More Than 6 Months After a Very Close Friend of António Campinos and EPO Official Caught With Cocaine Campinos is Cracking Down on - or Stealing From - EPO Staff
Allegedly, Luis Berenguer Giménez is being paid over 100,000 euros to do nothing as a de facto reward for substance abuse, which is a verified fact (that he got arrested for it)
Now they go after the "Education and Childcare Allowance" in their so-called "Salary Adjustment Procedure" (SAP) - a method by which to plunder staff and replace experienced staff with low-paid, obedient rubber-stampings agents
SUEPO The Hague Committee warns of "reduced reimbursements and a further erosion of entitlements."
It's getting worse; no wonder many workers go on strike.
In a recent communication SUEPO (the union) told colleagues and union members:
Dear members, dear colleagues,
We would like to draw your attention to this open letter addressed to the President concerning the adjustment of the Education and Childcare Allowance parameters under the latest Salary Adjustment Procedure proposal.
The letter highlights serious concerns about the use of eurozone inflation as a benchmark, which does not reflect the much steeper rise in actual education costs, particularly international school fees, and would lead to reduced reimbursements and a further erosion of entitlements.
It also warns of an increased risk of legal disputes and calls on the Administration to exclude the Education and Childcare Allowance from the SAP reform and ensure that support remains aligned with real costs.
We invite you to read the letter and stay informed on this important issue.
The letter in question is an open letter. Sent on April 1st, this was not a joke:
INTERNATIONALE GEWERKSCHAFT IM EUROPÄISCHEN PATENTAMT
STAFF UNION OF THE EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE
UNION SYNDICALE DE L'OFFICE EUROPEEN DES BREVETSOrtssektion Den Haag
Local section The Hague
Section locale La Haye1 April 2026
su26011hl – 0.2.1/0.3.1Mr António Campinos
President of the European Patent Organisation– by email –
To: president@epo.org
Cc: socialdialogue@epo.orgOPEN LETTER
Education and Childcare Allowance – Concerns regarding the latest SAP proposal
Dear Mr Campinos,
The latest Salary Adjustment Procedure (SAP) proposal provides for an adjustment of the Education and Childcare Allowance parameters, as set out in Annex IV of the Service Regulations, by reference to eurozone inflation. While this approach may appear straightforward at first glance, it raises serious concerns as to its adequacy and its impact on staff.
Educational costs at our place of employment have risen significantly faster than general eurozone inflation. Notably, around 5% per annum for most of the international schools. Indexing the Education and Childcare Allowance to eurozone inflation therefore fails to reflect the real and substantial increase in education-related expenses borne by staff. As a result, the proposed adjustment would lead to lower reimbursements, in particular lower effective ceilings, and a continued erosion of entitlements, disproportionately affecting younger colleagues and their families. In effect, the schooling choice for new colleagues under the reformed education allowance is becoming narrower.
Moreover, this approach entails a heightened risk of legal disputes involving the SAP and the Education and Childcare Allowance, areas that are already widely contested. If the Education and Childcare Allowance no longer provides reasonable coverage of actual education costs, more colleagues may be compelled to challenge the measure through legal proceedings, to the detriment of all parties involved.
A more appropriate and coherent solution would be to adjust the Education and Childcare Allowance parameters in line with the real evolution of education costs, rather than relying on general eurozone inflation indices. Such an approach would better reflect the lived reality of staff, offer meaningful support to younger generations, and significantly reduce the risk of litigation.
We therefore call on the Administration to continue investing in education and to exclude this matter from the scope of the SAP reform.
Kind Regards,
Fausto Ciotta
Chair of SUEPO The Hague
The EPO is being plundered while its founding principles/rules get abolished to please plutocrats from other continents.
Any day that passes and the media deliberately ignores these scandals merely contributes to the general perception that the media is complicit. Some EPO-connected readers tell us the same this week. █