Any real estate property-related questions? R&D Ispra offers a free professional consultation service! Next date: 10/04/2025
Any real estate property-related questions?
R&D Ispra offers a free professional consultation service!
In response to numerous requests, R&D Ispra now offers a free consultation service, providing specialist expertise and support on various property-related matters. Matteo Squizzato, a qualified Architect from Spazio Leonardi | Studio di architettura, will be available for consultations once per month.
- The Architect will be available for consultations on Thursday, 10 April from 9:00 to 11:00 am in presence at the JRC (by appointment only).
During these consultations, you will have access to professional advice and assistance on a wide range of topics, including:
• Property transactions (buying and selling)
• Construction and renovation projects
• Topographic and Cadastral documentation
More detailed information regarding the services offered can be found in the attached document.
This is an exclusive “first consultation” service for all R&D Ispra members and future members (Join our Union, Become a Member!).
Any follow-on services, if required, will be charged at standard rates, which will be provided by the architect in advance.
HOW TO GET AN APPOINTMENT:
If you wish to take advantage of this service, you can contact our secretariat by phone: 0332 78 9645 or by e-mail: JRC-RD-ISPRA@ec.europa.eu to arrange an appointment.
LSC Elections - make your voice heard!
From 18th - 20th of November, all the
statutory staff will be invited to vote for the new composition of the
Ispra/Seville Local Staff Committee (LSC). The LSC
has a fundamental role in the defence of staff rights
and plays a key part in the verification of the correct application of the
Staff Regulations and other local provisions. Please find here a guide how the LSC
elections work.
R&D Ispra will be
present as list
5 - anotheR&Dimension.
It is of paramount importance to have a strong and reliable Staff
Committee. For that reason we are asking to renew your trust in us and
support our guidance of the Local Staff Committee that we have had during the last
three-year mandate, thanks also to the concrete work of the elected members of anotheR&Dimension. Please find below the list of our candidates
and a summary of our programme. A more detailed programme is available here.
The Staff Committees ensure the application of the Staff Regulations.
Voting for their composition is a right and a duty of each one of us;
don't miss the chance to make your voice heard!
ISPRA SALARY ADJUSTMENT 2024
ISPRA SALARY ADJUSTMENT 2024
We would like to clarify some aspects of the annual salary adjustment that have been circulating recently, following the publication of the Eurostat Report.
Firstly, it should be noted that the basic salary grid (TBA) for staff has increased by 8.5% over the past year (to July 2024), in accordance with the "méthode" set out in the Staff Regulations, with an intermediate adjustment of 3% in January 2024 and the balance in July 2024.
Most unfortunately, for Ispra however, we will not see an increase in the net salary received due to the effect of the correction coefficient, which has decreased from 0,95 to 0,869 over the last year.
A similar situation of a large decrease in correction coefficient which occurred in 2010, led to legal action taken by the Ispra staff representatives (intersindacale), to gain access to the data contributing to it calculation (link).
Regrettably, the outcome was negative (Court Case 2013 F 111/11), as the Court rejected the request on the grounds that the Administration enjoys "a wide margin of appreciation" and "is not obliged to communicate all the data to the staff," while the staff should be able to demonstrate that "a manifest error has been committed."
While supporting the "méthode", which consistently ensures the maintenance of the staff's purchasing power and which may only be modified with a revision of the Staff Regulations, we continue to have reservations about the data used to determine the value of the correction coefficient, which, as the chart here shows, has been on a downward trend over the last 20 years, albeit with some fluctuations.
Based on the available official data, a working group has been established within R&D to analyse the circumstances that has led to such a significant decrease in our correction coefficient this year and the aspects that have had the most significant impact on its calculation. Some initial reflections and suggested actions are reported below:
- The weight attributed to housing prices in different countries/locations contributes greatly to the results of the calculations. In particular the rental prices have decreased significantly in Varese compared to Brussels over the last year.
- Additionally, some of the data comes from the survey (family budget survey) that is normally proposed to staff every 5-7 years. The last survey for Varese dates back to 2016, and for this reason it is no longer current, and does not take into account the effects of the post COVID-19 pandemic and the recent period of high inflation. Eurostat had in previous reports stated its intention to perform a new survey within 2024, which it unfortunately has not implemented.
