Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the procedure for implementing Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems
Date: 2006-01-31
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, application of EU law, social-security benefit, social-security harmonisation

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 31.1.2006 
COM(2006)16 final 

2006/0006(COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

laying down the procedure for implementing Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 on 
the coordination of social security systems 

. 

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1)  CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

•  Grounds for and objectives of the proposal 

Article  89  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  883/2004  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  29  April  2004  provides  that  a  further  Regulation  shall  lay  down  the 
procedure for implementing the said Regulation. 

•  General context 

The  rules  on  the  coordination  of  national  social  security  systems  fall  within  the 
framework  of  free  movement  of  persons  and  should  help  to  improve  the  standard  of 
living  and  conditions  of  employment  of  EU  citizens  moving  within  the  Union.  These 
its 
systems  are  currently  coordinated  by  Regulation  (EEC)  No 1408/71  and 
implementing regulation, Regulation (EEC) No 574/72. Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 is 
intended  to  replace  Regulation  (EEC)  No 1408/71.  However,  the  new  rules  on 
coordination in Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 cannot be applied until the corresponding 
implementing  regulation  has  been  adopted  to  replace  Regulation  (EEC)  No 574/72. 
With  regard  to  form,  the  proposed  legislative  instrument  corresponds  to  that  which  is 
currently in place. With regard to content, its objective is to modernise and simplify the 
existing rules. 

•  Existing provisions in the area of the proposal 

Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 fixing the procedure for implementing Regulation (EEC) 
No 1408/71,  as  last  amended  by  Regulation  (EC)  No 647/2005  of  the  European 
Parliament and of the Council of 13 April 2005, OJ L 117 of 4 May 2005. 

Similarity: both Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 and this proposal are intended to lay down 
the procedure for implementing the Regulation coordinating social security systems. 

Difference:  this  proposal  is  intended  to  simplify  and  modernise  the  provisions  of 
Regulation  (EEC)  No 574/72  by  strengthening  cooperation  between  social  security 
institutions  and  improving  the  methods  of  data  exchange  between  social  security 
institutions. 

•  Consistency with other policies and objectives of the Union 

Not applicable. 

2)  CONSULTATION OF INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT 

•  Consultation of interested parties 

Consultation methods, main sectors targeted and general profile of respondents 

The  proposal  for  an  implementing  regulation  is  essentially  intended  to  define  the 
procedures needed to implement the principles of the basic Regulation for users of the 
Regulation, EU citizens and Member States’ social security institutions. For example, in 

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the  area  of  old-age  pensions,  it  is  necessary  to  specify  what  steps  the  insured  person 
must take in order to apply for payment of his/her pension, to which institution the claim 
must  be  submitted  (where  the  insured  person  has  worked  in  several  Member  States), 
how the institutions are to exchange information to ensure that the insured person’s full 
career  is  taken  into  account,  and  how  each  institution  is  to  calculate  the  pension  to  be 
paid for the relevant period. In order to draw up concrete proposals on the most effective 
way of organising daily cooperation between the institutions for those with entitlements 
under Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, many social security experts in the Member States 
were  consulted,  mainly  in  order  to  seek  expertise  at  the  most  appropriate  level,  in 
particular from the social security institutions. To this end, several working groups were 
set  up  corresponding  to  the  various  risks  covered  by  the  social  security  systems: 
sickness,  accidents  at  work,  occupational  diseases,  invalidity,  old  age,  unemployment, 
family benefits.  

In  addition,  the  Commission,  in  its  capacity  as  secretariat  of  the  Administrative 
Commission  on  Social  Security  for  Migrant  Workers  (CASSTM),  and  of  CASSTM’s 
Technical  Commission  and  Audit  Board,  is  in  close  and  constant  contact  with  the 
experts  appointed  by  the  Member  States  in  relation  to  the  application  of  coordination 
rules. 

Summary of responses and how they have been taken into account 

Expert working groups held meetings and a cross-sectional group which was given the 
more specific task of drawing up proposals concerning the structure and overall tone of 
the  implementing  regulation  submitted  an  informal  summary  report  setting  out 
guidelines. The vast majority of these guidelines were followed in the proposal. 

•  Collection and use of expertise 

Scientific/expertise domains concerned 

Social security. 

Methodology used 

Working groups of social security experts from the various branches: sickness, accidents 
at work, occupational diseases, invalidity, old age, unemployment, family benefits.  

Main organisations/experts consulted 

Many  social  security  experts  in  the  Member  States  were  consulted,  mainly  in  order  to 
seek  expertise  at  the  most  appropriate  level,  in  particular  from  the  social  security 
institutions.  To  this  end,  several  working  groups  were  set  up  corresponding  to  the 
various  risks  covered  by  the  social  security  systems:  sickness,  accidents  at  work, 
occupational diseases, invalidity, old age, unemployment, family benefits. 

Summary of advice received and used 

The  existence  of  potentially  serious  risks  with  irreversible  consequences  was  not 

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mentioned. 

Necessity of simplifying procedures for the users of the Regulation, the social security 
institutions,  the  competent  authorities,  employers  and  insured  persons,  employees  and 
self-employed  workers,  and  of  clarifying  the  rights  and  obligations  of  these  various 
groups involved in the coordination of social security systems. 

Means used to make the expert advice publicly available 

As the subject matter is technical and the expert advice informal, the reports will not be 
made publicly available. 

•  Impact assessment 

It  is  the  implementing  regulation  which  will  enable  EU  citizens  to  benefit  from  the 
progress made in Regulation (EC) No 883/2004. It is not until the legislative framework, 
consisting  of  the  basic  regulation  and  its  implementing  regulation,  is  adopted  that  the 
new  rules  will  have  an  effect  in  terms  of  modernising,  simplifying  and  improving 
citizens’ rights. The current Regulations (EEC) Nos 1408/71 and 574/72 will therefore 
be  replaced  by  Regulation  (EC)  No 883/2004  and  its  implementing  regulation.  These 
instruments should not have any significant negative impact on the current situation in 
terms  of  workload  or  cost  for  the  social  security  institutions  or  the  administrations, 
workers or employers. On the contrary, as these new rules are intended to improve the 
coordination  of  social  security  systems  and  simplify  procedures  for  all  users  of  the 
Regulation,  their  adoption  constitutes  an  improvement  over  the  currently  applicable 
rules. It is difficult at this stage to measure the increase in productivity which these new 
rules  will  bring  about  for  the  social  security  institutions,  for  employers,  in  particular 
SMEs,  and  for  insured  persons,  employees  and  self-employed  workers.  The  measures 
proposed are designed to improve the service for EU citizens. In particular, by making 
provision  for  measures  to  reduce  the  time  currently  needed  to  calculate  and  pay  the 
pensions of persons who have worked in several Member States, this proposal is a step 
towards improving conditions for free movement in the Union. 

Moreover, these proposals are in line with e-administration, as the electronic exchange 
of information between the social security institutions is an essential aspect of speeding 
up  procedures.  The  importance  of  using  electronic  tools  for  exchanging  data  between 
institutions  is also recognised by all Member  States as part of the action plan  recently 
adopted by CASSTM.  

3)  LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL 

•  Summary of the proposed action 

The aim of the proposal for a regulation to implement Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 on 
the  coordination  of  national  social  security  systems  is  to  complete  the  process  of 
modernising and simplifying the current legislation, Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 and 
its implementing regulation, Regulation (EEC) No 574/72. This instrument is crucial to 
freedom of movement of persons in the Union. 

The objective of the proposal is to define for all parties involved (insured persons, the 
social  security  institutions  and  the  competent  authorities  of  the  Member  States)  the 

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procedures  for  implementing  in  practice  the  rules  set  out  in  Regulation  (EC) 
No 883/2004. 

The proposal completes the modernisation work done by Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 
and seeks to improve current procedures by simplifying them and clarifying the existing 
provisions in many areas. In this respect, through the procedures to be carried out, the 
proposal is intended to clarify the rights and obligations of the various stakeholders. 

