Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2011:593
Date: 2011-09-15
Language of the case: German
Subject matter: Principles, objectives and tasks of the Treaties;Social Policy
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Germany

summary of the judgment in Case C-212/04 Adeneler [2006] ECR I 6057)? If Question 3(a) is answered in the affirmative: (b) Is there such a sufficiently specific purpose if the budgetary rule, such as Paragraph 7(3) of the Gesetz über die Feststellung der Haushaltspläne des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen (Law determining the budget of the Land of North-Rhine Westphalia, 'HG 2004/2005') in this case, merely provides that the budgetary funds are intended for a fixed-term activity as 'temporary staff'? If Question 3(b) is answered in the affirmative: (c) Does this apply even if the activity of 'temporary staff' in this sense is understood to mean not only an activity that serves to cover either a temporary increase in work or the temporary loss of a core member of staff but also where the term 'temporary staff' is also deemed applicable if the employee is paid out of budgetary funds that are available because of the temporary loss of a core member of staff working in the same department, although the 'temporary staff' member is employed to do work that is categorised as falling within the ambit of the employer's fixed and permanent needs and has no substantive connection with the activity of the core member of staff lost, or (d) Does interpretation of the term 'temporary staff' in the manner described in Question 3(c) run counter to the spirit and purpose of the framework agreement on fixed-term work, which is to prevent abuse arising from the use of consecutive short-term employment contracts, and to the principle, laid down in Angelidaki (second paragraph of the summary of the judgment in Joined Cases C-378/07 to C-380/07 [2009] ECR I 3071), that Clause 5(1)(a) of the framework agreement on fixed-term work precludes the application of national legislation 'in such a way that the renewal of successive fixed-term employment contracts in the public sector is deemed to be justified by "objective reasons" within the meaning of that clause solely on the ground that those contracts are founded on legal provisions allowing them to be renewed in order to meet certain temporary needs when, in fact, those needs are fixed and permanent'? Question 4 Is a Member State in breach of Clause 8(3) of the framework agreement on fixed-term work if it introduces into its national legislation implementing Directive 1999/70/EC a budgetary reason for a fixed term such as that described in Question 2, which is of general application to the whole of its public sector but under its national legal system prior to the adoption of Directive 1999/70/EC only existed in comparable form in small pockets of the public sector (higher education)? Does such a breach mean that the national rule can no longer be applied? ____________