Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2026:336
Date: 2026-04-23
Language of the case: Bulgarian

Summary C-116/25 – 1 
Case C-116/25 
Summary of the request for a preliminary ruling pursuant to Article 98(1) of 
the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice 
Date lodged: 
4 February 2025 
Referring court:  
Administrativen sad – Blagoevgrad (Bulgaria) 
Date of the decision to refer: 
3 February 2025 
Applicant: 
Ts. E. S. 
Defendant: 
Direktor na Teritorialno podelenie na Natsionalnia osiguritelen 
institut – Blagoevgrad 
      
Subject matter of the main proceedings 
1 The subject matter of the main proceedings is the judicial review of a decision of 
the Direktor na Teritorialno podelenie na Natsionalnia osiguritelen institut – 
Blagoevgrad (Director of the Blagoevgrad Division of the National Social 
Security Institute, Bulgaria) of 16 October 2024 upholding a notice determining 
the amount of unemployment benefit for Ts. E. S. in the period from 25 July 2024 
to 22 July 2025, issued on 13 September 2024 by an official of that division. 
Subject matter and legal basis of the request 
In determining the amount of the abovementioned benefit, a new provision of 
national law, which had entered into force on 13 August 2024 (namely, 
Article 54b(8) of the Kodeks za sotsialno osiguriavane (Social Security Code)), 
was applied, by which, in the view of the abovementioned authority issuing the 
notice, the Bulgarian legislature derogated from Article 62(1) and (2) of 
Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
EN 
SUMMARY OF THE REQUEST FOR A PRELIMINARY RULING – CASE C-116/25 
 
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29 April 2004 on the coordination of social security systems, pursuant to 
Article 62(3) thereof. 
As a result, the amount of the unemployment benefit for Ts. E. S. was not 
determined exclusively on the basis of the salary which she had received during 
her last employment (just over a month as a seasonal worker in Spain), but also 
having regard to her total income in Bulgaria and in other States to which the 
European regulations on the coordination of social security systems apply, for the 
last 24 calendar months prior to the month in which her insurance terminated. 
If Ts. E. S. had worked only in Bulgaria before becoming unemployed and had 
not completed periods of insurance under the legislation of another State to which 
the European regulations on the coordination of social security systems apply, the 
detailed rules and conditions for the calculation of the amount of her benefit 
would have been different. 
The referring court asks whether that abovementioned new provision of national 
law is compatible with EU law, in particular with Article 62(1) and (2) of 
Regulation No 883/2004. 
The request for a preliminary ruling has been submitted on the basis of Article 267 
TFEU. 
Questions referred for a preliminary ruling 
1. Must Article 62(1) and (2) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the 
European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the 
coordination of social security systems be interpreted as allowing the 
calculation of the amount of unemployment benefit not to be 
determined exclusively by the salary received in the last period of 
employment, where the legislation of the Member State administered 
by the competent institution provides for a specific reference period for 
the determination of the base (basis) for the calculation of the benefits 
and where the last period of employment is shorter than the specific 
reference period but all or part of the periods of employment were 
completed under the legislation of another Member State? 
2. Must Article 62(1) and (2) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the 
European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the 
coordination of social security systems be interpreted as allowing 
legislation of a Member State which provides for different detailed 
rules for the calculation of the amount of unemployment benefit where 
the requisite periods of employment pursuant to that legislation have 
been completed entirely under that legislation and where all or part of 
the requisite periods of employment have been completed under the 
legislation of another Member State? 