This  proposal  is  also  intended  to  draw  all  the  appropriate  conclusions  from  the  closer 
cooperation  between 
in  Regulation  (EC) 
No 883/2004. 

the  various  stakeholders  referred 

to 

The fact that Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 now concerns all European citizens, since it 
also  covers  the  non-working  population,  means  modernising  the  methods  and 
procedures for cooperation between Member States’ social security institutions. 

Specifically,  it  is  a  question  of  facilitating  the  procedures  for  insured  persons  and 
reducing  the  time  needed  for  institutions  in  the  various  branches  of  social  security 
(sickness, accidents at work, occupational diseases, invalidity, old age, unemployment, 
family benefits) to respond and to process cross-border cases. 

This objective requires particular emphasis to be placed on the use of modern methods 
for  the  exchange  of  information.  Electronic  exchange  of  data  between  institutions  is 
essential  in  facilitating  the  transfer  of  the  information  needed  for  coordinating  and  in 
particular ascertaining and calculating the rights of insured persons. 

•  Legal basis 

Articles 42 and 308 EC. 

•  Subsidiarity principle 

The principle of subsidiarity applies in so far as the proposal does not concern an area in 
which the Community has exclusive competence. 

The objectives of the proposal cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States for 
the reasons below: 

The  proposed  action,  namely  the  adoption  of  the  implementing  procedure  to  ensure 
social  security  coordination  measures,  cannot  be  sufficiently  achieved  by  the  Member 
States,  as  also  explicitly  stated  in  Regulation  (EC)  No 883/2004  (recital  45).  Indeed, 
Article 42 EC provides that in the field of social security the Council shall adopt such 
measures as are necessary to provide freedom of movement for workers. 

These  provisions  took  the  form  of  a  coordinating  Regulation  whose  scope  has  been 
gradually  extended  to  include  self-employed  workers,  students,  pensioners,  civil 
servants and now all insured persons. 

By  nature  this  Regulation  is  intended  only  to  define  the  necessary  measures  for  the 
persons  covered  to  travel,  stay  or  reside  in  another  Member  State  without  losing  their 

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social  security  entitlements.  To  ensure  that  rights  are  safeguarded,  the  Regulation 
provides for different procedures to meet specific needs in the various branches of social 
security. However, it  contains  general  principles to allow the coordination to function. 
These principles include single applicable legislation, assimilation of the facts, and equal 
treatment.  Member  States  are  required  to  comply  with  these  but  have  exclusive 
competence in defining, organising and financing their national social security systems. 

With regard to cross-border cases, no Member State can act independently. The existing 
bilateral agreements have been replaced by the coordinating Regulation, which has thus 
simplified  procedures  and  facilitated  equal  treatment  of  insured  persons  while 
complying with each Member State’s applicable social security legislation. 

The  objectives  of  the  proposal  can  be  better  achieved  by  Community  action  for  the 
following reasons. 

The coordination of national social security systems is meaningful only at Community 
level: its basis lies in the free movement of persons in the EU and it is justified by this 
free movement. 

These  rules  concern  all  European  citizens  moving  within  the  Union  for  any  reason 
whatsoever. 

Member  States  continue  to  have  exclusive  competence  in  determining,  organising  and 
financing their national security systems. 

The proposal therefore complies with the principle of subsidiarity. 

•  Proportionality principle 

The proposal complies with the proportionality principle for the reasons below. 

The Member States, the competent authorities and the social security institutions retain 
exclusive competence for the organisation and financing of the national social security 
systems.  

Improving  procedures  and  clarifying  the  rights  and  obligations  of  the  various 
stakeholders should lead to savings in terms of administrative costs (settlement of claims 
between  social  security  institutions)  and  an  effective  response  to  the  needs  of  EU 
citizens  (reduction  in  the  time  needed  for  reimbursement  or  payment  of  benefits). 
Increasing  cooperation  between  institutions  is  an  important  factor  in  preventing  fraud 
and abuse. 

•  Choice of instruments 

Proposed instrument(s): regulation. 

Other means would not be appropriate for the reasons below: 

Modernisation  of  the  existing  legislative  instrument,  namely  Regulation  (EEC) 
No 574/72,  the  implementing regulation for Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71, which will 
be  replaced  by  Regulation  (EC)  No 883/2004.  Regulation  (EEC)  No 1408/71  is  a 

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coordinating  regulation  and  not  a  harmonising  regulation,  Member  States  having 
exclusive competence for the organisation and financing of their social security systems. 
The choice of a coordinating regulation to safeguard the social security rights of insured 
persons  who  exercise  their  right  to  free  movement  as  guaranteed  by  the  Treaty  is 
proportionate to the objective pursued, as defined by the legislator in Article 42 of the 
Treaty. 

4)  BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

The proposal has no implications for the Community budget. 

5)  ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

•  Simulation, pilot phase and transitional period 

The proposal has been, or will be, subject to a transitional period. 

•  Simplification 

The  proposal  simplifies  the  legislative  framework,  the  administrative  procedures 
applicable  to  the  (national  and  European)  public  authorities  and  the  administrative 
procedures applicable to bodies and private individuals. 

Streamlining of the proposal, removal of annexes. 

Electronic  exchange  of  information  and  work  on  electronic  documents  in  order  to 
facilitate such exchanges. 

Increase in cooperation between social security institutions in order to avoid placing the 
procedural burden primarily on insured persons. Clarification of the roles of the various 
parties involved.  

•  European Economic Area 

This draft instrument has to do with an area covered by the EEA Agreement and must 
therefore be extended to the European Economic Area. 

•  Detailed explanation of the proposal by chapter or by article 

The proposal for an implementing regulation is in line with the structure of Regulation 
(EC)  No 883/2004:  Title  I  “General  provisions”;  Title  II  “Determination  of  the 
legislation  applicable”;  Title  III  containing  special  provisions  concerning  the  various 
categories of benefits: sickness, maternity and equivalent paternity benefits; benefits in 
respect of accidents at work and occupational diseases; death grants; invalidity benefits; 
old-age  and  survivors’  pensions;  unemployment  benefits;  family  benefits;  Title  IV 
“Financial  provisions”;  Title  V  “Miscellaneous  transitional  and  final  provisions”.  This 
implementing  regulation  will  allow  Regulation  (EC)  No 883/2004  to  enter  into  force. 
However, given the need to provide sufficient information for all parties concerned by 
this  Regulation  and  not  to  cause  difficulties  in  terms  of  the  institutions’  balance  of 
accounts, a minimum period of six months is provided for the entry into force of the new 
provisions on Community coordination of social security systems. 

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2006/0006(COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 
laying down the procedure for implementing Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 on 
the coordination of social security systems 

(Text with relevance for the EEA and for Switzerland) 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Articles 
42 and 308 thereof, 

Having  regard  to  Regulation  (EC)  No  883/20041  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  29  April  2004  on  the  coordination  of  social  security  systems2,  and  in  particular 
Article 89 thereof,  

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission3, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee4, 

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty5, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

1 

2 
3 
4 
5 

Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 modernises the rules on the coordination of Member 
States’  social  security  systems,  specifying  the  measures  and  procedures  for 
implementing  it  and  simplifying  them  for  all  players  involved.  Implementing  rules 
should be laid down. 

Closer  and  more  effective  cooperation  between  social  security  institutions  is  a  key 
factor  in  allowing  the  persons  covered  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  883/2004  to  access 
their rights as quickly as possible and under optimum conditions. 

Electronic  communication  is  a  suitable  means  of  rapid  and  reliable  data  exchange 
between  Member  States’  institutions.  Processing  these  data  electronically  should 
help to speed up the procedures for everyone involved. The persons concerned must 
also benefit from all of the guarantees provided for in the Community provisions on 
the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing and free movement of 
personal data.  

Regulation  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  29  April  2004  on  the  coordination  of 
social security systems, OJ L 166, 30.4.2004, corrigendum OJ L 200, 7.6.2004. 
OJ L 166, 30.4.2004, p. 1, corrigendum OJ L 200, 7.6.2004, p. 1. 
OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ C […], […], p. […]. 

