26.7.74 Official  Journal  of the European  Communities No C 88/1 
II 
(Preparatory  Acts) 
COUNCIL 
CONSULTATION  OF THE  ECONOMIC  AND  SOCIAL  COMMITTEE 
on a proposal  for a Council  Regulation  amending  Regulations  (EEC)  No 1408/71  and 
(EEC)  No 574/72  on the application  of social  security  schemes  to employed  persons 
and their  families  moving  within  the Community  and  on a supplement  to the proposal 
for a Regulation 
A. REQUEST  FOR  AN  OPINION 
On 28 January  and 1 March  1974,  the Council  decided  to exercise  its option  of consulting 
the Economic  and Social  Committee  on the above  proposal  for a Regulation. 
The request  for an Opinion  was  sent  by the President  of the Council  to the Chairman  of 
the Economic  and Social  Committee  on 29 January  1974. 
B. TEXT  WHICH  WAS  THE  SUBJECT  OF THE  CONSULTATION 
The text  which  was  the subject  of the consultation  was  published  in the Official  Journal 
of the European  Communities  No C 27 of 15 March  1974,  pages  1 to 6. 
C. OPINION  OF THE  ECONOMIC  AND  SOCIAL  COMMITTEE 
At its 119th  plenary  session  held  in Brussels  on 27 and  28 March  1974,  the Committee 
adopted  its Opinion  on the text  referred  to under  B by a unanimous  vote  of all members 
present  or represented. 
The text  of the Opinion  is as follows: 
No C 88/2 Official  Journal  of the European  Communities 26. 7. 74 
THE  ECONOMIC  AND  SOCIAL  COMMITTEE, 
Having  regard  to the letter  of 28 January  1974,  in 
which  the President  of the Council  of the European 
Communities  requested  the  Economic  and  Social 
Committee  to deliver  an opinion  on the proposal  for 
a Council  Regulation  amending  Regulations  (EEC) 
No 1408/71  and (EEC)  No 574/72  on the application 
of social  security  schemes  to employed  persons  and 
their  families  moving  within  the  Community,  and 
having  regard  to the letter  of 1 March  1974  in which 
the President  of the Council  requested  the Committee's 
Opinion  on the supplement  to the  aforementioned 
proposal; 
Having  regard  to Article  198 of the Treaty  establishing 
the European  Economic  Community; 
Having  regard  to the decision  taken  by the Bureau 
of the Economic  and Social  Committee  on 29 January 
1974,  in accordance  with  Article  22 of the Rules  of 
Procedure,  entrusting  the Section  for Social  Questions 
with the preparation  of an Opinion  on matter; 
Having  regard  to the Opinion  delivered  by the Section 
for Social  Questions  on 14 March  1974; 
Having  regard  to the report  submitted  by Mr Purpura; 
Having  regard  to the discussions  at its 119th  plenary 
session  on 27 and  28 March  1974; 
Whereas  adequate  legal  protection  is ensured  by 
Regulations  (EEC)  No 1408/71  and (EEC)  No 574/72 
on the social  security  of employed  persons  and  their 
families  moving  within  the Community; Whereas  this  is the right  moment  to remedy  certain 
shortcomings  which  experience  has revealed  in Com-
munity  rules, 
HAS  ADOPTED  THE  FOLLOWING  OPINION: 
The Committee  approves  the proposal  for a Council 
Regulation  and  wishes  to make  the following  com-
ments  : 
1. First  of all the Committee  welcomes  the decision 
of the Council  to ask it to give  an Opinion  on the 
proposal  in question.  It is all the more  pleased  at 
being  consulted  because  it was  not asked  to give  an 
opinion  on the draft  versions  of Regulations  (EEC) 
No 2864/72  and  (EEC)  No  878/73  of 19 December 
1972  and 26 March  1973  respectively,  which  amended 
Regulations  (EEC)  No 1408/71  and (EEC)  No 574/72 
on the social  security  systems  for employed  persons 
and their  families  moving  within  the Community. 
The Committee  is keenly  interested  in Community 
rules  in this  difficult  and delicate  matter  and  wishes 
to give  its opinion  and  to offer  its cooperation  within 
the meaning  of Treaty  Article  198 (second  sentence  of 
the first  paragraph),  for the purposes  of more  com-
prehensive  and,  what  is more,  even  better  social  security 
as well  as welfare  protection  for the workers  concerned 
and their  families. 