NOI – BLAGOEVGRAD 
 
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Provisions of European Union law and case-law relied on 
Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
29 April 2004 on the coordination of social security systems (OJ 2004 L 166, 
p. 1) – recitals 4, 5, 10, 12, 13, 14, 32 and 45, Article 1(j), (k) and (r), Article 2(1), 
Article 3(1)(h), Article 4, Articles 61(1) and 62(1), (2) and (3), Article 65(2) and 
Article 65(5)(a) 
Judgment of the Court of Justice of 23 January 2020, Bundesagentur für Arbeit, 
C-29/19, EU:C:2020:36 (‘the judgment in Case C-29/19’) – paragraphs 32 to 37, 
39 and 40 
Provisions of national law relied on 
Kodeks za sotsialno osiguriavane (Social Security Code; ‘the KSO’) 
Article 54a, entitled ‘Entitlement to unemployment benefit’, provides: 
‘(1) Persons entitled to unemployment benefit shall be persons in respect of 
whom compulsory insurance contributions to the “Unemployment” Fund have 
been paid or are due for at least 12 of the last 18 months prior to the termination of 
the insurance and who: 
1. are registered as unemployed with the Agentsia po zaetostta [(Employment 
Agency)]; 
2. have not acquired entitlement to a pension on the basis of periods of 
insurance and age in the Republic of Bulgaria or to an old-age pension in another 
State, or do not receive a pension on the basis of periods of insurance and age in a 
reduced amount pursuant to Article 68a or an occupational pension pursuant to 
Article 168; 
3. do not perform an employment activity which is subject to compulsory 
insurance under this Code or under the legislation of another State, with the 
exception of the persons referred to in Article 114a(1) of the Kodeks na truda 
[(Bulgarian Labour Code)].’ 
Article 54b, entitled ‘Amount of the unemployment benefit’, provides: 
‘(1) The daily amount of unemployment benefit shall be 60% of the average 
daily salary or the average daily income in respect of which compulsory insurance 
contributions have been paid or are due to the “Unemployment” Fund in the last 
24 calendar months preceding the month in which the insurance terminated, and 
may not be less than the minimum or more than the maximum daily amount of 
unemployment benefit. 
… 
SUMMARY OF THE REQUEST FOR A PRELIMINARY RULING – CASE C-116/25 
 
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(5) The monthly amount of unemployment benefit shall be calculated by 
multiplying the daily rate determined pursuant to paragraph 1 by the number of 
working days in the relevant month. 
… 
(8) (new, DV [Darzhaven Vestnik, State Gazette] No 67/2024, in force since 
13 August 2024) Where the period referred to in paragraph 1, which is decisive 
for the calculation of the average daily salary or the average daily income subject 
to compulsory insurance, or the month in which the insurance terminated includes 
periods of insurance accrued under the legislation of a State to which the 
European regulations on the coordination of social security systems apply, the 
following shall be taken into account in the determination of the amount of 
unemployment benefit: 
1. the income received by the person during his or her last employment; 
2. the total income in the Republic of Bulgaria, including the relevant income 
from the periods referred to in paragraph 7 and the income in other States to 
which the European regulations on the coordination of social security systems 
apply, for the last 24 calendar months preceding the month in which the insurance 
terminated’. 
Succinct presentation of the facts and procedure in the main proceedings 
2 Ts. E. S. is a Bulgarian national and has her permanent residence and centre of 
interest in Bulgaria. 
3 Until the end of May 2024, Ts. E. S. was employed exclusively in Bulgaria and 
her last period of employment under Bulgarian law was also completed at that 
time. 
4 In June 2024, Ts. E. S. moved temporarily to Spain, where she was employed by a 
Spanish employer as a seasonal worker from 7 June 2024 to 13 July 2024. During 
that period, she worked for a total of 28 days and received a salary of 
EUR 2 590.80. 
5 During her employment and her stay in Spain, Ts. E. S. did not return to Bulgaria. 
6 On 14 July 2024, she was wholly unemployed and returned to Bulgaria after her 
period of employment in Spain terminated. 
7 On 2 August 2024, she applied to the Bulgarian social security authorities for 
unemployment benefit. 
8 By notice of 13 September 2024, issued by an official of the Blagoevgrad 
Division of the National Social Security Institute, the entitlement to 
NOI – BLAGOEVGRAD 
 
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unemployment benefit was recognised and the amount of benefit was set at 29.71 
leva (BGN) per day for the period from 25 July 2024 to 22 July 2025. 
9 That amount was determined taking into account the total amount of Ts. E. S.’ 
income subject to compulsory insurance earned in the period from 1 July 2022 to 
13 July 2024 (BGN 25 154.03), which includes both the salary from her period of 
insurance during her last employment in Spain in June and July 2024 and all other 
income subject to compulsory insurance as regards the previous periods of 
employment and insurance in Bulgaria, in the last 24 calendar months preceding 
the month in which the insurance terminated in July 2024. 
