Empl-2005-02598-00-00-En-Tra-00 (Fr)
EUROPEAN COMMISSION EMPL/02598/2005 – EN
SS.TM. 02/05Minutes of the 36th meeting of the Advisory Committee
MINUTES – 18.10.2005
Orig. EN-FR Trad 18.01.06
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
ON SOCIAL SECURITY FOR MIGRANT WORKERS
Minutes of the 36th meeting
Brussels, 18 October 2005
CONTENTS PAGES
1. Adoption of the agenda 2
2. Approval of the minutes of the 35th meeting 3
3. Report by the Chair of the Advisory Committee on changes to Community legislation which have been made or are in progress 4
4. Report by the Chair of the Administrative Commission on Social Security for migrant workers (CASSTM) on the work of the CASSTM 6
5. Report on the decisions of the Court since the previous meeting of the Advisory Committee 7
6. Report on developments in the programme of the Technical Commission 9
7. The European Health Insurance Card – one year after its introduction 10
8. Report on the state of play with regard to the enlargement process 11
9. Presentation of COWEBS, the portal on the social security rights of mobile citizens 13
10. Presentation of TRESS (network on Training and Reporting in Social Security) 14
11. Other business 15
List of participants 16
SS.TM. 02/05Minutes of the 35th meeting of the Advisory Committee
Adoption of the agenda
1. Adoption of the agenda
Note SS.TM. 1/05
The agenda was adopted.
Minutes of the 36th meeting of the Advisory Committee
Approval of the minutes of the 35th meeting
2. Approval of the minutes of the 35th meeting
Note SS.TM. 2/04
All language versions of the agenda were adopted.
SS.TM. 02/05Minutes of the 36th meeting of the Advisory Committee
Report by the Chair of the Advisory Committee on changes to Community legislation which have been made or are in progress
3. Report by the Chair of the Advisory Committee on changes to Community legislation which have been made or are in progress
Note SS.TM. 3/04
The Secretariat pointed out that Regulation (EC) No 647/2005 (various amendments 2003) had been adopted, with the vast majority of the Member States agreeing to the Commission’s proposal to draw the appropriate conclusions from the recent case law of the Court and reduce the number of entries in Annex IIa to Regulation 1408/71. Only three Member States had not agreed. The Commission had reserved the right to refer the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Communities for further clarification, and did so on 26 July 2005.
The Secretariat continued by presenting a number of different legislative proposals which were being finalised: it announced that the proposal for an implementing regulation would be adopted at the beginning of 2006 following the adoption of the basic Regulation (Regulation 883/2004). The Commission was also due to present another legislative proposal at the same time, i.e. Annex XI to Regulation 883/2004.
The proposals for decisions of the Association Councils concerning the coordination of social security schemes were also being finalised.
In this context, the Secretariat pointed out that the extension of Regulation 1408/71 to nationals of third countries (Regulation 859/2003) did not apply to Denmark because of the legal basis which had been selected (Title IV of the EC Treaty) and an ad hoc solution would have to be found.
Finally, the proposal for a Regulation concerning “various amendments” was due to be submitted at the end of 2005.
In response to a question from the Austrian employers’ representative concerning access to information and the publication programme, the Secretariat pointed out that the short guide had just been updated and translated into all the languages. The large guide containing information on the national law of the Member States would be updated shortly. Finally, work had been done on the website concerning the coordination of social security schemes.
The representative of the German government asked the Secretariat about the agreements with the small countries (Monaco, Andorra, San Marino). The Secretariat said that contacts had already been established, in particular with Andorra, but that they had not yet been placed on a firm footing because of reservations on the part of Andorra.
The Secretariat pointed out that Regulation 883/2004 was not yet applicable and would not become so until the date on which the implementing regulation came into force (i.e. not before 2007).
SS.TM. 02/05Minutes of the 36th meeting of the Advisory Committee
Report by the Chair of the Administrative Commission on Social Security for Migrant Workers (CASSTM) on the work of the CASSTM
4. Report by the Chair of the Administrative Commission on Social Security for migrant workers (CASSTM) on the work of the CASSTM
Note SS.TM. 4/05
The Chair of the Administrative Commission informed the Advisory Committee regarding the activities of the CASSTM during the period October 2004 to June 2005 (i.e. the 294th to the 297th meeting of the Administrative Commission). The Chair gave an overview of the activities of the past 12 months under the Dutch and Luxembourg Presidencies.