We are currently planning the following actions:
- We will request a review of the data currently used for the calculation of the 2024 correction coefficient.
- We will request a new survey to be conducted promptly, so that the determination of the next correction coefficient is more in line with our reality, and request that these surveys are performed at more frequent intervals.
- We will explore further “intersindacale” administrative actions.
We are also planning to organize a more detailed information session to discuss with you the results of our analysis and have an open exchange with staff. We remind you that this issue will be discussed during the upcoming plenary sessions of the LSC (Local Staff Committee) and the CSC (Central Staff Committee) with full involvement of all the staff representatives, to ensure that this important topic is given due attention.
The Executive Committee R&D Ispra
Intermediate salary update for Ispra-based staff
Intermediate salary update for Ispra-based staff
Recently another trade union sent a message containing information regarding the intermediate salary update in June. The explanation of the adjustment calculation and the method was well explained.
Unfortunately, the net effect on the pay slip for staff based in Ispra in June will be - 0.1% (retroactive to January 2024 : - 0.6%), because of the highlighted increase of 3% in the salary grid is more than neutralized by the nominal reduction of the coefficient corrector for Varese of 3% (from 0.95 to 0.92).
From our understanding, the situation for salary adjustment at the end of this year will be probably more positive.
The R&D Ispra Executive Committee
JRC Portfolios – a resource or a problem?
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JRC Portfolios – a resource or a problem?
In 2023, a reorganisation of the JRC’s work programme took place, with the introduction of the portfolios as the new building blocks.
JRC’s management idea behind the portfolios is that they are developed around common science and knowledge activities, going beyond Units and Directorates, providing a more coherent, interdisciplinary policy support to relevant DGs. Portfolios are supposed to step up collaboration, stimulate working together, and further promote cooperation within the JRC on cross-cutting themes.
Portfolios should become JRC’s ‘calling cards’ for outreach and for managing relations with external partners.
Today, the new structure has been in place for over 10 months. The full deployment of portfolios into the JRC’s way of working is a dynamic and still ongoing process but there are some critical aspects that need attention. The degree of integration vary from portfolio to portfolio, but several concerns are widely expressed. The following remarks and concerns are based on feedback received from many colleagues:
- Over 220 staff members are currently engaged in the portfolio leadership teams. Although being an opportunity for collaboration and getting to know better the organisation, many scientific staff members report that portfolios represent a significant additional (administrative) workload and burden, without any additional allocation of new resources to compensate for it. The work in portfolio leadership teams is time demanding. There are several weekly meetings and various additional portfolio-level activities. It must be acknowledged that this work comes on top of colleagues’ normal tasks, which are often team and/or project leading tasks, and frequently it is done at the cost of their scientific activities.
- There is lack of clarity in the distribution of roles and responsibilities between Units and portfolio leadership teams.
- The initiative to create portfolios presumed that there was not enough collaboration between units and directorates within the JRC. This is, however, an unproven assumption. Many cross-unit and cross-directorate professional relations do exist since years at the JRC, including between sites.
- Most of the portfolios have been established by putting together already ongoing projects related to well-established activities. These projects were not designed to be linked together, so the integration under the umbrella of a portfolio and the identification of common activities and portfolio-level deliverables was an unrealistic and impossible task in many cases. This situation, in our view, questions the fundamental idea behind portfolios, which end up to be an extra administrative layer requiring additional, and already scarce, resources.
- The portfolios should become the entry contact point for policy DGs and external stakeholders. Nevertheless, this new approach is not so obvious. JRC Units have long-lasting and well-established collaborations, administrative arrangements and/or common projects with partner DGs. These DGs continue to communicate and work directly with Units, as their only formal administrative counterpart, and do not recognise any benefits of the additional portfolio layer.
- External and internal communication also present difficulties. It is often very confusing what shall be communicated as an achievement and/or deliverable of the Directorate and Unit, and what shall be presented as the outcome of a portfolio. These situations create tensions and misunderstandings between Unit Heads/ Directors/ communication officers in the various Directorates.