10 The effect of Article 54b(8) of the KSO was taken into account in determining the 
amount of benefit. That provision entered into force on 13 August 2024 and was 
applicable national law as at the time the decision of 13 September 2024 
recognising the entitlement to benefit was issued, but was not in force either at the 
time she became wholly unemployed (14 July 2024) or at the time she submitted 
the application for unemployment benefit (2 August 2024). 
11 The introduction of Article 54b(8) of the KSO laid down new, specific detailed 
rules for determining the amount of unemployment benefit, which concern 
persons who have completed periods of insurance under the legislation of a State 
to which the European regulations on the coordination of social security systems 
apply. 
12 Article 54b(8) of the KSO was considered by the authority which issued the notice 
of 13 September 2024 to be a new provision of national law by which the national 
legislature had derogated from Article 62(1) and (2) of Regulation No 883/2004, 
pursuant to Article 62(3) thereof. According to that authority, such a derogation 
did not exist before the entry into force of Article 54b(8) of the KSO. 
13 On 27 September 2024, Ts. E. S. lodged an objection, pursuant to administrative 
law, to the notice of 13 September 2024 with the Director of the Blagoevgrad 
Division of the National Social Security Institute, contending that Article 54b(8) 
of the KSO was not applicable ratione temporis to her case, as a result of which 
the determination of the income subject to compulsory insurance, on the basis of 
which the benefit to which she was entitled is also to be determined, was 
unlawful. 
14 By decision of 16 October 2024, the Director of the Blagoevgrad Division of the 
National Social Security Institute upheld the contested notice. It was found that 
the amount of unemployment benefit had been correctly calculated in accordance 
with Article 54b(8) of the KSO, and it was confirmed that there was a derogation 
from Article 62(1) and (2) of Regulation No 883/2004 pursuant to Article 62(3) 
thereof and that that derogation ‘re-regulates the existing legal relationships for 
the future’ and is applicable ‘with immediate effect with regard to the future 
effects of a situation that already existed when the previous provision was in 
force’. 
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15 It was found that, after the entry into force of Article 54b(8) of the KSO, 
Article 62(1) and (2) of Regulation No 883/2004, according to which, when 
calculating the amount of the unemployment benefit, it is exclusively the salary 
from the last employment in Spain that is to be taken into account, and the income 
subject to compulsory insurance as an employed person under Bulgarian law is to 
be disregarded, is no longer applicable to Ts. E. S. 
The essential arguments of the parties in the main proceedings 
16 Ts. E. S. claims in the proceedings before the court that: 
– Article 62(3) of Regulation No 883/2004 is not applicable to her since she was 
not habitually resident in Spain during her last employment, but returned to 
Bulgaria as her country of origin and residence and did not return to Spain after 
her temporary stay there; 
– the detailed rules laid down in Article 62(1) and (2) of Regulation 
No 883/2004, under which the amount of unemployment benefit is to be 
calculated taking account exclusively of the salary from her last employment in 
Spain, are directly applicable to her case; 
– the detailed rules laid down in Article 54b(8) of the KSO are contrary to 
Article 62(1) and (2) of Regulation No 883/2004 since they provide for the 
calculation of the amount of unemployment benefit without taking exclusive 
account of the salary from the last employment. 
17 In the proceedings before the court, the Director of the Blagoevgrad Division of 
the National Social Security Institute is arguing in support of that decision and the 
line of argument that Article 54b(8) of the KSO constitutes a derogation from 
Article 62(1) and (2) of Regulation No 883/2004, pursuant to Article 62(3) 
thereof. 
Succinct presentation of the Bulgarian case-law 
18 The case-law on the application of Article 62(1) and (2) of Regulation 
No 883/2004 is uniform from the entry into force thereof on 1 May 2010 until the 
introduction of Article 54b(8) of the KSO into national law. 
