes

Dear Mr. X,

On 21 June 2019, you submitted a complaint to the European Ombudsman. Your complaint concerns the alleged failure by the European Commission to communicate with the national authorities to attest and validate the periods during which you worked for the EURATOM and acquired pension rights.

Based on the information you provided us, the Ombudsman finds no maladministration by the Commission.^[1]

The Ombudsman finds that the Commission has provided you with a clear answer. In fact, as the Commission underlined in its reply, it is up to the national authorities competent in the matter to determine your periods of coverage, based on the certificates of employment that you already have in your possession. The Commission also informed you that, at the end of your service, you received a leaving allowance. This means that any pension contribution that you paid while working for EURATOM was reimbursed to you when you left.

In your complaint, you also request that the European Commission should grant you a minimum pension to compensate the loss of your 16 quarters in your Member State. Unfortunately, the European Ombudsman cannot deal with this specific issue because you have not contacted the Commission with this request before complaining to the Ombudsman.^[2]

I realise that this decision will disappoint you, but I hope that the above information and explanations are nevertheless helpful.

The Ombudsman closes the case.

Yours sincerely,

 

Tina Nilsson

Head of Inquiries - Unit 4

Strasbourg, 15/07/2019

 

 

[1] Information on the review procedure can be found on the Ombudsman’s website: http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/resources/otherdocument.faces/en/70669/html.bookmark

[2] In accordance with the rule set out in Article 2(4) of the Statute of the European Ombudsman.