We are aware that many of these aspects are acknowledged also by the JRC Senior Management. We sincerely hope that they will be tackled with no prejudice and with the greatest openness to rethink the entire concept, using the results of the ongoing portfolio assessment at DG level to evaluate if and when a portfolio is adding value, and recognising where it only or mostly creates an extra burden.
If you would like to share your observations and concerns, you can always contact our internal working group at JRC-RD-ISPRA@ec.europa.eu . Confidentiality is guaranteed.
Gianfranco Selvagio Laura Ciafrè
President Political Secretary
CONFERENCE ON TAXATION AND TAX DEDUCTIONS / CONFERENZA SU TASSAZIONI E DETRAZIONI FISCALI - 19/10/2023 - 12:30 - 13:30
on TAXATION and TAX DEDUCTIONS for EMPLOYEES AND PENSIONERS OF THE EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS
Thursday, 19th October 2023 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
HYBRID WEBINAR:
Club House - Room Ginestre
&
Join the conference via Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88987724157
Meeting ID: 889 8772 4157
R&D Ispra & SEPS Italia invite you to attend a hybrid conference that will deal with various fiscal matters.
The accountant, Mr Claudio Belmonte, of the accounting firm STUDIOBELMONTE, will explain and answer your questions relating to Italian taxation for employees and pensioners of the European Institutions.
The conference will cover the following topics:
TAX ON INHERITANCE AND DONATIONS
• Tax aspects related to residence. Inheritance/donation of assets owned in Italy and/or abroad
BONUSES FOR BUILDING RENOVATIONS
• Current regulations for on-going building practices
• Opportunities to dispose of the tax credit
The conference will be conducted in Italian, but questions may also be asked in English.
If you wish more info, you can contact our secretariat by phone: 0332 78 9645 or by e-mail: JRC-RD-ISPRA@ec.europa.eu
The Executive Committee of R&D Ispra
The Coordination Team of SEPS Italia - seps.italia@gmail.com
SEPS ITALIA: Information meeting 25/05/2023
The meeting will take place in hybrid mode: ZOOM Connection:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82707210331
The meeting will be held in Italian with Q/A
session in EN / FR. 
SEPS Italia - Info: +39 351 6471722 - seps.italia@gmail.com
CONFERENCE ON TAX DECLARATIONS AND TAX DEDUCTIONS
CONFERENCE
on TAX DECLARATIONS and TAX DEDUCTIONS for EMPLOYEES AND PENSIONERS OF THE EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS
Thursday, 16th February 2023 from 12:30 to 13:30
HYBRID WEBINAR:
Club House - Room Ginestre or
Join the conference via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88987724157
Meeting ID: 889 8772 4157
R&D Ispra would like to invite you to a hybrid conference on TAX DECLARATIONS AND TAX DEDUCTIONS.
The accountant, Mr Claudio Belmonte, of the accounting firm STUDIOBELMONTE, will explain and answer your questions relating to Italian taxation for employees and pensioners of the European Institutions.
During the conference, the following topics will be covered:
TAX MONITORING OF FINANCIAL ASSETS HELD ABROAD – DUTIES AND FULFILLMENTS
• The RW model of the tax declaration
• (IVIE – IVAFE) tax declarations on the value of financial and real estate assets held abroad
• The late, supplementary and/or amending tax litigation
• The disciplinary aspects and the omitted declaration
SUPERBONUS AND ECOBONUS – NEWS FOR THE YEAR 2023 AND PROCEDURES FOR THE PAPERWORKS INTRODUCED IN 2022
• The Ecobonus and tax deductions for energy requalification
• The Superbonus: new percentages and deadlines of tax deductions
• Who is entitled to the Superbonus/Ecobonus and which works are included
• Tax deductions, so-called “Cessione del credito” and “Sconto in fattura”
The conference will be conducted in Italian, but questions may also be asked in English.
If you wish more info, you can contact our secretariat by phone: 0332 78 9645 or by e-mail:
R&D Ispra offers a free TAX Advice Service!
R&D Ispra wishes to inform you that a FREE TAX ADVICE is now available to answer all your questions relating to Italian taxation for employees of the European Institutions, whether resident or not.