19 It has been held that Article 62(1) and (2) of Regulation No 883/2004 introduces a 
rule under which the amount of unemployment benefit is to be determined solely 
and exclusively having regard to the salary received by the person concerned 
during his or her last employment under the legislation of the Member State of 
that last employment, where all or part of the requisite period of insurance was 
completed under the legislation of another Member State whose law applied to the 
person concerned. 
NOI – BLAGOEVGRAD 
 
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20 It has also been acknowledged that the regulation does not lay down any 
conditions concerning a minimum duration of the last period of employment in 
order to apply the detailed rules for calculating unemployment benefit having 
regard to the salary received during that last period of employment. 
21 According to that case-law, Article 62(1) and (2) of Regulation No 883/2004 
precludes national legislation such as the Bulgarian legislation concerned 
(Article 54b(1) of the KSO), under which the salary received during the last 
period of employment may be taken into account in respect of a period longer than 
that last period of employment, or together with the salaries and other income 
subject to compulsory insurance received in completed periods of employment or 
insurance under the legislation of Bulgaria or of another Member State, prior to 
the period of last employment, in order to determine the amount of unemployment 
benefit. 
22 In that regard, it has been found in national case-law until the end of 2024 that 
Article 62(1) and (2) of Regulation No 883/2004 must be interpreted as not 
precluding the amount of unemployment benefit from being exclusively 
determined on the basis of salary, even if received for a single day, in as far as that 
single day constitutes the last employment. 
23 An example of that practice is that if the last employment, of one day only, was 
engaged in under Bulgarian law, but the person has previously completed periods 
of employment under the law of other Member States (for example, France and/or 
Italy), the amount of benefit is to be determined exclusively on the basis of the 
salary received during that one-day employment in Bulgaria. 
24 Another example of that practice is that if the last employment, of one day only, 
was under the law of another Member State (for example, Spain), but the person 
has completed previous periods of employment under Bulgarian law and/or the 
law of a third Member State (for example, Germany), the amount of benefit is 
again to be determined exclusively on the basis of the salary received during the 
last (Spanish) period of employment. 
25 That case-law was shaped in the period up to 2019 by the final decisions of the 
Varhoven administrativen sad (Supreme Administrative Court, Bulgaria) and was 
then continued until the end of 2024 by the administrative courts, which have had 
sole jurisdiction for disputes regarding unemployment benefits since 2019. 
26 Since the adoption of Article 54b(8) of the KSO, case-law has been split into two 
views. 
27 Some courts continue to abide by the previous case-law on the interpretation of 
Article 62(1) and (2) of Regulation No 883/2004. 
28 However, other courts have in practice abandoned the previous interpretation of 
Article 62(1) and (2) of Regulation No 883/2004 and take the view that, in so far 
as the regulation only provides for coordination, but does not create a uniform 
SUMMARY OF THE REQUEST FOR A PRELIMINARY RULING – CASE C-116/25 
 
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social security system, the Member States remain free to lay down the conditions 
for entitlement to social benefits, which is why Article 62(1) and (2) of the 
regulation must not be interpreted as requiring the Member States to determine the 
amount of unemployment benefit solely and exclusively, as a priority, on the basis 
of the salary received by the person concerned during his or her last employment, 
irrespective of the law of the Member State under which that salary was received. 
Succinct presentation of the reasoning in the request for a preliminary ruling 
29 In so far as Article 54b(8) of the KSO does not contain any specific condition 
whatsoever concerning its applicability to wholly unemployed persons who have 
continued to reside in or returned to the Member State of residence during their 
last employment, that State being different from the competent Member State, the 
referring court takes the view, in principle, that that provision of national law 
cannot be regarded as a lawful derogation from the application of Article 62(1) 
and (2) of Regulation No 883/2004, pursuant to the conditions set out in 
Article 62(3) thereof. 
30 In that regard, and since the facts of the case also do not suggest the conclusion 
that Ts. E. S. is an unemployed person covered by Article 65(5)(a) of Regulation 
No 883/2004, the referring court considers that the dispute to be resolved requires 
an answer to questions relating solely to the correct interpretation of Article 62(1) 
and (2) of Regulation No 883/2004. 
