Opinion of the Commission pursuant to Article 251 (2), third subparagraph, point (c) of the EC Treaty, on the European Parliament's amendments to the Council's common position regarding the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the coordination of social security schemes amending the proposal of the Commission pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty
Date: 2004-04-22
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European citizenship, European social area, social-security benefit, social-security harmonisation

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 22.4.2004 
COM(2004) 332 final 

1998/0360 (COD) 

OPINION OF THE COMMISSION 

pursuant to Article 251 (2), third subparagraph, point (c) of the EC Treaty, 
on the European Parliament's amendments 
to the Council's common position regarding the  
proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on the coordination of social security schemes 

AMENDING THE PROPOSAL OF THE COMMISSION 
pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty 

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1998/0360 (COD) 

OPINION OF THE COMMISSION 

pursuant to Article 251 (2), third subparagraph, point (c) of the EC Treaty, 
on the European Parliament's amendments 
to the Council's common position regarding the  
proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on the coordination of social security schemes 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Article 251(2)(c) of the EC Treaty provides that the Commission shall deliver an opinion on 
the amendments proposed by the European Parliament at second reading. The Commission's 
opinion regarding the two amendments proposed by the European Parliament is set out below. 

2. 

BACKGROUND 

The Commission forwarded the above-mentioned proposal for a regulation to Parliament and 
the Council on 21 December 1998 (COM(1998) 779 final – 1998/0360(COD)). 

The European Economic and Social Committee delivered its opinion on 27 January 2000. 

The  European  Parliament  adopted  an  opinion  at  first  reading  on  3  September  2003,  tabling 
47 amendments to the Commission proposal. 

The  Commission  adopted  an  amended  proposal  on  9  October  2003  incorporating 
40 amendments in full and three amendments in part (COM(2003) 596 final). 

The Council adopted its common position unanimously on 26 January 2004. The Commission 
regarded this common position as acceptable. 

The  European  Parliament  adopted  two  amendments  to  the  Council's  common  position  at 
second reading on 20 April 2004. 

3. 

AIM OF THE PROPOSAL 

Regulation  (EEC)  No  1408/71  ensures  the  coordination  of  the  social  security  schemes  of  the 
Member States in order to protect the rights of persons moving within the European Union. 

Since  its  adoption  in  1971,  this  Regulation  has  undergone  a  considerable  number  of 
amendments  designed  to  take  account  of  changes  in  national  legislations,  improve  certain 
provisions, fill in gaps or lay down rules covering the situation of certain specific categories of 
persons.  In  addition,  some  provisions  need  to  be  clarified  in  order  to  avoid  difficulties  of 
interpretation, as evidenced by a large number of judgments delivered by the Court of Justice. 
The  aim  of  coordination  should  also  be  to  complement  the  development  of  the  European 

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Union as a whole. The rules on coordination no longer have the sole aim of ensuring the free 
movement of workers, but are about protecting the social security entitlements of all persons 
moving within the European Union. Coordination must therefore be seen from the perspective 
of European citizenship and the building of a Social Europe. 

The Commission therefore presented a proposal for a Regulation to simplify and modernise 
the coordination rules contained in Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71. 

4. 

COMMISSION OPINION ON THE AMENDMENTS PROPOSED BY PARLIAMENT 

The Commission can accept the two amendments proposed by Parliament. 

4.1. 

Amendment 1 

The purpose of the amendment is to specify that the provisions of the agreements mentioned 
in  Article  1,  point  1,  must  be  notified  to  Parliament  and  the  Council.  This  amendment  is 
acceptable to the Commission since it ensures that notifications are forwarded to the two co-
legislators. 

4.2. 

Amendment 2 

This amendment aims to bring the period to be completed by family members into line with 
that to be completed by former frontier workers themselves in order to be eligible for benefits 
in kind within the territory of the previous State of employment, as provided for in Article 18 
of the Regulation. The amendment is acceptable to the Commission since it is favourable to 
family members. 

5. 

CONCLUSION 

Under the terms of Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty, the Commission amends its proposal in 
accordance with the above. 

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