WRITTEN QUESTION No. 4067/98 by Sérgio RIBEIRO to the Commission. Access of immigrants from other EU Member States to civil service employment in Luxembourg
Date: 1999-01-14
Institutions: European Parliament, RIBEIRO
Subjects: EU national, European citizenship, Luxembourg, civil service, discrimination on the basis of nationality, infringement of EU law, infringement procedure (EU), judgment of the Court (EU)

C 297/128

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

15.10.1999

Reply

(22 April 1999)

As the Honourable Member is certainly aware, all Member States are participating in the Wassenaar
arrangement. This export control regime responds to the need of ensuring that appropriate export controls
are applied by the participating countries to transfers of dual-use items and related military technology.

The commitments of Member States under the Wassenaar arrangement, as well as under the other export
control regimes, are transposed into an integrated EU system consisting of Regulation (CE) 3381/94 of
19 December 1994 (legal basis Article 113 of the EC-Treaty) and of Council Decision 94/942/CFSP of
19 December 1994 (legal basis Article J.3 of the EU-Treaty) for CFSP aspects.

Modifications to the relevant lists, agreed in the Wassenaar framework, are incorporated, in accordance with
the procedures set out in the Treaty, into the European Union’s dual-use regime.

The Commission recently submitted a proposal for a Council Regulation (EC), based exclusively on Article
113, which would amend, update and complete the Community regime for the control of exports of dual-use
goods and technology. This proposal is currently being examined within the Council.

(1999/C 297/176)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-4067/98

by Sérgio Ribeiro (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(14 January 1999)

Subject: Access of immigrants from other EU Member States to civil service employment in Luxembourg

The project of EU citizenship, an objective enshrined the TEU, is bound to encounter difficulties.

While it is clearly difficult to define the limits of civil service employment reserved for nationals, there are cases
in which the principles of equality or non-discrimination for immigrants from other Member States which
should be guaranteed have been flagrantly ignored. A number of such cases are the result of legislation in
Luxembourg and the position taken by the authorities of this country as regards access to all levels of civil
service employment: they have already elicited protests at Community level leading to the initiation of legal
proceedings.

In order to take stock of the situation and to dispel my doubts and to enable me to adopt positions in exercising
my mandate as an MEP, will the Commission say whether it has already taken measures ; and if so which
measures ; as regards the access of immigrants from other EU Member States to civil service competitions and
posts in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg?

Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission

(19 March 1999)

Luxembourg legislation does not always give Community nationals generalised access to national civil service
employment. The Commission initiated an infringement procedure on this subject, leading to a judgment by
the Court of Justice on 2 July 1996 (Commission v. Luxembourg). In this judgment, the Court ruled against
Luxembourg, on the grounds that it had maintained Luxembourg nationality as a general requirement for
access to public service posts in certain areas of activity in the public sector.

Since the Court’s judgment, the Commission has initiated a further infringement procedure, as Luxembourg
has not yet complied with the judgment. According to the information at the Commission’s disposal, the
Luxembourg authorities have started an internal procedure to bring national legislation into line, but this has
been delayed by the need to amend the country’s Constitution.

Under these circumstances, the infringement procedure against Luxembourg will follow its course on the basis
of Article 171 of the EC Treaty until the national authorities take all the necessary measures to bring the
relevant legislation into line with Community law.