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(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

Availability of the details (including electronic details) of those national bodies likely 
to  be  involved  in  implementing  Regulation  (EC)  No 883/2004,  in  a  form  which 
allows them to be updated in real time, should facilitate exchanges between Member 
States’ institutions. This approach, which focuses on the relevance of purely factual 
information  and  its  immediate  accessibility  to  citizens,  is  a  valuable  simplification 
which is to be introduced by this Regulation. 

Strengthening  certain  procedures  should  ensure  greater 
legal  certainty  and 
transparency  for  the  users  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 883/2004.  For  example,  setting 
common  deadlines  for  fulfilling  certain  obligations  or  completing  certain 
administrative  tasks  should  help  to  clarify  and  structure  relations  between  insured 
persons and institutions.  

The  Member  States,  their  competent  authorities  and  the  social  security  institutions 
must  have  the  option  of  agreeing  among  themselves  on  simplified  procedures  and 
administrative  arrangements  which  they  consider  to  be  more  effective  and  better 
suited to the circumstances of their respective social security systems. However, such 
arrangements  must  not  affect  the  rights  of  those  covered  by  Regulation  (EC) 
No 883/2004.  

The inherent complexity of the field of social security requires all institutions of the 
Member States to make a special effort to support insured persons in order to avoid 
penalising  those  who  have  not  submitted  their  claim  or  certain  information  to  the 
institution  responsible  for  processing  this  application  in  accordance  with  the  rules 
and procedures set out in Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 and in this Regulation.  

To determine the competent institution, namely the one whose legislation applies or 
which is liable for the payment of certain benefits, the circumstances of the insured 
person  and  those  of  the  family  members  must  be  examined  by  the  institutions  of 
several  Member  States.  To  ensure  that  the  person  concerned  is  protected  for  the 
duration  of  the  necessary  communication  between  institutions,  provision  should  be 
made for provisional membership of a social security system.  

Many  measures  and  procedures  provided  for  in  this  Regulation  are  intended  to 
ensure  greater  transparency  of  the  criteria  which  the  institutions  of  the  Member 
States  must  apply  under  Regulation  (EC)  No 883/2004.  They  are  the  result  of  the 
case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Communities, the decisions of the 
Administrative  Commission  and  the  experience  of  more  than  thirty  years  of 
application  of  the  coordination  of  social  security  systems  in  the  context  of  the 
fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Treaty. 

(10) 

Extending  the  scope  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 883/2004  to  all  insured  persons, 
including the non-working population, requires certain specific rules and procedures 
for  these  persons,  notably  to  define  the  legislation  applicable  for  taking  account  of 
periods  which  persons  who  have  never  been  employed  or  self-employed  in  the 
various Member States in which they have been resident have devoted to bringing up 
children. 

(11) 

Certain procedures must also reflect the need for a balanced sharing of costs between 
Member  States.  In  particular  in  the  area  of  sickness,  these  procedures  must  take 
account  of  the  position  of  Member  States  which  bear  the  costs  of  allowing  insured 

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persons access to their healthcare system and the position of Member States whose 
institutions  bear  the  cost  of  benefits  in  kind  received  by  their  insured  persons  in  a 
Member State other than that in which they are resident.  

(12) 

In the specific context of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, it is necessary to clarify the 
conditions  for  meeting  the  costs  of  sickness  benefits  in  kind  as  part  of  scheduled 
treatments, namely treatments for which an insured person goes to a Member State 
other than that in which he/she is insured or resident. The obligations of the insured 
person with regard to the application for prior authorisation are specified, as are the 
institution’s  obligations  towards  the  patient  with  regard  to  the  conditions  of 
authorisation. The consequences for the chargeability of the costs of care received in 
another Member State on the basis of an authorisation should also be clarified. 

(13)  More  binding  procedures  to  reduce  the  time  needed  for  payment  of  these  claims 
between Member States’ institutions are essential in order to maintain confidence in 
the  exchanges  and  meet  the  need  for  sound  management  of  Member  States’  social 
security  systems.  Procedures  for  the  processing  of  claims  relating  to  sickness  and 
unemployment benefits must therefore be strengthened. 

(14) 

(15) 

(16) 

Because  the  social  security  schemes  covered  by  Regulation  (EC)  No 883/2004  are 
based  on  solidarity  between  all  insured  persons,  provision  should  be  made  for 
mechanisms to ensure more effective recovery of claims relating to benefits not due 
or contributions not paid. Procedures for mutual assistance between institutions must 
be clarified in line with the provisions laid down in Council Directive 76/308/EEC6 
of 15 March 1976 on mutual assistance for the recovery of claims relating to certain 
levies, duties, taxes and other measures so as to better protect the financial interests 
of the Member States by organising cooperation, especially between tax authorities. 

Informing insured persons of their rights and obligations is a crucial component of a 
relationship  of  trust  with  the  competent  authorities  and  the  Member  States’ 
institutions. 

Given that the objective of the action envisaged, namely the adoption of coordination 
measures to guarantee the effective exercise of free movement of persons, cannot be 
sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by reason of the scale 
and  effects  of  the  proposed  action,  be  better  achieved  at  Community  level,  the 
Community may take action in accordance with the subsidiarity principle enshrined 
in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the proportionality principle set out in 
the above Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve 
the objective. 

(17) 

This  Regulation  is  to  replace  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No 574/72  of  21  March 
1972  fixing  the  procedure  for  implementing  Regulation  (EEC)  No  1408/71  on  the 
application of social security schemes to employed persons and their families moving 
within the Community7. 

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OJ  L  73,  19.3.1976  p.  18,  last  amended  by  Council  Directive  2001/44/EC,  15  June  2001, 
OJ L 175, 28.6.2001 p. 7. 
OJ  L  74,  27.3.1972,  p.  1.  Regulation 
OJ L 28, 30.1.1997. 

last  amended  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  647/2005, 

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HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

TITLE I – GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Chapter I - Definitions 

Article 1 
Definitions 

1. 

2. 

For  the  purposes  of  this  Regulation,  the  definitions  set  out  in  Regulation  (EC) 
No 883/2004 shall apply. 

In addition to the definitions referred to in paragraph 1, 

a) 

b) 

c) 

d) 

e) 

f) 

g) 

“access point” shall mean the body designated by the competent authority of a 
Member  State  to  send  and  receive  electronically  the  data  necessary  for  the 
application of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 and the present Regulation via the 
joint  network  through  which  data  are  exchanged  between  the  competent 
institutions  of  this  Member  State  and  the  competent  institutions  and/or  the 
point of access of other Member States; 

“liaison body” shall mean the body designated by the competent authority of a 
Member  State,  for  one  or  more  branches  of  social  security  referred  to  in 
Article 3  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 883/2004,  to  respond  to  requests  for 
information  and  assistance  from  Member  States’  institutions  and  which  the 
latter may approach in accordance with Title IV of this Regulation;  

“document”  shall  mean  a  set  of  data,  irrespective  of  the  medium  used, 
identified  by  the  Administrative  Commission,  which  may  be  exchanged 
electronically  and  which  must  be  communicated  to  allow  Regulation  (EC) 
No 883/2004 and the present Regulation to function;  

“standardised  electronic  message”  shall  mean  any  document  structured 
according  to  the  format  specified  by  the  Administration  Commission  for  the 
exchange of information between Member States’ institutions;  

“transmission  by  electronic  means”  shall  mean  transmission  using  electronic 
equipment  for  processing  (including  digital  compression)  of  data  and 
employing  wires,  radio  transmission,  optical  technologies  or  any  other 
electromagnetic means; 

“Technical  Commission”  shall  mean  the  body  referred  to  in  Article  73  of 
Regulation (EC) No 883/2004; 

“Audit Board” shall mean the body referred to in Article 74 of Regulation (EC) 
No 883/2004.  