2. The  proposal  for a Regulation  which  has  been 
referred  to the Committee,  contains  a further  set of 
amendments  to Regulations  (EEC)  No 1408/71  and 
(EEC)  No 574/72,  which  have  already  been  amended 
— following  the accession  of Denmark,  Ireland  and 
the United  Kingdom  of Great  Britain  and  Northern 
Ireland  — by the Act  concerning  the conditions  of 
accession  and  the  adjustments  to the Treaties,  and 
by the abovementioned  Regulation  (EEC)  No 878/73 
of 26 March  1973. 
Whereas  the accession  to the European  Communities 
of Denmark,  Ireland  and  the  United  Kingdom  of 
Great  Britain  and  Northern  Ireland  created  technical 
and formal  problems,  most  of which  are dealt  with  by 
the Act of 22 January  1972,  concerning  the conditions 
of accession  and  the adjustments  to the Treaties  and 
by the Council  Decision  of 1 January  1973; The Committee  considers  the proposed  new  amend-
ments  to be fully  acceptable,  firstly  because  they 
meet  the need  for technical  improvements,  or result 
in some  respect  from  certain  reforms  in Danish  and 
Irish law,  secondly  because  they  improve  the rules 
and are  very  much  in the interest  of the  workers 
concerned. 
Whereas  since  these  dates,  changes,  of which  account 
must  be taken,  have  been  made  to national  legislations; 3. Some  of the amendments  now  proposed  relate  to 
tables  in Annex  IV to Regulation  (EEC)  No 1408/71 
which  show  the 'concordance  between  the legislations 
26. 7. 74 Official  Journal  of the European  Communities No C 88/3 
of the  Member  States  on conditions  relating  to the 
degree  of invalidity'.  These  tables  were  drawn  up to 
allow  the implementation  of Article  40 (3) of Regula-
tion (EEC)  No  1408/71  which,  in order  to facilitate 
the settlement  of claims  for invalidity  pensions,  states 
that 'a decision  taken  by an institution  of a Member 
State  concerning  the invalidity  of a claimant  shall  be 
binding  on the  institute  of any  other  Member  State 
concerned,  provided  that  concordance'  can  be 
established  from  the tables. This  is. why  it wishes  to draw  the  attention  of the 
Council  and  Commission  to certain  matters  of some 
importance  in this  tricky  sector. 
6. The  first  point  concerns  the  extension  of the 
scope  of the  legal  rules  established  by the  social 
security  regulations  to cover  self-employed  workers 
moving  within  the  Community  on the  basis  of the 
right  of establishment  and  freedom  to provide  services 
referred  to in Articles  52 and  59 of the Treaty. 
The Committee  notes  with  regret  that  these  proposed 
amendments,  which  have  been  made  necessary  by 
certain  changes  in national  legislation,  will  further 
reduce  the original  number  of concordances  and  thus 
somewhat  reduce  the  usefulness  and  importance  of 
the tables. Regulations  (EEC)  No 1408/71  and  (EEC)  No 574/72 
refer  to employed  persons  only.  This  is correct  both 
in law  and  in logic  because  they  were  adopted  under 
Article  51 of the Treaty  which  deals  with  measures  in 
the field  of social  security  for migrant  workers  'which 
are necessary  to provide  freedom  of movement  for 
workers'.  Insurance  cover  is laid  down  only  for 
persons  who  are enrolled  in a scheme  which  provides 
cover  for persons  in paid  employment. 
Here  the  Committee  would  stress  the  continuing 
validity  of the view  expressed  during  the preparation 
and adoption  of Regulation  (EEC)  No  1408/71, 
namely  that  certain  devices  such  as the tables  could 
not resolve  the problem  of the damage  caused  to the 
interests  of workers  who  move  from  one  Member 
State  to another,  by the wide  range  of medico-legal 
criteria  for invalidity  which  are used  in the national 
legislation  of the  Member  States.  In 1967,  when  it 
discussed  and  delivered  an Opinion  on the  draft 
version  of Regulation  (EEC)  No  1408/71,  the Com-
mittee  had  already  called  for a Community  definition 
of a state  of invalidity  as part  of the harmonization 
of social  security  legislation. 
It is still true  that  the only  real  solution  is to harmonize 
social  security  law  at national  level,  at least  in respect 
of this  particular  matter  of invalidity  evaluation,  as 
part of and  pending  the overall  harmonization  provided 
for in Article  118  of the Treaty  of Rome. In addition  the Committee  considers  that  the time  has 
come  to coordinate  the various  social  security  schemes 
for self-employed  persons,  taking  Article  235  of the 
Treaty  as the formal  legal  basis.  The  Committee  has 
on a number  of occasions  requested  that  this  Article 
should  be applied  and  its application  is expressly 
provided  for in the Social  Action  Programme  adopted 
by the Council. 