31 The court notes that the national law (Article 54b(1) of the KSO) provides that 
unemployment benefit is to be calculated on the basis of the amount of the 
previous salary of the person concerned, namely 60% of the average daily salary 
or average daily income subject to compulsory insurance. 
32 That law also lays down a specific insurance period necessary to determine the 
salary which serves as the basis for the calculation of the benefit within the 
meaning of Article 62(2) of Regulation No 883/2004. 
33 That specific period comprises the 24 calendar months preceding the month in 
which the person concerned became unemployed, in so far as that specific period 
does not comprise periods of insurance completed under the law of another 
Member State (Article 54b(1) of the KSO). 
34 The national law lays down also a specific period comprising both 24 calendar 
months preceding the month in which the person concerned became unemployed 
and ‘the income earned by the person during his or her last employment’, where 
the period referred to in Article 54b(1) of the KSO ‘or the month in which the 
insurance terminated includes periods of insurance accrued under the legislation 
of a State to which the European regulations on the coordination of social security 
systems apply’ (Article 54b(8) of the KSO). 
NOI – BLAGOEVGRAD 
 
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35 The present case displays similarities with Case C-29/19, but the explanations 
made in the judgment delivered in that case are not directly applicable on account 
of the differences in the facts of the case and the applicable national law. 
36 The similarity with the facts examined in the judgment in Case C-29/19 lies in the 
fact that it concerns wholly unemployed persons who have periods of employment 
encompassing both periods accrued under the legislation of the Member State of 
the competent institution and periods accrued under the legislation of another 
Member State or a State covered by Regulation No 883/2004. 
37 Another common feature is that both Bulgarian and German law lay down a 
period for determining the salary which serves as the basis for the calculation of 
the benefit. 
38 One difference is that the last employment of Ts. E. S. was not under the law of 
the Member State of the competent institution, but under the law of another 
Member State. 
39 A further difference arises from the Bulgarian law, which lays down a maximum 
period until 13 August 2024 and maximum periods after 13 August 2024 from 
which the total amount of salary received can be determined, serving as the basis 
for calculating the benefit. 
40 Furthermore, Bulgarian law does not lay down a minimum reference period 
during which salary must have been received (paid) in order for the amount of the 
benefit to be determined. 
41 Having regard to the considerations set out in paragraphs 39 and 40 of the 
judgment in Case C-29/19, the referring court considers that, where a Member 
State has chosen to base the calculation of the benefit on the amount of the 
previous salary, it is obliged to comply fully with Article 62(1) and (2) of 
Regulation No 883/2004 and has no discretion to lay down diverging provisions 
of law, and that such discretion cannot be justified by the general principle 
underlying the regulation on the coordination of social security systems. 
42 In that regard, the referring court does not share the view, expressed in the 
national case-law from the end of 2024, that the introduction of Article 54b(8) of 
the KSO into national law can be understood as an expression of a competence 
reserved to the Bulgarian State, after the choice was made to base the calculation 
of unemployment benefits on the amount of the previous salary. 
43 In the light of the considerations set out in paragraphs 32 to 37 of the judgment in 
Case C-29/19, the referring court also takes the view that Article 62(1) and (2) of 
Regulation No 883/2004 must be interpreted as precluding the amount of 
unemployment benefit from being determined exclusively on the basis of the 
salary received during the last period of employment, where the law of a Member 
State lays down a specific period of insurance for determining the salary that 
serves as the basis for the calculation of the benefit and where the duration of the 
SUMMARY OF THE REQUEST FOR A PRELIMINARY RULING – CASE C-116/25 
 
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last employment is shorter than that specific period, but within that specific period 
the person concerned has completed other periods of employment under the law of 
that Member State or of another Member State. 
44 The referring court is further of the view that Article 62(1) and (2) of Regulation 
No 883/2004 requires that, where the law of a Member State provides for a 
specific period of insurance in order to determine the income to be taken into 
account in the calculation of the benefit, all remuneration received during that 
period must be taken into account, irrespective of the law of the Member State 
under which the periods of employment were completed, and not only that from 
the last employment, if that employment is shorter than the specific period. 
