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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> Court of Justice of the European Communities (including Court of First Instance Decisions) >> Naranjo (Social security for migrant workers) [2007] EUECJ C-265/05 (16 January 2007) URL: https://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/EUECJ/2007/C26505.html Cite as: [2007] EUECJ C-265/05, [2007] EUECJ C-265/5 |
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(Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 Articles 4(2a), 10a and 95b Supplementary old-age allowance National law making the grant of that allowance conditional on residence Special non-contributory benefit Listed in Annex IIa to Regulation No 1408/71)
In Case C-265/05,
REFERENCE for a preliminary ruling under Article 234 EC from the Cour de cassation (France), made by decision of 21 June 2005, received at the Court on 27 June 2005, in the proceedings
José Perez Naranjo
v
Caisse régionale d'assurance maladie (CRAM) Nord-Picardie,
composed of V. Skouris, President, P. Jann, C.W.A. Timmermans, A. Rosas, R. Schintgen, P. Kūris, E. Juhász (Rapporteur) and J. Klučka, Presidents of the Chambers, J.N. Cunha Rodrigues, U. Lõhmus, E. Levits, A. à Caoimh and L. Bay Larsen, Judges,
Advocate General: L.A. Geelhoed,
Registrar: K. Sztranc-Sławiczek, Administrator,
having regard to the written procedure and further to the hearing on 20 June 2006,
after considering the observations submitted on behalf of:
José Perez Naranjo, by the SCP Thomas-Raquin and Benabent, avocat,
the Caisse régionale d'assurance maladie (CRAM) Nord-Picardie, by J.'A.. Blanc, avocat,
the French Government, by G. de Bergues and O. Christmann, acting as Agents,
the Spanish Government, by I. del Cuvillo Contreras and A. Sampol Pucurull, acting as Agents,
the Italian Government, by I.M. Braguglia, acting as Agent, and G. Aiello, avvocato dello Stato,
the Finnish Government, by T. Pynnä, acting as Agent,
the United Kingdom Government, by C. White, acting as Agent, and T. de la Mare, Barrister,
the Commission of the European Communities, by D. Martin and M.'J. Jonczy, acting as Agents,
after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 13 July 2006
gives the following
Legal background
Community legislation
'This Regulation shall apply to all legislation concerning the following branches of social security:
...
(c) old-age benefits;
...'.
'This Regulation shall also apply to special non-contributory benefits which are provided under a legislation or schemes other than those referred to in paragraph 1 or excluded by virtue of paragraph 4, where such benefits are intended:
(a) either to provide supplementary, substitute or ancillary cover against the risks covered by the branches of social security referred to in paragraph 1 (a) to (h) or
(b) solely as specific protection for the disabled.'
'Save as otherwise provided in this Regulation invalidity, old-age or survivors' cash benefits, pension for accidents at work or occupational diseases and death grants acquired under the legislation of one or more Member States shall not be subject to any reduction, modification, suspension, withdrawal or confiscation by reason of the fact that the recipient resides in the territory of a Member State other than that in which the institution responsible for payment is situated.'
'Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 10 and Title III, persons to whom this Regulation applies shall be granted the special non-contributory cash benefits referred to in Article 4(2a) exclusively in the territory of the Member State in which they reside, in accordance with the legislation of that State, provided that such benefits are listed in Annex IIa. Such benefits shall be granted by and at the expense of the institution of the place of residence.'
'An employed or self-employed person residing in the territory of a Member State other than the competent State, who satisfies the conditions of the legislation of the competent State for entitlement to benefits, taking account where appropriate of the provisions of Article 18, shall receive in the State in which he is resident:
(a) benefits in kind provided on behalf of the competent institution by the institution of the place of residence in accordance with the legislation administered by that institution as though he were insured with it;
(b) cash benefits provided by the competent institution in accordance with the legislation which it administers ...'.
'Whereas it is also necessary to take account of the case law of the Court of Justice stating that certain benefits provided under national laws may fall simultaneously within the categories of both social security and social assistance because of the class of persons to whom such laws apply, their objectives and their manner of application;
Whereas the Court of Justice has stated that, in some of its features, legislation under which such benefits are granted is akin to social assistance in that need is an essential criterion in its implementation and the conditions of entitlement are not based upon the aggregation of periods of employment or contributions, whilst in other features it is close to social security to the extent that there is an absence of discretion in the manner in which such benefits as are provided thereunder are awarded and in that it confers a legally defined position upon beneficiaries'.
'The application of Article 1 of Regulation (EEC) No 1247/92 may not result in the rejection of an application for a special non-contributory benefit awarded as a supplement to a pension, which was submitted by the person concerned who had satisfied the conditions for the award of this benefit before 1 June 1992, even where the person concerned resides on the territory of a Member State other than the competent Member State, provided that the application for the benefit is submitted within a period of five years starting from 1 June 1992.'
'(a) Supplementary allowance from the National Solidarity Funds (Law of 30 June 1956).'
National law
The facts of the case in the main proceedings and the question referred for a preliminary ruling
'Is Community law to be interpreted as meaning that the supplementary allowance at issue, listed in Annex IIa to Regulation No 1408/71, is of a special and non-contributory character, thereby excluding, pursuant to Articles 10a and 95b of Regulation No 1408/71, its award to a non-resident who did not satisfy the age condition on 1 June 1992, or as meaning that it constitutes a social security benefit and must therefore, pursuant to Article 19(1) of that regulation, be provided to the person concerned who satisfies the conditions for its award, irrespective of the Member State in which that person is resident?'
Admissibility
The question referred for a preliminary ruling
The special character of the supplementary allowance
The non-contributory character of the supplementary allowance
The possible application of transitional measures
Costs
On those grounds, the Court hereby rules:
A benefit such as the supplementary allowance mentioned, under the heading 'France' in Annex IIa to Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons and their families moving within the Community, in the version amended and updated by Council Regulation (EC) No 118/97 of 2 December 1996, constitutes a special benefit. Examination of the method of financing the supplementary allowance, on the basis of the information in the file submitted to the Court, shows that there is no sufficiently identifiable link between the general social contribution and the benefit concerned, which leads to the conclusion that the supplementary allowance is non-contributory. However, it is for the national court to confirm the accuracy of the factors set out in paragraphs 48 to 52 of this judgment in order to determine conclusively whether that benefit is contributory or non-contributory.
[Signatures]
* Language of the case: French.