Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2015:63
Date: 2015-02-05
Language of the case: French
Court formation: Sixth Chamber
Subject matter: Free movement of workers
Procedure: Action for failure to fulfil obligations - successful
Origin: Belgium

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber), 5 February 2015 1. Freedom of movement for persons — Workers — Access to employment — Local public service — Requirement of linguistic knowledge — National legislation requiring that evidence of such knowledge be provided by means of a certificate issued only by one official body of the Member State concerned following an examination conducted by that body in that Member State — Disproportionate nature of that legislation — Failure to fulfil obligations (Art. 45 TFUE; European Parliament and Council Regulation No 492/2011) 2. Member States — Obligations — Failure to fulfil obligations — National system pleaded as justification — Inadmissible (Art. 258 TFEU) 3. Actions for failure to fulfil obligations — Examination of the merits by the Court — Situation to be taken into consideration — Situation on expiry of the period laid down in the reasoned opinion (Art. 258 TFEU) 1. By requiring candidates for posts in the local services established in the certain linguistic regions, whose diplomas or certificates do not show that they were educated in the language concerned, to provide evidence of their linguistic knowledge by means of a certificate issued only by one official body of the Member State concerned following an examination conducted by that body in that Member State, the Member State concerned has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 45 TFEU and Regulation No 492/2011 on freedom of movement for workers within the Union. Such a requirement appears, in view of the freedom of movement for workers, disproportionate to the aim of assessing the linguistic knowledge of those candidates. That requirement precludes any consideration of the level of knowledge which a holder of a diploma obtained in another Member State can be assumed to possess on the evidence of that diploma, having regard to the nature and duration of the studies which it attests. Moreover, that national legislation effectively forces interested persons residing in other Member States, for the most part nationals of those Member States, to travel to the Member State concerned for the sole purpose of having their knowledge tested in an examination which is mandatory for the issuance of the certificate required for their application. The additional expenses which that requirement entails are liable to make it more difficult to gain access to the posts in question. (see paras 28, 29, 31, 35, operative part 1) 2. See the text of the decision. (see para. 33) 3. See the text of the decision. (see para. 34)