Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2016:749
Date: 2016-10-06
Language of the case: French
Court formation: Fourth Chamber
Subject matter: Social security for migrant workers;Free movement of workers
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: France

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber), 6 October 2016 1. Social security — Migrant workers — Power of the Member States to organise their social security systems — Limits — Compliance with EU law — Rules of the Treaty on freedom of movement for workers — Effect on the benefits granted under the legislation of one Member State alone (Arts 45 TFEU and 48 TFEU) 2. Freedom of movement for persons — Workers — Concept — National of a Member State employed by an international organisation — Included (Art. 45 TFEU) 3. Freedom of movement for persons — Workers — Equal treatment — Old-age pension — National officials seconded to an EU institution or body having chosen to remain affiliated to the national scheme and having completed 10 years of service entitling them to a pension under the EU pension scheme — National rules restricting the aggregation of the pension acquired under the national pension scheme with that acquired under the EU pension scheme — Not permissible (Art. 45 TFEU) 1. See the text of the decision. (see paras 22, 26-28) 2. See the text of the decision. (voir points 24, 25) 3. Article 45 TFEU must be interpreted as precluding national legislation, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which has the effect that a national official seconded to an EU institution or body who chooses to remain affiliated to the national pension scheme for the duration of his secondment loses all or part of the advantages accruing from his affiliation to that scheme if he completes 10 years’ service with the European Union entitling him to a pension under the European Union pension scheme. Thus, if an official seconded to an EU institution or body remains affiliated to his national pension scheme during his secondment, that national legislation makes the pension resulting from that affiliation subject to a ceiling rule and a capping rule. Under those rules, the amount of the pension which the official will receive under the national pension scheme may supplement the pension received under the EU pension scheme only to the extent of the pension which he would have acquired under the national scheme if there had been no secondment and the national retirement pension is reduced by the amount of the pension due under the EU pension scheme in such a way that the aggregated amount of the two pensions does not exceed the ceiling thus fixed. In such circumstances, an official who remains affiliated to the national pension scheme makes contributions which are non-recoverable. Those ceiling and capping rules are thus likely to hinder or make less attractive the exercise by such an official of his freedom guaranteed under Article 45 TFEU. The optional nature of the maintenance of the affiliation to the national pension scheme does not alter the fact that the ceiling and capping rules applying when that option is exercised have the effect that an official who exercises that option has paid contributions which are non-recoverable if he completes 10 years’ service with the EU entitling him to a pension under the EU pension scheme. When a national pension scheme allows seconded officials to remain affiliated, that option must be so conceived as not to have such an effect, otherwise it constitutes an obstacle to the freedom of movement for workers. In fact, such legislation places a seconded official who is affiliated both to the EU pension scheme and to the national pension scheme at a disadvantage compared with an official who remains in the Member State of origin who is affiliated only to the latter scheme inasmuch as only the first official, while having contributed to two schemes at once, suffers a loss of all or part of the advantages accruing from his affiliation to the national pension scheme if he becomes entitled to a pension under the EU pension scheme. (see paras 29, 30, 32, 34, 38, operative part)