Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the "Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons, to self-employed persons and to members of their families moving within the Community and Council Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 laying down the procedure for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71"

(2000/C 367/05)

On 5 July 2000 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article 262 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 12 September 2000. The rapporteur was Mr Rodríguez García Caro.

At its 375th plenary session 2000 (meeting of 20 September and 21 September), the Economic and Social Committee unanimously adopted the following opinion.

1. Introduction

1.1. Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 is amended periodically to keep in step with developments in national social security systems (regulatory changes, bilateral agreements) and at EU level (rulings by the Court of Justice of the European Community). Proposed amendments, such as the ones now submitted to the Committee, are thus tabled quite frequently.

1.2. Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 laying down procedures for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 undergoes similar amendments, either as a consequence of the amendments to the basic regulation or because of changes to national and EU legislation.

1.3. All these amendments make social security legislation for workers and their families moving within the EU increasingly complex. Hence a regulation designed to facilitate workers' mobility without impinging on their social security rights gets more and more complex, as new provisions are regularly added without simplifying or cutting the text.

1.4. As well as adapting the text of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 to new circumstances, it is thus also necessary to reform and simplify it by expediting the adoption of the proposed EP and Council regulation on coordination of social security systems which was broadly endorsed by the Committee at its January 2000 plenary session(1).

2. General comments on the proposal

2.1. As mentioned above, the proposal amends both Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 and its implementing Regulation (EEC) No 574/72. The Committee broadly endorses the proposal as the changes are prompted by the express wish of the Member States, by Community case law and by changes which have occurred within the Union.

2.2. However, the Committee considers that the Council and Parliament must be prevailed on to simplify and improve the present regulations as quickly and effectively as possible. The draft regulation on the coordination of social security schemes(2) must continue its procedural course through the two institutions, so that within a reasonable timeframe the regulation now being amended is simpler and more suited to current circumstances.

2.3. This is the first time that the two regulations are to be amended using the co-decision procedure. The proposal could undergo modifications in the course of this procedure, with the risk that the Committee might issue an opinion on a proposal which the co-decision procedure substantially modifies. The Committee must participate and give its opinion in real time, so its advisory role in this procedure needs clarifying.

3. Specific comments on the proposal

3.1. Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons, to self-employed persons and to members of their families moving within the Community

3.1.1. Article 1 of the proposal amends Annexes IV and VI of the regulation. The amendments are set out in the Annex to the proposed new regulation.

3.1.2. Annex IV, Part C [waiving of calculation of benefits under Article 46(2)], Section E (France) is amended so as to free the relevant institutions from the obligation to carry out a dual calculation of pension benefits or survivor's benefits under the system set out in Article 46(2).

The Committee thinks that the amendment cuts red tape by getting rid of unnecessary procedures.

3.1.3. Section E (France) of Annex VI (special procedures for applying the legislation of certain Member States) is also amended. Point 3 is amended to make it easier for French and EU nationals to voluntarily join an old-age insurance scheme. Point 5 is amended so that it not only includes basic old-age insurance schemes but also supplementary pension schemes for employed workers. A point 9 is added, whereby the French legislation applicable to employed workers is deemed to apply both to the basic old-age insurance scheme(s) and to the supplementary pension scheme(s) to which the person concerned has been subject.

The Committee considers that the proposed amendments help to remove barriers to worker mobility and make the text more in keeping with the French social security system.

The Committee points out that there is a mistake in the Spanish version of the new point 9, which should read "a los efectos del capítulo 3 del Título III" (for the purposes of applying Chapter 3 of Title III) and not ".... del Título III del capítulo 3" (Title III of Chapter 3).

3.1.4. A new point 7 is added to Section K (Austria) of Annex VI, stating that special assistance under the Special Assistance Act (SUG) of 30 November 1973 is considered as an old-age pension for the purposes of applying Chapter 3 of Title III of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71.

The Committee points out that the numbering of the Spanish version of Point III.2 of the explanatory memorandum mentions entries (d) and (e), while the actual proposal calls these entries (b) and (c). This needs to be corrected.

3.1.5. Point 1 of Section N (Sweden) of Annex VI is amended so that Swedish parental benefit is treated as a family benefit (Article 72) rather than under the category of sickness or maternity benefit (Article 18(1)).

The amendment is prompted by the Court of Justice ruling of June 1998 (Kuusijärvi case) which established that the Swedish parental benefit must be treated as a family benefit.

3.2. Council Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 laying down the procedures for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71

3.2.1. Article 2 of the proposal amends three articles of Regulation (EEC) No 574/72.

3.2.2. Article 34(5) is amended as regards reimbursement, by the competent authority of a Member State, of expenses incurred during a stay in another Member State. The aim is to distinguish between cases where there is provision for rates of reimbursement [Article 34(4)] and cases where there is no such provision [Article 34(5)].

The amendment also corrects linguistic errors in the English and Swedish versions of the regulation.

3.2.3. Article 93(1) is amended following the inclusion of students in Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 (Regulation (EC) No 307/99 of 8 February 1999 extending the personal and material scope of Regulations (EEC) No 1408/71 and (EEC) No 574/72). Regulation (EEC) No 307/99 introduced an Article 34a on special provisions and an Article 34b on common provisions, and deleted Article 22c.

The Commission now proposes to correct the references in Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 to the abovementioned articles as regards reimbursement of sickness and maternity benefits in kind.

3.2.4. The provisions in Article 107(1) regarding currency conversion are amended following the end of the EMS, as euro reference rates are calculated by the European Central Bank.

4. Conclusions

4.1. The Committee welcomes the proposed amendments to the two regulations.

4.2. In cases such as the present, involving co-decision, the advisory role of the Committee needs to be set in a scenario which enables it to issue opinions on any modifications which the proposal undergoes in the course of the approval procedure.

Brussels, 20 September 2000.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Beatrice Rangoni Machiavelli

(1) OJ C 75, 15.3.2000.

(2) OJ C 38, 12.2.1999, p. 10.