EN 

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Chapter II – Provisions concerning cooperation and exchanges of data 

Article 2 
Scope and rules for exchanges between institutions 

The  Member  States’  institutions  shall  share  with  each  other  all  data  necessary  for 
establishing  and  determining  the  rights  and  obligations  of  persons  covered  by 
Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 and, in particular, for establishing the correct amount 
of the benefits and of the social security contributions. 

Where an insured person has mistakenly submitted information, documents or claims 
to  an  institution  other  than  that  designated  in  accordance  with  this  Regulation,  the 
information,  documents  or  claims  must  be  resubmitted  immediately  by  the  former 
institution to the institution designated in accordance with this Regulation, indicating 
the  date  on  which  they  were  initially  submitted.  This  date  shall  be  binding  on  the 
latter institution. 

Data shall be transferred between Member States’ institutions either directly by the 
institutions themselves or indirectly via the access point or the liaison body. 

Where  data  are  transferred  indirectly  via  the  access  point  or  the  liaison  body,  this 
access point or liaison body shall be regarded as fulfilling the role and function of the 
competent institution in this Member State with regard to time-limits for responding 
to claims submitted. 

Article 3 
Scope and rules for exchanges between beneficiaries and institutions 

Anyone covered by Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 shall be required to forward to the 
competent  institution  any  information  or  supporting  documentation  necessary  to 
establish  his/her  situation  or  that  of  his/her  family,  to  establish  or  maintain  his/her 
rights  and  obligations  and  to  determine  the  applicable  legislation  and  his/her 
obligations under it. 

In  particular,  where  legislation  provides  that  the  amount  of  benefits  is  established 
taking into account the existence of family members other than children, the insured 
person shall be required to submit a certified statement relating to members of his/her 
family who are residing on the territory of a Member State other than that in which 
the institution responsible for the award of benefits is situated, in order to have these 
family members taken into account. 

The Member State which collects data under its legislation or in the situation referred 
to in Article 52 shall guarantee that the persons concerned have the right of access to 
these data and the right to rectify them, in accordance with Community provisions on 
the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of  personal data and the 
free movement of these data. 

The  institutions  of  the  competent  Member  State  shall  forward  the  necessary 
information and issue the necessary documents to insured persons. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

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12 

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4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

The  competent  institution  of  a  Member  State  which  directly  sends  a  document 
containing a decision on the rights of a person residing or staying in the territory of 
another  Member  State  shall  request  an  acknowledgement  of  receipt,  irrespective  of 
the medium or the method of dispatch used. The acknowledgement of receipt may be 
given using any medium and in any form.  

In the absence of proof that the decision referred to in paragraph 4 has been sent, the 
time-limits relating to the forfeiture or limitation of rights acquired under Regulation 
(EC) No 883/2004 shall not be invoked against the beneficiaries. 

Where  the  date  on  which  the  decision  referred  to  in  paragraph  4  was  sent  is  duly 
established,  the  decision  of  the  competent  institution  shall  be  held  to  be  invoked 
against the person concerned within a month of this date. However, if the legislation 
of the Member State which made the decision provides for a longer time-limit, this 
time-limit shall apply. 

In any event, the person concerned shall be entitled to the remedies and procedures 
provided for in the legislation applied by the institution responsible for the decision. 

The  Administrative  Commission  shall  stipulate  the  practical  arrangements  for 
implementing  this  provision  in  the  event  that  the  decision  is  sent  to  the  person 
concerned by electronic means. 

Article 4 
Format and method of exchanging data 

The Administrative Commission shall lay down the content of the documents and the 
structure of the standardised electronic messages.  

The  transmission  of  data  between  the  institutions,  the  access  points  or  the  liaison 
bodies shall be carried out by electronic means under a common secure framework 
that can guarantee the confidentiality and protection of exchanges of data. 

In  their  communications  with  beneficiaries,  the  competent  institutions  shall  favour 
the use of electronic means.  

Article 5  
Legal value of documents and supporting documents issued in another Member State 

Documents issued by the institution of a Member State and showing the position of a 
person  for  the  purposes  of  the  application  of  Regulation  (EC)  No. 883/2004  and  of 
this  Regulation,  and  supporting  documents  issued  by  the  authorities  of  another 
Member State, including the taxation authorities, shall be accepted by the institutions 
of the other Member States so long as they have not been withdrawn or declared to 
be  invalid  by  the  competent  authority  or  institution  of  the  Member  State  in  which 
they were issued. 

2. 

Where there is doubt about the validity of a document or the accuracy of the facts on 
which the particulars contained therein are based, the institution of the Member State 

EN 

13 

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3. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

1. 

that  receives  the  document  shall  contact  the  issuing  institution  to  ask  it  for  the 
necessary clarification and, where appropriate, the withdrawal of the said document. 

Where  no  agreement  is  reached  between  the  institutions  concerned  in  the  month 
following the date on which the institution that received the document submitted its 
request,  the  matter  may  be  brought  before  the  Administrative  Commission  in 
accordance with Article 76(6) of Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004 in order to reconcile 
the  points  of  view  within  six  months  of  the  date  on  which  the  matter  was  brought 
before it. 

Article 6 
Provisional application of legislation and provisional payment of benefits 

Where  uncertainty  about  the  identification  of  the  applicable  legislation  requires 
contacts  between  the  competent  institutions  or  authorities  of  two  or  more  Member 
States,  the  person  concerned  shall  be  made  provisionally  subject  to  the  following 
legislation: 

a) 

b) 

that  of  the  Member  State  of  residence  when  the  person  concerned 
performs part of his/her activity/activities there or when the person is not 
employed or self-employed; 

that  of  the  Member  State  in  which  an  application  for  membership  was 
first submitted, in the other cases. 

Where there is a difference of views between the competent institutions or authorities 
of two or  more Member  States about  which institution should provide  the  benefits, 
the  person  concerned  who  could  claim  benefits  if  there  was  no  dispute  shall  be 
entitled, on a provisional basis, to the benefits foreseen by the legislation applied by 
the institution of his/her place of residence or, if that person does not reside on the 
territory  of  one  of  the  Member  States  concerned,  to  the  benefits  foreseen  by  the 
legislation applied by the institution to which the request was first submitted. 

Where it is established that the applicable legislation is not that of the Member State 
of  provisional  membership  or  where  the  institution  that  paid  the  benefits  on  a 
provisional basis was not the competent institution, the institution identified as being 
competent shall be deemed to be so from the date of provisional membership or of 
the first provisional payment of the benefits concerned. 

If necessary, the competent institution shall settle the financial situation of the person 
concerned as regards contributions and benefits on the basis of the arrangements laid 
down in Articles 71 and 72 and, where appropriate, Articles 73 to 82. 

Article 7 
Obligation of provisional award 

An institution that does not have all the information needed to calculate definitively 
the amount of a benefit or a contribution shall award this benefit or this contribution 
on a provisional basis. 

EN 

14 

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2. 

The  benefit  or  the  contribution  concerned  shall  be  recalculated  as  soon  as  the 
documentary evidence is provided to the institution concerned. 

Chapter III – Other general provisions for the application of Regulation (EC) 

No. 883/2004 

Article 8 
Administrative arrangements between two or more Member States 

The  provisions  of  this  Regulation  shall  replace  those  of  the  arrangements  for  the 
application  of  the  conventions  referred  to  in  Article  8  of  Regulation  (EC) 
No. 883/2004,  apart  from  the  provisions  of  the  arrangements  concerning  the 
conventions referred to in Annex II of Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004, provided that 
the provisions of the said arrangements are included in Annex I of this Regulation. 

The  Member  States  may  conclude  between  themselves,  if  necessary,  arrangements 
pertaining to the application of conventions referred to in Article 8(2) of Regulation 
(EC)  No. 883/2004  provided  that  these  arrangements  do  not  adversely  affect  the 
rights of beneficiaries.  