The proposed  system  should  not  encounter  any 
difficulties  because  the Commission  has already  shown 
its determination  to move  in this  direction  in the 
'Guidelines  for a Social  Action  Programme'  submitted 
to the Council  on 18 April  1973,  where  it called  for the 
'drawing  up of concrete  proposals  for  the  gradual 
extension  of social  protection  to categories  of people 
not covered  or inadequately  provided  for  under 
existing  systems',  and  for  'progressive  coordination 
of the  social  systems  of the  Member  States  in their 
application  to self-employed  persons  moving  from 
one Member  State  to another'  (paragraph  34, points 
7 and  9 of the Programme). 
5. The  Committee  endorses  the Commission's  desire, 
which  is also  expressed  in the present  proposal  for a 
Regulation,  to remedy  certain  shortcomings  dis-
covered  in the legal  rules  laid  down  by Regulations 
(EEC)  No 1408/71  and  (EEC)  No 574/72,  and  subse-
quent  amendments  thereto,  on the  application  of 
social  security  schemes  to employed  persons  and  their 
families  moving  within  the Community. It should  also  be mentioned  that  the European  Agree-
ment  on Social  Security  adopted  in 1972  by the 
Committee  of Ministers  of the  Council  of Europe 
applies  to employed  persons  and self-employed  persons 
moving  from  one  State  to another,  and  even  covers 
tourists  and  their  families.  It is inconceivable  that  a 
system  which  applies  to the  seventeen  countries 
belonging  to the  Council  of Europe  should  not  be 
binding  on the nine  Member  States  of the Community, 
which  also  belong  to the Council  of Europe. 
No C 88/4 Official  Journal  of the European  Communities 26. 7.74 
7. The  second  point  is unemployment  benefits. 
The conditions  and restrictions  governing  the granting 
of unemployment  benefits  outside  the  Member 
States  in which  entitlement  has been  acquired  might 
be regarded  as rather  severe.  To be eligible  for unem-
ployment  benefits  the person  concerned  must  remain 
available  for work  during  at least  four  weeks  in the 
State  where  entitlement  has been  acquired,  and  such 
benefit  is paid  for a maximum  period  of three  months. 
The Committee  trusts  that  the  Commission  will 
submit  new  proposals  to the Council  after  consulta-
tion of workers'  and  employers'  representatives. 
8. The  third  matter  concerns  fixing  the amount  of 
pension. 
Under  Article  46 (3) of Regulation  (EEC)  No 1408/71, 
benefits  are reduced  wherever  the total  amount  of the benefits  due to the worker  is higher  than  the theoreti-
cal highest  pension  (as defined  in Article  46 (1)). 
This  rule  seems  illogical,  particularly  in a contributory 
insurance  system.  It is inconsistent  with  the line  taken 
by the Community  Court  of Justice. 
The Committee  feels  that there  must  be an immediate 
change  in the rule  in question  in order  to eliminate 
the considerable  damage  which  it causes  to the 
interest  of Community  workers. 
Done  at Brussels,  28 March  1974. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic  and.  Social  Committee 
Alfons  LAPPAS 
CONSULTATION  OF THE  ECONOMIC  AND  SOCIAL  COMMITTEE 
on a draft  Council  Decision  on the setting  up of a General  Committee  on Safety  at Work 
and on a draft  Council  Decision  to confer  on the Mines  Safety  and Health  Commission 
the task  of continuing  its preventive  action  in the field  of safety  at work  in the whole 
range  of extractive  industries 
A. REQUEST  FOR  AN  OPINION 
On 14 December  1973,  the Council  decided  to exercise  its option  of consulting  the Econo-
mic and Social  Committee  on the above  draft  Decisions. 
The request  for an Opinion  was  sent  by the President  of the Council  to the Chairman 
of the Economic  and  Social  Committee  on 20 December  1973. 
B. TEXT  WHICH  WAS  THE  SUBJECT  OF THE  CONSULTATION 
The text  which  was  the subject  of the consultation  was  published  in the Official  Journal 
of the European  Communities  No C 35 of 28 March  1974,  pages  1 to 4. 
C. OPINION  OF THE  ECONOMIC  AND  SOCIAL  COMMITTEE 
At its 118th  plenary  session  held  in Brussels  on 26,27  and 28 February  1974,  the Committee 
adopted  its Opinion  on the text  referred  to under  B by a unanimous  vote  of all members 
present  or represented. 
The text  of the Opinion  is as follows: