# C_2005296EN.01001401.xml

| 26.11.2005 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 296/14 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

26.11.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 296/14

---

Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal Départemental des Pensions Militaires du Morbihan by order of that court of 7 September 2005 in Ameur Echouikh v Secrétaire d'État aux Anciens Combatants

(Case C-0336/05)

(2005/C 296/26)

Language of the case: French

Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the European Communities by order of the Tribunal Départemental Des Pensions Militaires de Morbihan (Armed Services Pensions Tribunal for the Department of Morbihan) of 7 September 2005, received at the Court Registry on 15 September 2005, for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings between Ameur Echouikh and the Secrétaire D' Etat aux Anciens Combatants on the following questions:

| 1. | Do Articles 64 and 65 of the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Morocco, of the other part, signed in Brussels on 26 February 1996, have direct effect ? |
| --- | --- |

1.

Do Articles 64 and 65 of the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Morocco, of the other part, signed in Brussels on 26 February 1996, have direct effect ?

| 2. | If, for whatever reason, the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement is not found to be applicable in the present case, are Articles 40 to 42 of the Cooperation Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Kingdom of Morocco, signed in Rabat on 27 April 1976, which the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement is intended to replace, to be regarded as having direct effect ? |
| --- | --- |

2.

If, for whatever reason, the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement is not found to be applicable in the present case, are Articles 40 to 42 of the Cooperation Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Kingdom of Morocco, signed in Rabat on 27 April 1976, which the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement is intended to replace, to be regarded as having direct effect ?

| 3. | Does a Moroccan national who has served in a Member State's armed forces, including service beyond that State's territorial boundaries, fall within the category of ‘workers’ within the meaning of Articles 64 and 65 of the above-mentioned 1996 Euro-Mediterranean Agreement and within the meaning of Articles 40 to 42 of the above-mentioned 1976 Cooperation Agreement? |
| --- | --- |

3.

Does a Moroccan national who has served in a Member State's armed forces, including service beyond that State's territorial boundaries, fall within the category of ‘workers’ within the meaning of Articles 64 and 65 of the above-mentioned 1996 Euro-Mediterranean Agreement and within the meaning of Articles 40 to 42 of the above-mentioned 1976 Cooperation Agreement?

| 4. | Irrespective of whether the provisions of the above-mentioned Agreements signed with the Kingdom of Morocco in 1976 and 1996 are directly effective, can a Moroccan national, provided that he falls within the category of ‘workers’ within the meaning of these provisions in the Community legal order, invoke the direct applicability of the general principle of non-discrimination based on nationality enshrined in Article 12 of the EC Treaty and Article 14 of the European Convention for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms? |
| --- | --- |

4.

Irrespective of whether the provisions of the above-mentioned Agreements signed with the Kingdom of Morocco in 1976 and 1996 are directly effective, can a Moroccan national, provided that he falls within the category of ‘workers’ within the meaning of these provisions in the Community legal order, invoke the direct applicability of the general principle of non-discrimination based on nationality enshrined in Article 12 of the EC Treaty and Article 14 of the European Convention for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms?

| 5. | Does an armed services invalidity pension claimed by a Moroccan national who has served in the armed forces of a Member State in respect of the sequelae of an accident or illness occurring in the course of such military service fall within the category of remuneration for work covered by Article 64 of the above-mentioned 1996 Euro-Mediterranean Agreement or within the category of social security benefits covered by Article 65 of that Agreement ? |
| --- | --- |

5.

Does an armed services invalidity pension claimed by a Moroccan national who has served in the armed forces of a Member State in respect of the sequelae of an accident or illness occurring in the course of such military service fall within the category of remuneration for work covered by Article 64 of the above-mentioned 1996 Euro-Mediterranean Agreement or within the category of social security benefits covered by Article 65 of that Agreement ?

| 6. | Do Articles 64 and 65 of the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Morocco, of the other part, signed in Brussels on 26 February 1996 and, prior to the entry into force of that Agreement, Articles 40 to 42 of the Cooperation Agreement between the European Economic Community and Kingdom of Morocco, signed in Rabat on 27 April 1976, or, failing that, Article 12 (formerly Article 6) of the EC Treaty and Article 14 of the European Convention for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, preclude a Member State from relying on restrictive provisions in its national legislation connected to the nationality of a Moroccan national in order to:






  — | refuse to grant him an armed services invalidity pension that it would have granted, without that restriction, to its own nationals who, like him, are permanently resident in its territory, and who find themselves in the same position as him, having served in the armed forces of that Member State in the same circumstances as him? |
| --- | --- | --- |

6.

Do Articles 64 and 65 of the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Morocco, of the other part, signed in Brussels on 26 February 1996 and, prior to the entry into force of that Agreement, Articles 40 to 42 of the Cooperation Agreement between the European Economic Community and Kingdom of Morocco, signed in Rabat on 27 April 1976, or, failing that, Article 12 (formerly Article 6) of the EC Treaty and Article 14 of the European Convention for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, preclude a Member State from relying on restrictive provisions in its national legislation connected to the nationality of a Moroccan national in order to:

—

refuse to grant him an armed services invalidity pension that it would have granted, without that restriction, to its own nationals who, like him, are permanently resident in its territory, and who find themselves in the same position as him, having served in the armed forces of that Member State in the same circumstances as him?

| — | apply to him different conditions from those it applies to its own nationals with regard to the granting, method of calculation and duration of armed services pensions intended to compensate for the sequelae of accidents or illnesses arising in the course of service in its armed forces? |
| --- | --- |

—

apply to him different conditions from those it applies to its own nationals with regard to the granting, method of calculation and duration of armed services pensions intended to compensate for the sequelae of accidents or illnesses arising in the course of service in its armed forces?

| 7. | Does the fact that the person concerned was not working at the time when he made his pension claim and that the accident or illness on which this claim is based arose whilst he was formerly engaged in active military service, namely between 19 August 1949 and 16 August 1964, outside the territorial boundaries of the Member State he was serving in the capacity of a soldier, namely in Saigon, affect the replies to the preceding questions? |
| --- | --- |

7.

Does the fact that the person concerned was not working at the time when he made his pension claim and that the accident or illness on which this claim is based arose whilst he was formerly engaged in active military service, namely between 19 August 1949 and 16 August 1964, outside the territorial boundaries of the Member State he was serving in the capacity of a soldier, namely in Saigon, affect the replies to the preceding questions?

---