Article 9 
Other procedures between institutions  

Two or more Member States, or their competent authorities or institutions, may agree 
other  procedures  than  those  foreseen  by  the  provisions  of  Titles  II  to  IV,  provided 
that these procedures do not adversely affect the rights of beneficiaries.  

Any  agreements  concluded  to  this  end  shall  be  notified  to  the  Administrative 
Commission and listed in Annex 1 to this Regulation. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

Article 10 
Prevention of overlapping of benefits 

When benefits due under the legislation of two or more Member States are mutually reduced, 
suspended or withdrawn, any amounts that would not be paid in the event of strict application 
of  the  rules  concerning  reduction,  suspension  or  withdrawal  laid  down  by  the  legislation  of 
the  Member  States  concerned  shall  be  divided  by  the  number  of  benefits  subjected  to 
reduction, suspension or withdrawal. 

Article 11 
Elements for determining residence 

1. 

In order to resolve difficulties between the institutions of several Member States in 
determining  the  residence  of  a  person  covered  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  883/2004, 
these  institutions  shall  establish  by  common  accord  the  centre  of  interest  of  the 
person concerned, taking account of the following facts: 

EN 

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a) 

b) 

c) 

d) 

e) 

the duration and continuity of residence; 

family  status,  especially  the  place  in  which  the  children  attend  school,  and 
family ties;  

in the case of workers, the fact of having a stable job; 

the person’s intention, as is apparent from all the circumstances, especially the 
reasons that led the person to move; 

the  Member  State  in  which  the  person  is  subject  to  taxation  on  all  his/her 
income, regardless of its source. 

Where the application of the various criteria set out in paragraph 1 does not lead to 
agreement between the institutions, the intention expressed by the person concerned 
shall be considered to be decisive for establishing his/her place of residence. 

Article 12 
Aggregation of periods 

For  the  purposes  of  applying  Article  6  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  883/2004,  the 
competent  institution  shall  contact  the  institution  of  the  Member  State  to  whose 
legislation the insured person was previously subject in order to find out the periods 
of  insurance,  employment,  self-employment  or  residence  completed  under  this 
legislation. 

The  periods  of  insurance  or  residence  completed  under  the  legislation  of  a 
Member  State  shall  be  added  to  the  periods  of  insurance  or  residence  completed 
under the legislation of any other Member State, insofar as it is necessary to have 
recourse to them with a view to the acquisition, retention or recovery of the right 
to benefits, provided that these periods do not overlap.  

Where  a  period  of  insurance  or  residence  that  is  completed  in  accordance  with 
insurance that is compulsory under the legislation of a Member State coincides with 
a  period  of  insurance  completed  on  the  basis  of  voluntary  insurance  or  continued 
optional  insurance  under  the  legislation  of  another  Member  State,  only  the  period 
completed on the basis of compulsory insurance shall be taken into account. 

Where a period of insurance or residence other than an equivalent period completed 
under the legislation of a Member State coincides with an equivalent period on the 
basis  of  the  legislation  of  another  Member  State,  only  the  period  other  than  an 
equivalent period shall be taken into account. 

Any period regarded as equivalent under the legislation of two or more Member 
States shall be taken into account only by the institution of the Member State to 
whose  legislation  the  insured  person  was  last  compulsorily  subjected  before  the 
said  period.  In  the  event  that  the  insured  person  was  not  compulsorily  subjected 
to  the  legislation  of  a  Member  State  before  the  said  period,  the  latter  shall  be 
taken into account by the institution of the Member State to whose legislation the 
insured person was compulsorily subjected for the first time after the said period. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

EN 

16 

   EN 

 
6. 

In the event that the time in which certain periods of insurance or residence were 
completed under the legislation of a Member State cannot be determined precisely, it 
shall  be  presumed  that  these  periods  do  not  overlap  with  periods  of  insurance  or 
residence  completed  under  the  legislation  of  another  Member  State,  and  account 
shall be taken thereof insofar as they can reasonably be taken into consideration. 

Article 13 
Rules for conversion of periods of insurance 

Where periods of insurance completed under the legislation of a Member State are expressed 
in  different  units  to  those  used  by  the  legislation  of  another  Member  State,  the  conversion 
needed for the purpose of aggregation shall be carried out under the following rules: 

a) 

one day shall be equivalent to eight hours, and vice versa; 

b) 

five days shall be equivalent to one week, and vice versa; 

c) 

d) 

e) 

f) 

22 days shall be equivalent to one month, and vice versa; 

three  months  or  thirteen  weeks  or  sixty-six  days  shall  be  equivalent  to  one 
quarter, and vice versa; 

for the conversion of weeks into months and vice versa, weeks and months shall 
be converted into days; 

the application of points a) to e) may not lead to the admission, for all the periods 
of insurance completed in a calendar year, of a total exceeding 264 days or 52 
weeks or 12 months or four quarters. 

Where  the  periods  of  insurance  completed  under  the  legislation  of  a  Member  State  are 
expressed in months, the days that correspond to a fraction of a month, in accordance with the 
conversion rules set out in the first subparagraph, shall be considered to be a full month. 

TITLE II - DETERMINATION OF THE LEGISLATION APPLICABLE 

Article 14 
Details relating to Articles 12 and 13 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 

1. 

2. 

For the purposes of the application of Article 12(2) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, 
the criterion for determining whether the activity that a self-employed person goes to 
pursue in another Member State is “similar” to the self-employed activity normally 
pursued shall be that of the actual nature of the activity, rather than of the designation 
of employed or self-employed activity that may be given to this activity by the other 
Member State. 

For  the  purposes  of  the  application  of  Article  13(1)  and  (2)  of  Regulation  (EC) 
No 883/2004,  a  “substantial  part  of  employed  or  self-employed  activity”  shall  be 
pursued in a Member State if a quantitatively substantial part of all the activities of 
the  employed  or  self-employed  worker  is  pursued  there,  without  this  necessarily 

EN 

17 

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being  the  major  part  of  these  activities.  The  proportion  of  activity  pursued  in  a 
Member State shall in no event be substantial if it is less than 25% of all the activities 
pursued by the worker in terms of turnover, working time or remuneration or income 
from work. 

For  the  purposes  of  the  application  of  Article  13(2)(b)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 
883/2004, the “centre of interest” of the activities of a self-employed person shall be 
determined  by  taking  account  of  all  the  aspects  of  that  person’s  occupational 
activities,  notably  the  place  where  the  person’s  fixed  and  permanent  place  of 
business is located, the habitual nature or the duration of the activities pursued, the 
Member  State  in  which  the  person  concerned  is  subject  to  taxation  on  all  his/her 
income,  irrespective  of  the  source,  and  the  intention  of  the  person  concerned  as 
revealed by all the circumstances. 

If a person pursues his activity as an employed person in two or more Member States 
on  behalf  of  an  employer  established  outside  the  territory  of  the  Union,  and  if  this 
person resides in a Member State without pursuing substantial activity there, he/she 
shall be subject to the legislation of the Member State of residence. 

3. 

4. 

Article 15 
Procedure for the application of Article 11( 3)( b) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 

If a civil servant pursues his/her activity in a Member State other than the competent State, the 
competent  institution  shall  inform  the  designated  institution  of  this  other  Member  State 
thereof in advance. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

Article 16 
Procedure for the application of Article 12 of Regulation (EC)No 883/2004 

An employer who, pursuant to Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, posts 
a worker to perform work on his/her behalf in another Member State shall inform the 
competent  institution  of  the  Member  State  whose  legislation  remains  applicable 
thereof,  where  feasible  in  advance.  This  institution  shall  inform  the  designated 
institution of the Member State in which the worker is posted. 

A  self-employed  person  who,  pursuant  to  Article  12(2)  of  Regulation  (EC) 
No 883/2004,  goes  to  pursue  an  activity  in  another  Member  State  shall  inform  the 
competent  institution  of  the  Member  State  whose  legislation  remains  applicable 
thereof,  where  feasible  in  advance.  This  institution  shall  inform  the  designated 
institution  of  the  Member  State  to  which  the  self-employed  person  goes  to  pursue 
his/her activity. 