The accountant, Mr Claudio Belmonte, from the accounting firm STUDIOBELMONTE, will be available EVERY THURSDAY from 9:00 to 10:00 (upon appointment) in presence at the JRC and on request remotely.
Mr Claudio Belmonte and his team will be able to assist you with the following professional activities of tax and fiscal nature:
• Tax declaration - taxes on the value of financial and real estate assets held abroad (IVIE and IVAFE)
• Tax residence and tax domicile - double taxation agreements
• IMU and income from real estate
• Omitted declarations - supplementary and/or amending
• Tax litigation – Tax payment slips/Tax assessments – Ruling procedure
• Declaration of inheritance and notary services
• Tax Deduction (e.g. Ecobonus/ Superbonus / Building renovations)
Free TAX advice service
This is an exclusive and free of charge service for all R&D Ispra members and future members (Join our Union, Become a Member!).
This is only a “first advice” service, for further subsequent consultations, only and exclusively for R&D members, STUDIO BELMONTE will apply a special 20% discount on its ordinary rates.
HOW TO GET AN APPOINTMENT:
If you wish to take advantage of this service, you can contact our secretariat by phone: 0332 78 9645 or by e-mail to arrange an appointment :
<![endif]-->JRC-RD-ISPRA@ec.europa.eu
NOTE TO COMMISSIONER HAHN - OUR VISION FOR AN ISPRA MULTI-DG SITE
OUR VISION FOR AN ISPRA MULTI-DG SITE
Following the recent visit from the Commissioner Hahn, the three Trade Unions representing the majority of the staff sent a note with our proposals for the future of the JRC Ispra site.
We believe that in addition to the important work of the JRC, much appreciated by the Commissioner, our site could become fitter and stronger by hosting staff of a range of policy DGs and building closer interactions between policy and science.
We have reiterated to the Commissioner this vision for the future of the Ispra site, also to offer better and more stable employment conditions to Contractual Agents.
We would like to share with you this vision and we would appreciate to receive your comments.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ispra, 4th July 2022
NOTE TO THE ATTENTION OF MR J. HAHN
VICE-PRESIDENT BUDGET & HUMAN RESOURCES
Our vision for an Ispra multi-DG site
Dear Mr Hahn,
We would like to thank you for your recent visit to the JRC Ispra site and your recognition of our important work has been very much appreciated by the staff.
The undersigned Trade Unions representing the majority of the staff wish to share with you some proposals for the future of our site.
The Ispra site provides a welcoming and productive working environment……. read more
OPEN LETTER TO COMMISSIONER JOHANNES HAHN - Access to Italian Covid-19 vaccination campaign for staff (retired and active) and their families based in Italy
Subject : Access to Italian Covid-19 vaccination campaign for staff (retired and active) and their families based in Italy
Dear Commissioner
Hahn,
Since the beginning of
the pandemic, R&D Ispra has contributed and collaborated, in
compliance with its role, in the management of the emergency related to
Covid-19.
We acknowledge that
many positive steps have been taken, thanks also to the suggestions we have
proposed in the various working groups within which we work. However, to date
we must highlight the serious barriers limiting the access to vaccination
against Covid-19 for staff (whether active or retired) of the Ispra site, as
well as their family members. The principal barrier is due to the requirement
of prior registration in the Italian Health System (Tessera Sanitaria) - which
is not allowed for the Commission staff - in order to be able to make an
appointment for the vaccine.
The limitation of the
right to access to the vaccine in accordance with the national rollout schedule
not only results in increased personal risks, but also an increased risk to
public health since it doesn’t guarantee the maximum coverage of the resident
population which is the ultimate goal of the vaccination campaign.
We are grateful for
the enormous work that has already been done, and continues to be done, by the
Ispra site manager, the medical service, and PMO to find ad hoc solutions
together with ATS Insubria (responsible for the public health system in the
zone of the Lombardy Region where the Ispra site is located). Initially, this
concerned small numbers of staff working in the medical service, the child care
facilities, and the Emergency Response and Support Services. A successful ad
hoc system involving a dedicated email/ telephone hotline was then implemented
by ATS Insubria for the over 80s, who we believe have now mostly received at
least one vaccine dose. Just this week a new ad hoc approach for the over 70s and
vulnerable categories has been implemented. Unfortunately, this is an overly
complicated solution involving an email with no confirmation of receipt and
which requires several documents to be attached. Above all, it does not appear
to result in an appointment within a reasonable time. This contrasts extremely
poorly with the user-friendly online portal available to the general population
of Lombardy who receive instant notification of an appointment for vaccination,
which then takes place generally within a week.