In particular, she stressed the work accomplished by the Administrative Commission in the field of the European Health Insurance Card. She mentioned the seminar held in Luxembourg on the recognition of child-raising periods in other Member States in the context of pension insurance, as well as the joint Working Party of the Administrative Commission and Technical Commission, which was held on 18 February 2005 and concerned the electronification of the European Health Insurance Card and the electronic exchange of data and information between institutions, which is – as she underlined – an extremely important task.
The Chair finally congratulated the members of the Administrative Commission for showing that they were able to unanimously adopt decisions concerning very complex issues.
Replying to a question from the German employers’ representative with regard to "the European Centre of Reference" project (ECR), the Secretariat said that this issue was being dealt with by the High Level Group on Patient Mobility. For the time being, no definition of the ECR had been adopted. The work of the Administrative Commission in this field was limited to examining the possible procedures for the assumption of responsibility for the cost of health care provided in ECRs.
SS.TM. 02/05Minutes of the 36th meeting of the Advisory Committee
Report on the decisions of the Court since the previous meeting of the Advisory Committee
5. Report on the decisions of the Court since the previous meeting of the Advisory Committee
Note SS.TM. 5/05
The Secretariat presented its note on the case law adopted on this subject during the judicial year 2004-2005. During this period, 23 judgments on social security had been handed down by the Court of Justice of the European Communities.
The Secretariat went on to group the main judgments by subject and give a brief analysis of the main cases. This was followed by a short description of the facts and an analysis of their main implications.
· Family benefits:
Case C-469/02, Commission -v- Belgium, judgment of 7 September 2004.
Case C-302/02, Effing, judgment of 20 January 2005.
Case C-249/04, Allard -v- Institut national d'assurances sociales pour travailleurs indépendants, judgment of 26 May 2005.
Case C-543/03, Christine Dodl -v- Tiroler Gebietskrankenkasse, judgment of 7 June 2005.
· Sickness benefits:
Case C-193/03, Betriebskrankenkasse der Robert Bosch GmbH -v- Bundesrepublik Deutschland, judgment of 14 October 2004.
Case C-145/03, Keller -v- INSS, judgment of 12 April 2005.
· Pensions:
Case C-386/02, Baldinger -v- Pensionsversicherungsanstalt der Arbeiter, judgment of 16 September 2004.
Case C-101/04, Noteboom -v- Rijksdienst voor Pensioenen, judgment of 20 January 2005.
Case C-227/03, van Pommeren-Bourgondiën -v- Raad van bestuur van de Sociale verzekeringsbank, judgment of 7 July 2005.
· Supplementary pensions:
Case C-341/03, Commission -v- Greece, judgment of 7 October 2004 (Directive 98/49/EC)
· Pensions of Community officials:
Case C-293/03 My -v- Office national des pensions, judgment of 16 December 2004.
· European citizenship:
Case C-456/02, Michel Trojani -v- Centre public d'aide sociale de Bruxelles, judgment of 7 September 2004.
Case C-258/04, Ioannidis, judgment of 15 September 2005.
· Judgments of the EFTA Court:
Case Tsomakas Athanasios -v- The Norwegian State, 14 December 2004.
· European Court of Human Rights:
Decision on the admissibility of STEC and others -v- United Kingdom (6/7/2005)
The representative of the German government said that he would prefer the judgments to be listed alphabetically for the sake of clarity. He also said that this information, which was drawn up by the Secretariat each year, was extremely useful.
In response to a question from the Italian employers’ representative, the Secretariat expressed the view that the case law based on the idea of citizenship which had been presented would not change the system for coordinating social security schemes as it currently stood.
SS.TM. 02/05Minutes of the 36th meeting of the Advisory Committee
Report on developments in the programme of the Technical Commission
6. Report on developments in the programme of the Technical Commission
Note SS.TM. 6/05
The representative of the British Presidency reported on the latest developments in the work of the Technical Commission. Mention was made of activities to ensure that the new Member States are integrated as quickly as possible into the work of the Technical Commission.
Reference was also made to the launch of the COWEBS portal, which would be presented afterwards.