Article 17 
Procedure for the application of Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 

A  person  who  pursues  activities  in  two  or  more  Member  States  shall  inform  the 
designated  institution  of  the  Member  State  in  which  he/she  resides  thereof.  This 
institution  shall  forward  this  information  to  the  designated  institution  of  each 
Member State in which an activity is pursued. 

EN 

18 

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2. 

3. 

In the situations referred to in Article 13(1) and (2) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, 
the  designated  institutions  of  the  Member  States  concerned  shall  determine,  by 
common accord, the legislation applicable to the person concerned, having regard to 
the  provisions  of  Article  13(1)  and  (2)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  883/2004  and  of 
Article 14(2) and (3) of this Regulation. 

The determination of the applicable legislation shall take place within one month of 
the  forwarding  of  the  information  to  the  designated  institution  of  the  place  of 
residence of the insured person, in accordance with paragraph 1. 

As long as the applicable legislation has not been determined, the person concerned 
shall  be  subject  on  a  provisional  basis  to  the  legislation  determined  in  accordance 
with Article 6(1). 

The  competent  institution  of  the  competent  Member  State  whose  legislation  is 
declared  applicable  at  the  end  of  the  procedure  of  consultation  between  the 
institutions concerned under  the terms of paragraph 2 shall immediately inform  the 
person concerned thereof. 

Article 18 
Procedure for the application of Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 

Auxiliary staff shall exercise the right of option foreseen in Article 15 of Regulation (EC) 
No 883/2004 at the time of conclusion of the contract of employment. The authority authorised 
to conclude this contract shall inform the designated institution of the Member State for whose 
legislation the member of auxiliary staff has opted. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

Article 19 
Provision of information to insured persons 

The competent institution of the Member State whose legislation is applicable shall 
inform  the  person  concerned  and,  where  appropriate,  his/her  employer(s)  of  the 
obligations stemming from this legislation. It shall provide them with the necessary 
assistance to complete the formalities imposed by this legislation. 

At the request of the person concerned or of the employer, the competent institution 
of  the  Member  State  whose  legislation  is  applicable  by  virtue  of  a  provision  of 
Title II  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  883/2004  shall  provide  an  attestation  that  this 
legislation  is  applicable  and  shall  indicate,  where  appropriate,  until  what  date  and 
under what conditions. 

Article 20 
Cooperation between institutions 

The  institutions  referred  to  in  Article  17(1)  shall  communicate  to  the  competent 
institution  of  the  Member  State  whose  legislation  is  applicable  to  a  person  all  the 
information  required  to  establish  the  contributions  which  he/she  and  his/her 
employer(s) are liable to pay under this legislation.  

EN 

19 

   EN 

 
2. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

The competent institution of the Member State whose legislation becomes applicable 
to a person shall inform the institution of the Member State to whose legislation that 
person  was  last  subject,  indicating  the  date  on  which  the  application  of  this 
legislation takes effect. 

Article 21 
Obligations of the employer 

The employer of a worker shall be obliged to fulfil all the obligations laid down by 
the  legislation  applicable  to  that  worker,  notably  the  obligation  to  pay  the 
contributions provided for by this legislation. 

An  employer  that  does  not  have  an  establishment  in  the  Member  State  whose 
legislation  is  applicable  and  the  employee  may  agree  that  the  latter  may  fulfil  the 
employer’s  obligations  on  its  behalf  as  regards  the  payment  of  contributions.  The 
employer  shall  be  obliged  to  communicate  such  an  arrangement  to  the  competent 
institution of this Member State.  

Title III – Special provisions concerning the various categories of benefits 

Chapter I – Sickness, maternity and equivalent paternity benefits 

Article 22 
General implementing provisions  

The  competent  authorities  shall  ensure  that  insured  persons  are  informed  of  the 
procedures  and  conditions  for  the  cost  of  benefits  in  kind  to  be  borne  where  these 
benefits  are  received  on  the  territory  of  a  Member  State  other  than  that  of  the 
competent institution or of the place of residence. 

Articles  25  and  26  shall  not  affect  the  application  of  the  national  provisions  of  a 
Member  State  that  allow  for  a  greater  part  of  the  cost  of  benefits  in  kind  in  the 
situations referred to in paragraph 1 to be borne than under the terms of Regulation 
(EC) No. 883/2004. 

Two  or  more  Member  States,  or  their  competent  authorities,  may  agree  between 
themselves on other procedures and arrangements for the application of Articles 25, 
26  and  27.  However,  the  agreements  concluded  to  this  end  may  not  have 
unfavourable  effects  on  the  conditions  and  amounts  for  the  chargeability  of  the 
benefits in kind of the persons concerned that would stem from the application of this 
Regulation. These agreements shall be notified to the Administrative Commission. 

If  national  legislation  makes  entitlement  to  the  benefits  referred  to  in  this  Chapter 
dependent on being a pensioner, account shall be taken of only the pension payable 
by an institution of that Member State. 

EN 

20 

   EN 

 
Article 23 
Regime applicable in the event of the existence of several regimes in the Member State of 
residence or stay  

If  the  legislation  of  the  place  of  residence  or  stay  comprises  several  schemes  of  sickness, 
maternity and paternity insurance, the provisions applicable under Articles 17, 19(1), 20, 22, 
24, 26 and 27 of Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004 shall be those of the legislation on the general 
scheme for employed persons.  

Article 24 
Residence in a Member State other than the competent Member State 

1. 

2. 

3. 

For the purposes of the application of Article 17 of Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004, 
an insured person or members of his/her family shall be obliged to register with the 
institution of  the place  of  residence, sending  a document showing their right to the 
benefits in kind payable by the competent Member State.   

This document shall be issued by the competent institution, where appropriate in the 
light  of  the  information  provided  by  the  employer.  If  the  insured  person  or  the 
members of his/her family do not send the said document, the institution of the place 
of residence shall request the necessary information from the competent institution. 

The institution of the place of residence shall inform the competent institution of any 
registration it has carried out in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1. 

This Article shall apply mutatis mutandis to the persons referred to in Articles 22, 24, 
25 and 26 of Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004. 

Article 25 
Stay in a Member State other than the competent Member State 

A) 

Procedure and scope of right 

1. 

For  the  purposes  of  the  application  of  Article  19  of  Regulation  (EC) 
No. 883/2004, before leaving the territory of the Member State in which he/she 
resides,  the  insured  person  shall  ask  his/her  competent  institution  to  send 
him/her the document showing his/her right to the benefits in kind.   

Pensioners  or  the  members  of  their  family  referred  to  in  Article  27(1)  of 
Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004 shall send their request to the institution of the 
place of residence, which shall send it, where appropriate, to the institution that 
is  responsible  for  expenditure  relating  to  the  benefits  in  kind  provided  to  the 
pensioner in the Member State of residence. 

2. 

In accordance with Article 19(1) of Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004, if benefits 
in  kind  become  necessary  on  medical  grounds  for  the  insured  person  during 
his/her stay, he/she shall present the document referred to in Paragraph 1 to the 
care provider in the Member State of residence, which shall apply to him/her 
the  provisions of the  legislation that would be applicable to him/her  if he/she 
came  under  the  scheme  referred  to  in  Article  23  of  this  Regulation  in  the 

EN 

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Member State of stay.  

If  the  insured  person  does  not  have  the  said  document,  the  institution  of  the 
place  of  stay  shall  contact  the  competent  institution  to  obtain  the  necessary 
information.  

3. 

The  benefits  in  kind  referred  to  in  Article  19(1)  of  Regulation  (EC) 
No. 883/2004  shall  refer  to  the  benefits  in  kind  that  must  be  provided  in  the 
Member  State  of  stay,  in  accordance  with  the  latter's  legislation,  in  order  to 
ensure  that  an  insured  person  is  not  obliged  to  return  to  his/her  place  of 
residence,  before  the  planned  end  of  his/her  stay,  in  order  to  receive  the 
treatment required by his/her state of health. 

