Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2000:635
Date: 2000-11-16
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Social security for migrant workers
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Netherlands

Summary of the Judgment 
1. Social security for migrant workers — Unemployment — Frontier worker — Deter­
mination as to whether the worker is partially unemployed or wholly unemployed — 
Application of Community law criteria 
(Council Regulation No 1408/71, Art. 71(1)(a)) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-444/98 
2. Social security for migrant workers — Unemployment — Frontier worker — Deter­
mination as to whether the worker is partially unemployed or wholly unemployed — 
Criteria — Worker employed part-time in a Member State other than the State of 
residence — Partial unemployment — Right to benefits in the State of employ­
ment — Assessment by the national court 
(Council Regulation No 1408/71, Art. 71(1) (a) (i) and (it)) 
1. In order to determine whether a fron­
tier worker is to be regarded as par­
tially unemployed or wholly unem­
ployed within the meaning of Arti­
c le 7 1 ( 1 ) ( a ) of R e g u l a t i o n 
No 1408/71, as amended and updated 
by Regulation No 2001/83, uniform 
Community criteria must be applied. 
That assessment may not be made on 
the basis of criteria drawn from 
national law. 
(see para. 18 and operative part 1) 
2. If, in a Member State other than that in 
whose territory he resides, a frontier 
worker remains in employment with 
the same undertaking, but part-time, 
while remaining available for work on 
a full-time basis, he is partially unem­
ployed within the meaning of Arti­
cle 71 ( 1 (a) (i) of R e g u l a t i o n 
No 1408/71, as amended and updated 
by Regulation No 2001/83, and the 
related benefits are to be provided by 
the competent institution of that State. 
On the other hand, if a frontier worker 
no longer has any link with that State 
and is wholly unemployed within the 
meaning of Article 71(1) of that Reg­
ulation, those benefits are to be pro­
vided by the institution of the place of 
residence at its own expense. It is for 
the national court to determine on the 
basis of those criteria, in the case 
pending before it, the category to 
which the worker in question belongs. 
(see para. 37 and operative part 2) 
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