The same applied to the preparation of the new implementing regulation and the close working relationship established between certain experts on the Technical Committee and those drawing up the draft text.
Finally, reference was made to the work of the Technical Commission with a view to the introduction of an electronic European health insurance card.
SS.TM. 02/05Minutes of the 36th meeting of the Advisory Committee
The European Health Insurance Card – one year after its introduction
7. The European Health Insurance Card – one year after its introduction
Note SS.TM. 07/05
The Secretariat introduced its note on the assessment of the introduction of the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). It said that the introduction of the EHIC had taken place without major problems. In particular, a large number of cards had been issued compared to the number of E-forms issued previously over a similar period of time.
The main challenge identified as regards the use of the EHIC was the implementation of Regulation 631/04 concerning the alignment of rights and the simplification of procedures. Some Member States were concerned about the validity period of the EHIC (often issued for a relatively long period, for several years in some cases) and possible misuse of the card by persons who were no longer insured in the Member State which issued the card. The Administrative Commission therefore amended Decision 170 by adopting Decision 203, with the result that the authorities were now permitted to withdraw the EHIC in such situations.
More information about the EHIC can be found on the website of DG EMPL.
SS.TM. 02/05Minutes of the 36th meeting of the Advisory Committee
Report on the state of play with regard to the enlargement process
8. Report on the state of play with regard to the enlargement process
Note SS.TM. 8/05
The Secretariat presented its note, adding the following new information:
Turkey and Croatia: Negotiations had been opened on 3 October 2005 and the screening process would start in early 2006. With Turkey, negotiations were expected to last at least 10 years. Unlike previous accessions, the Commission would actually check whether the candidate countries fulfilled all the necessary conditions. In the social security field, this meant checking whether the necessary administrative structures were in place.
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM): The Commission would submit its opinion on the start of accession negotiations on 9 November 2005.
"European Neighbourhood Policy": A new instrument for increased political, security, economic and cultural cooperation for countries in the Mediterranean, Eastern European and South Caucasus regions. It would be implemented by action plans.
In response to questions from the ETUC representative, the Secretariat provided the following information by way of clarification:
(1) As regards social security, the action plans of the European Neighbourhood Policy provided for the full implementation of the social security provisions of the respective association or partnership agreements.
(2) During the expected 10 years of negotiations with Turkey, two instruments already offered protection in social security matters: Regulation 859/2003 applied to third-country nationals legally residing in a Member State and finding themselves in a cross-border situation, while Turkish nationals could rely on the equal treatment clause of Article 3 of Decision 3/80 on which the European Court of Justice ruled that no cross-border situation was needed.
(3) Following on from the meeting of the High Level Group on 12 September 2005, the Commission would present a report on the transitional measures for free movement of workers in January 2006: its legal part A would describe the measures and actions undertaken by Member States and the Commission, while the statistical part B would describe migration flows. For this, the Commission relied on the input from Member States which proved problematic in some cases. The Council would then take a decision on this report.
The Secretariat pointed out that the comment by the Portuguese trade unions' representative (on the difficulty of ensuring solidarity between the old and the new Member States because of the failure to increase the budget for the cohesion and structural funds) was a political and horizontal question for which the Advisory Committee was not competent.
The observer acting on behalf of the Romanian employers expressed his gratitude for being given the opportunity to participate and hoped for a positive Commission report on the situation in Romania regarding social security for migrant workers.
The Italian trade unions' representative was worried about the effects of the transitional measures on the export of unemployment benefits. She also enquired about how Member States applied the so-called 12-months rule.
The Secretariat stressed that despite the transitional measures, Regulation 1408/71 applied in full. However, the export of unemployment benefits under Article 69 depended on whether a jobseeker was allowed to register in a Member State. During the transitional period, this depended also on the national law of the old Member State concerned because Article 69 did not provide for any right to move to another Member State to look for work there. However, it was clear that a person who had worked for at least 12 months in an old Member State had acquired the right to full access to that labour market and was entitled to unemployment benefits in that Member State. Even if a worker from a new Member State had worked for less than 12 months in an old Member State, the Commission was of the opinion that if such a worker had acquired the necessary periods of insurance for entitlement to unemployment benefits he should nevertheless be able to export these benefits under Article 69 at least to his country of origin.