4. 

Paragraphs  1-3  shall  apply  mutatis mutandis  to  the  members  of  the  family  of 
the insured person. 

B) 

Procedure  and  arrangements  for  meeting  the  costs  and  providing  reimbursement  of 
benefits in kind.  

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

If the insured person has actually borne all or part of the costs of the benefits in 
kind  provided  within  the  framework  of  Article  19  of  Regulation  (EC) 
No. 883/2004,  he/she  shall  send  his/her  application  for  reimbursement  to  the 
institution of the place of stay. This institution shall reimburse directly to that 
person the amount of the expenses corresponding to these benefits within the 
limits and under the conditions of the rates in its legislation. 

If  the  reimbursement  of  these  expenses  has  not  been  requested  directly  from 
the institution of the place of stay, the charges incurred shall be reimbursed to 
the  person  concerned  by  the  competent  institution  at  the  reimbursement  rates 
applied by the institution of the place of stay.  

The  institution  of  the  place  of  stay  shall  be  obliged  to  provide  the  competent 
institution with all necessary information about these rates upon request. 

If  the  legislation  of  the  Member  State  of  stay  does  not  provide  for 
reimbursement 
the 
reimbursement in accordance with the rates that it applies, without the need for 
the agreement of the insured person. 

institution  may  undertake 

the  competent 

rates, 

By  way  of  derogation  from  Paragraph  6(1),  the  competent  institution  may 
undertake  the  reimbursement  of  the  charges  incurred  at  the  reimbursement 
rates  that  it  applies,  provided  that  the  insured  person  has  agreed  to  this 
provision  being  applied  to  him/her  and  that  the  legislation  allows  for  the 
reimbursement of such charges. 

In the case of major expenditure, the competent institution may pay the insured 
person  an  appropriate  advance  as  soon  as  this  person  submits  his/her  request 
for reimbursement to it. 

EN 

22 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
Article 26 
Scheduled treatment 

A) 

Authorisation procedure  

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

For pensioners and the members of their family other than those referred to in 
Article 27(5) of Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004, the institution of the Member 
State  responsible  for  expenses  related  to  the  benefits  in  kind  provided  in  the 
Member State of residence shall be considered to be the competent institution 
for  granting  the  authorisation  referred  to  in  Article  20(1)  of  Regulation  (EC) 
No. 883/2004. 

For  the  purposes  of  the  application  of  Article  20(1)  and  Article  27(3)  of 
Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004, if the person does not reside on the territory of 
the  competent  Member  State,  the  authorisation  referred  to  in  Article  20(1)  of 
Regulation (EC) No.883/2004 shall be requested from the competent institution 
by  the  institution  of  the  place  of  residence.  The  institution  of  the  place  of 
residence shall state the reasons why it is requesting this authorisation for the 
person concerned, in particular those mentioned in Article 20(2) of Regulation 
(EC) No. 883/2004. 

In  the absence  of a  reply  within fifteen “calendar days” of the date on which 
the request was sent, the authorisation shall be considered to have been granted 
by the competent institution.   

The  institution  of  the  place  of  residence  shall  grant  the  authorisation  to  the 
person concerned on behalf of the competent institution. 

At  any  time  during  the  procedure  of  the  granting  of  the  authorisation,  the 
competent  institution  shall  retain  the  right  to  have  the  person  concerned 
examined by a doctor of its choice in the Member State of stay or residence. 

The procedure referred to in Paragraph 2 shall not apply if the benefits in kind 
concerned are vitally necessary treatment. The prior authorisation referred to in 
Article  20(2)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No. 883/2004  shall  be  granted  by  the 
institution  of  the  place  of  residence  on  behalf  of  the  competent  institution, 
which shall be immediately informed by the institution of the State of the place 
of residence. 

The  competent  institution  shall  be  obliged  to  accept  the  findings  and  the 
treatment  options  concerning  the  need  for  vitally  necessary  treatment  that  is 
decided by the doctors approved by the institution of the place of residence that 
issues the authorisation.  

The person concerned shall send the authorisation to the institution of the place 
of  stay.  The  latter  shall  be  obliged  to  inform  the  institution  of  the  insured 
person’s  place  of  residence  of  the  development  of  the  state  of  health  of  the 
insured  person  when  it  appears  medically  necessary  to  supplement  the 
treatment. The institution of the place of residence shall immediately forward 
this information to the competent institution. 

EN 

23 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
B) 

Meeting the cost of benefits in kind as part of scheduled treatment. 

5.  When an authorisation in granted, the competent institution shall meet the costs 
of the expenses at the highest rate. Consequently, if the rates of the institution 
of the place of stay for the benefits in kind concerned are lower than those of 
the competent institution, the insured person may ask the competent institution 
to pay him/her the additional amount within the limit of its rates.  

C) 

Meeting the costs of travel and stay as part of scheduled treatment. 

6.  Where the competent institution grants an authorisation, the costs of travel and 
stay  that  are  inseparable  from  the  treatment  of  the  person  shall  be  met  in 
accordance  with  the  legislation  applied  by  the  competent  institution,  for  the 
person concerned and, if necessary, for a person who must accompany him/her.  

D) 

Family members 

7. 

The provisions of paragraphs 1-6 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the members 
of the family of the insured persons. 

Article 27 
Cash benefits relating to incapacity for work in the event of stay or residence in a Member 
State other than the competent Member State 

A) 

Procedure to be followed by the insured person 

1. 

In  order  to  be  entitled  to  the  cash  benefits  relating  to  incapacity  for  work 
pursuant to Article 21(1) of Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004, the insured person 
shall ask the doctor of the Member State of residence who established his/her 
state of health to fill in the document designed to certify his/her incapacity for 
work. 

2. 

The  insured  person  shall  send  the  completed  document  within  three  working 
days of the determination of his/her medical condition: 

a) 

to  the  institution  of  the  place  of  residence  if  the  person  pursues  his/her 
occupational activity there; 

b) 

to the competent institution in the other cases. 

3. 

The  forwarding  of  the  document  referred  to  Paragraphs  1  and  2  shall  not 
exempt  the  insured  person  from  fulfilling  the  obligations  provided  for  by  the 
applicable legislation, in particular with regard to his/her employer. 

4.  When  the  insured  person  returns  to  work,  he/she  shall  inform  the  competent 
institution thereof, which shall inform the institution of the place of residence, 
where appropriate. 

B) 

Procedure to be followed by the institution of the Member State of residence  

EN 

24 

   EN 

 
5.  At  the  request  of  the  competent  institution  or  in  the  cases  referred  to  in 
Paragraph 2(a), the institution of the place of residence shall have the medical 
condition of the insured person checked, where necessary, as if that person was 
insured  by  it.  The  information  in  the  report  of  the  examining  doctor  that 
concerns, in particular, the probable duration of the incapacity for work, shall 
be  forwarded  by  the  institution  of  the  place  of  residence  to  the  competent 
institution within three working days of the date of the examination.  

6. 

The  institution  of  the  place  of  residence  shall  subsequently  conduct  an 
administrative  or  medical  check  of  the  insured  person,  where  necessary,  as  if 
he/she were insured by it. As soon as it establishes that the person concerned is 
fit  to  return  to  work,  it  shall  inform  him/her  forthwith  and  the  competent 
institution, stating the date on which the incapacity for work is to come to an 
end. Without prejudice to the provisions of Paragraph 10, the notification to the 
person  concerned  shall  be  deemed  to  be  the  decision  taken  on  behalf  of  the 
competent institution. 

7.  At  the  request  of  the  competent  institution,  the  institution  of  the  place  of 
residence  shall  be  obliged  to  have  the  insured  person  examined  by  a  doctor 
chosen by the competent institution. 

C) 

Procedure to be followed by the competent institution 

8. 

9. 

