In its judgment in Case C-63/12, Commission v Council, the Court of Justice of the European Union (‘the Court of Justice’) clarified that the institutions are obliged to decide each year on the adjustment of remuneration, either by undertaking a ‘mathematical’ adjustment according to the method laid down in Article 3 of Annex XI to the Staff Regulations, or by setting aside that ‘mathematical’ calculation in accordance with Article 10 thereof.
(2)
The purpose of Article 19 of Annex XIII to the Staff Regulations, as last amended by Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1023/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5), is to enable the institutions to take the necessary measures to settle their disputes concerning the 2011 and 2012 adjustments of remuneration and pensions in compliance with a judgment of the Court of Justice, taking due account of the legitimate expectation of staff that the institutions are to decide each year on the adjustment of their remuneration and pensions.
(3)
In order to comply with the judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-63/12, where the Council establishes that there is a serious and sudden deterioration in the economic and social situation within the Union, the Commission is to submit a proposal under the procedure laid down in Article 336 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) in order to involve the European Parliament in the legislative process. On 4 November 2011, the Council stated that the financial and economic crisis taking place within the Union, and resulting in substantial fiscal adjustments in most Member States, constituted a serious and sudden deterioration of the economic and social situation within the Union. The Council thus requested the Commission, in accordance with Article 241 TFEU, to implement Article 10 of Annex XI to the Staff Regulations and to submit an appropriate remuneration adjustment proposal.
(4)
The Court of Justice has confirmed that, under the exception clause, the European Parliament and the Council have a wide margin of discretion as regards the adjustment of remuneration and pensions. Economic and social data for the period from 1 July 2010 to 31 December 2011, such as the financial and economic crisis affecting a number of Member States in autumn 2011 which caused an immediate deterioration in the economic and social situation in the Union and resulted in substantial macroeconomic adjustments, the high level of unemployment and the high level of public deficit and debt in the Union, make it appropriate to set the adjustment of remuneration and pensions in Belgium and Luxembourg to 0 % for 2011. That adjustment is part of a global approach to settle the disputes regarding the 2011 and 2012 adjustments of remuneration and pensions, which also involves an adjustment of 0,8 % for 2012.
(5)
Consequently, during a period of five years (2010-2014) the adjustment of remuneration and pensions of officials and other servants of the European Union is as follows: in 2010, the application of the method laid down in Article 3 of Annex XI to the Staff Regulations resulted in an adjustment of 0,1 %. For 2011 and 2012 the result of the global approach to settle the disputes regarding the 2011 and 2012 adjustments of remuneration and pensions leads to an adjustment of 0 % and 0,8 %, respectively. Furthermore, as part of the political compromise on the reform of the Staff Regulations and of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, it was decided to freeze remuneration and pensions for the years 2013 and 2014,
