Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2014:2301
Date: 2014-10-16
Language of the case: French
Subject matter: Principles, objectives and tasks of the Treaties;Fundamental rights;Charter of Fundamental Rights
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Belgium

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber), 4 February 2015 Freedom of movement for persons — Workers — Equal treatment — Social advantages — Unemployment benefit — Calculation of periods of insurance — Worker who is a national of a Member State and employed by an EU institution in that Member State — Obligation of sincere cooperation with the EU institutions — Failure to take into account periods of work completed as a member of the contract staff of an institution established in that Member State and refusal to treat as working days days of unemployment which have given rise to payment of an unemployment allowance pursuant to the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants — Unlawful (Art. 10 EC; Conditions of Employment of Other Servants; Council Regulation No 259/68, as amended by Regulation No 723/2004) Article 10 EC, in conjunction with the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities established by Regulation No 259/68 laying down the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities and instituting special measures temporarily applicable to officials of the Commission, as amended by Regulation No 723/2004, precludes legislation of a Member State which is interpreted as meaning that, in relation to eligibility for unemployment benefit, periods of work completed as a member of the contract staff in an EU institution established in that Member State are not taken into account and days of unemployment which have given rise to payment of an unemployment allowance pursuant to the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants are not treated as working days although days of unemployment for which benefit has been paid under the legislation of that Member State are so treated. Such a refusal to take into account, in relation to eligibility for unemployment benefit, periods of work completed as a member of the contract staff in an EU institution established in that Member State is such as to impede the recruitment by those institutions of contract staff. Legislation of that kind is liable to deter workers resident in that Member State from engaging in employment in an EU institution the duration of which, as limited by regulation, means that they face the prospect of having, sooner or later, to enter or re-enter the national labour market, since, owing to that employment, they may not reach the number of working days that is required by that legislation to claim benefits in the event of unemployment. Such legislation may give rise to the same deterrent effect as regards the failure to treat days of unemployment which have given rise to payment of an unemployment allowance pursuant to the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants as working days for the purpose of eligibility for unemployment benefit in that Member State, given that days of unemployment for which benefit has been paid under the legislation of that Member State are so treated. (see paras 27-29, operative part)