The same ad hoc
solution, following the Italian schedule, will be extended to the over 60s (and
from 30th April the over 50s), but, as already highlighted, the procedure is
too complex and it does not give assurance of an appointment within a reasonable
time. We believe this solution is not effective for managing the increasing
number of staff and family members who are now becoming eligible - in theory –
for inclusion in the national vaccination programme, and for which we are
falling ever further behind.
Moreover, there are no
agreements with the other ATS in the Lombardy Region (e.g. Milan), nor indeed
other Italian Regions (e.g. Piedmont) in which a significant part of our staff
reside. Furthermore, many retired Commission staff reside throughout Italy,
including those that were previously not connected with the Ispra site – these
will also be facing significant difficulties in obtaining a vaccination
appointment.
We absolutely do not
want any privileged treatment, but demand to be included in the vaccination
campaign of our host country, in accordance with its announced schedules, as
has been assured to us many times by our employer. We would furthermore ask
that you remind our host country that we are not only here as guests, but also
live and work here by right, and that we demand to be treated with due respect
and not as an inconvenience. The many
statements of principle made by the European Commission and the Italian
Government must now be followed by the immediate implementation of simple,
timely and equitable procedures.
Below we propose some
simple and quickly applicable solutions, some already in place in various other
Italian regions:
1. The ATS allows appointments to be
made using the online portal that need only the tax number (codice fiscale) (as
is currently possible in other Italian regions, for example Emilia Romagna);
2. The Italian Authorities immediately
allow the Ispra medical service to become operational as a vaccination centre
for staff and family members as per the recently approved Italian legislation.
We note that the Ispra medical service has already proposed itself to the
authorities and has the technical capabilities in place;
3. Assignment by the ATS of a
provisional health card number for use in the online portal used for
vaccination reservations.
We are increasingly
aware every day that passes the growing discomfort and frustration of our
colleagues who do not see a clear implementations of their right to be
vaccinated. If solutions, such as those outlined above, are not implemented
with immediate effect we will feel that our patience and understanding to date
has not been rewarded - R&D Ispra
will give full and whole-hearted support to any colleagues who:
- despite being within an eligible
age category, are not provided with a vaccination appointment, and
- need to perform a period of
telework from abroad in order to obtain the Covid-19 vaccine in the country of
origin, in accordance with its national rollout schedule, and with the
justifiable motivation: Covid-19 vaccination not available in the host country.
Unfortunately, this
solution cannot be applied to those Italian colleagues without links to Regions
that do not require the national health number for a vaccination appointment,
so we would expect some imaginative solution, for example, a temporary transfer
to Brussels for vaccination by the medical service in accordance with Belgian
rollout schedule.
We note in closing
that as already foreseen by us, the impossibility to be registered in the
national health system does have real impact on staff based in Italy and a
permanent solution guaranteeing access for all Italy-based staff, independently
of nationality, needs to be put in place as soon as the immediate crisis is
resolved.
As always, we put all
our collective experience and abilities at your disposal in order to fully
cooperate with your services.
Yours Sincerely,
Gianfranco Selvagio Salvatore
Tirendi Laura Ciafrè Elena
Stringa
President Vice-President Political
Secretary Vice-Political
Secretary
Cc : Ms
U. von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
Ms S. Kyriakides, Commissioner
for Health and Food Safety
Ms G. Ingestad, Director-General
HR
Mr S. Quest,
Director-General JRC
Mr M. Stroosnijder, Site Manager
JRC
Mr I. Lombardi, Head of Unit
HR.D.5 (JRC Medical Service)
Ms I. Baltmane, Head of Unit PMO.6
Mr A. Katsogiannis, President Central
Staff Committee
All Ispra-based staff