45 The interpretation derived by the referring court is contrary to settled and 
prevailing national case-law on the application of Article 62(1) and (2) of 
Regulation No 883/2004 and, moreover, the court is uncertain as to whether that 
interpretation is compatible with the objective of unemployment benefit. 
46 As stated in paragraphs 35 and 36 of the judgment in Case C-29/19, that objective 
consists in taking into account, ‘as far as possible’, the remuneration received by 
unemployed person during their last employment, thereby facilitating their search 
for employment in the Member State of their last employment; but if the 
unemployed persons have left that State and returned to their State of residence to 
make themselves available to the competent institution there, it is clear that the 
objective of the benefit may not be achieved since there may be considerable 
differences in living standards and the labour market between the various Member 
States, in particular between the State of last employment and the State of 
residence. 
47 Thus, if unemployment benefit were calculated on the basis of salaries for periods 
of employment that are not completed under the legislation of the competent 
institution, that benefit could either be very inadequate, with the result that the 
unemployed person would have considerable difficulty in searching for 
employment, or it could be so high that there would be no need for the 
unemployed person to take up new employment while receiving benefit. 
48 Neither option promotes the mobility of workers or contributes to the fair use of 
benefits. 
49 At the same time, the persons concerned are in a different situation as compared to 
persons who have completed periods of employment exclusively under the 
legislation of the Member State of the competent institution. 
50 Furthermore, since Article 62(1) and (2) of Regulation No 883/2004 does not lay 
down a minimum duration of the last employment on the basis of which the 
amount of benefit is to be determined, the referring court is uncertain as to 
whether those provisions preclude national legislation such as Article 54b(8) of 
the KSO, under which the amount of all salaries received during a specific period, 
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including those received under the legislation of another Member State, is to be 
taken into account, in addition to the salary from the last employment. 
51 In the event that such national legislation is impermissible in respect of 
unemployed persons whose last period of employment was under the legislation 
of another Member State or who have completed periods of employment under 
such legislation but have completed their last period of employment under the 
legislation of the Member State of the competent institution, the referring court is 
uncertain whether Article 62(1) and (2) of Regulation No 883/2004 must be 
regarded as providing for ‘otherwise’ within the meaning of Article 4 of that 
regulation, allowing a different method for the determination of the amount of the 
benefit depending on whether a person’s periods of employment were completed 
exclusively under Bulgarian law or whether a person’s periods of employment 
include also periods completed under the law of another Member State. 
52 In respect of persons with periods of employment exclusively in Bulgaria, 
Article 54b(1) of the KSO applies, under which the daily unemployment benefit is 
to be 60% of the average daily salary or the average daily income subject to 
compulsory insurance in respect of which contributions have been paid or are due 
to the ‘Unemployment’ Fund for the last 24 calendar months preceding the month 
in which the insurance terminated, and may not be less than the minimum amount 
or more than the maximum amount of the daily rate of unemployment benefit. 
53 In respect of persons who were employed not only in Bulgaria, Article 54b(8) of 
the KSO applies, under which, where the period referred to in Article 54b(1) 
thereof, which is decisive for the determination of the average daily salary or the 
average daily income subject to compulsory insurance, or the month in which the 
insurance terminated includes periods of insurance accrued under the legislation 
of a State to which the European regulations on the coordination of social security 
systems apply, the following are to be taken into account in the determination of 
the amount of unemployment benefit: 1. the income received by the person 
concerned during his or her last employment; 2. the total income in Bulgaria, 
including the relevant income in other States to which the European regulations on 
the coordination of social security systems apply, for the last 24 calendar months 
preceding the month in which the insurance terminated. 
54 Apart from the different periods of income based on which the amount of the 
benefit is determined, there is also a difference in the permitted amount of the 
benefit. Under Article 54b(1) of the KSO, the rule for persons who were 
employed exclusively in Bulgaria is that the amount of unemployment benefit per 
day may not be less than the minimum amount or more than the maximum amount 
of daily unemployment benefit, whilst there is no such rule for persons covered by 
Article 54b(1) of the KSO, who were not employed exclusively in Bulgaria.