The  competent  institution  shall  pay  the  cash  benefits  directly  to  the  person 
concerned  and  shall  inform  the  institution  of  the  place  of  residence  thereof. 
However,  if  the  cash  benefits  are  paid  by  the  institution  of  the  place  of 
residence  on  behalf  of  the  competent  institution,  the  latter  shall  inform  the 
person concerned of his/her rights. It shall inform the institution of the place of 
residence of the amount of the cash benefits, the dates on which they should be 
paid and the maximum duration of the granting of such benefits as provided for 
by the legislation of the competent State. 

For  the  purposes  of  the  application  of  Article  21(1)  of  Regulation  (EC) 
No. 883/2004,  the  particulars  of  the  certificate  of  incapacity  for  work  of  an 
insured person drawn up in another Member State on the basis of the medical 
findings  of  the  attending  practitioner  shall  have  to  be  accepted  by  the 
competent institution unless there is any abusive conduct. 

10. 

If  the  competent  institution  decides  to  refuse  the  cash  benefits  because  the 
insured person has not followed the formalities foreseen by the legislation of 
the  Member  State  of  residence  or  if  a  doctor  of  its  choice  finds  that  the 
insured person is fit to return to work, it notifies him/her of its decision and 
simultaneously notifies the institution of the place of residence thereof.  

D) 

Procedure in the event of a stay in a Member State other than the competent Member 
State. 

11.  The  provisions  of  paragraphs  1-10  shall  apply  mutatis  mutandis  when  the 
insured  person  stays  in  a  Member  State  other  than  the  competent  Member 
State. 

EN 

25 

   EN 

 
1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

Article 28 
Application of Article 28 of Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004 

Article 28(1) of Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004 shall also apply to the recipients of an 
invalidity  pension.  “Continuation  of  treatment”  shall  mean  further  treatment  of  the 
disease for its entire duration.  

The  term  “treatment”  shall  refer  to  any  medical  service  provided  with  a  view  to 
protecting, preserving or restoring the health of persons.  

Article  28(1)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No. 883/2004  shall  apply  mutatis  mutandis  to 
wholly  unemployed  frontier  workers  and  to  the  members  of  their  families  if  the 
competent Member State is not included in the list in Annex III to Regulation (EC) 
No. 883/2004. 

Article 29 
Contributions by pensioners  

Where  the  institution  referred  to  in  Article  30(1)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  883/2004 
takes into account, pursuant to Article 5 of that Regulation, pensions acquired under 
the  legislation  of  one  or  more  of  the  other  Member  States,  it  shall  take  into 
consideration only the amounts of pensions actually paid to the person concerned to 
determine the basis for calculating contributions.  

Under  no  circumstances  shall  the  amount  of  contributions  deducted  from  the 
pensions  in  question  be  greater  than  the  amount  due  from  a  person  with  the  same 
income obtained in the Member State referred to in Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No 
883/2004. 

Article 30 
Application of Article 34 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 

For the purposes of applying Article 34 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, long-term 
care benefits shall not be considered to be treatments as defined in Article 28(2) of 
this Regulation, but as home care or daily living assistance for the person in question, 
depending on their degree of autonomy.  

The  institution  in  the  place  of  residence  shall  inform  the  person  concerned  of  the 
non-aggregation  rule  and  of  the  conditions  for  applying  it  to  the  long-term  care 
benefits  in  question.  However,  the  application  of  such  rules  shall  ensure  that  the 
person  not  residing  in  the  territory  of  the  competent  Member  State  is  entitled  to  at 
least  the  same  amount  of  benefit  as  that  to  which  they  would  be  entitled  if  they 
resided in that Member State.  

3. 

The  Administrative  Commission  shall  lay  down  implementing  measures  for  this 
Article where necessary.  

EN 

26 

   EN 

 
Article 31 
Special implementing measures 

1. 

2. 

3. 

The  provisions  of  Title  III,  Chapter  1,  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 883/2004  relating  to 
benefits in kind shall not apply to persons entitled to benefits in kind solely on the 
basis of a special scheme for civil servants in one of the Member States referred to in 
Annex 2 to this Regulation. 

Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  paragraph  1,  Article  23  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 
883/2004  shall  apply  to  persons  who  are  entitled  to  both  a  pension  under  a  civil 
servants’ scheme in one of the Member States referred to in Annex 2 and a pension 
under the legislation of another Member State. 

Practical  implementing  measures  for  paragraphs  1  and  2  shall  be  taken  by  the 
Administrative Commission. 

Chapter II – Benefits in respect of accidents at work and occupational diseases 

Article 32 
Right to benefits in kind and in cash in the event of residence or stay in a Member State other 
than the competent Member State 

For the purposes of applying Article 36(1) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, the procedures 
laid down in Articles 24 to 27 of this Regulation shall apply mutatis mutandis. 

Article 33 
Scheduled treatments 

The  competent  institution  may  not  refuse  to  grant  the  authorisation  provided  for  in  Article 
20(1)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  883/2004  to  an  employed  or  self-employed  person  who  has 
sustained an accident at work or has contracted an occupational disease and who is entitled to 
benefits  chargeable  to  that  institution,  where  the  treatment  appropriate  to  his/her  condition 
cannot be given in the Member State in which the person resides within a time limit which is 
medically  justifiable,  taking  into  account  his/her  current  state  of  health  and  the  probable 
course of his/her illness.  

Article 34 
Cooperation between institutions in the event of an accident at work or occupational disease 
which occurs in a Member State other than the competent Member State 

1. 

If  the  accident  at  work  or  occupational  disease  is  diagnosed  for  the  first  time  in  a 
Member  State  other  than  the  competent  Member  State,  the  declaration  of  the 
occupational  accident  or  disease  shall  be  carried  out  in  accordance  with  the 
legislation in the competent State, without prejudice, where appropriate, to the legal 
provisions in force in the Member State in which the occupational accident occurred 
or in which the first medical diagnosis of the occupational disease was made, which 
remain applicable in such cases. This declaration shall be addressed to the competent 
institution and a copy shall be sent to the institution in the place of residence or stay. 

EN 

27 

   EN 

 
2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

The  institution  of  the  Member  State  in  the  territory  of  which  the  occupational 
accident  occurred  or  in  which  the  occupational  disease  was  first  diagnosed,  shall 
notify  the  competent  institution  of  medical  certificates  drawn  up  in  the  territory  of 
that  State  and,  at  the  request  of  that  institution,  shall  provide  any  appropriate 
information. 

Where,  as  a  result  of  a  commuting  accident  which  occurs  in  the  territory  of  a 
Member State other than the competent Member State, an inquiry is necessary in the 
territory of the first Member State, an investigator may be appointed for this purpose 
by the competent institution, which shall inform the authorities of that Member State. 
The  authorities  shall  assist  the  investigator,  in  particular  by  appointing  a  person 
responsible for helping to consult the reports and any other documents relating to the 
accident. 

Following  treatment,  a  detailed  report  accompanied  by  medical  certificates  relating 
to  the  permanent  consequences  of  the  accident  or  illness,  in  particular  the  victim’s 
present  state  and  the  recovery  or  stabilisation  of  injuries,  shall  be  sent  to  the 
competent institution. The relevant fees shall be paid by the institution in the place of 
residence  or  by  the  institution  in  the  place  of  stay,  where  appropriate,  at  the  rate 
applied by that institution to the charge of the competent institution. 

At the request of the institution in the place of residence or the institution in the place 
of  stay,  where  appropriate,  the  competent  institution  shall  notify  it  of  the  decision 
setting  the  date  for  the  recovery  or  stabilisation  of  injuries  and,  where  appropriate, 
the decision concerning the granting of a pension. 

Article 35 
Contestation of the occupational nature of the accident or disease 

Where  the  competent  institution  contests  application  of  the  legislation  relating  to 
accidents  at  work  or  occupational  diseases  under  Article  36(2)  of  Regulation  (EC) 
No 883/2004, it shall immediately inform the institution in the place of residence or 
stay which provided the benefits in kind, which will then be considered as sickness 
insurance benefits. 

When a final decision has been taken on this subject, the competent institution shall 
immediately inform the institution in the place of residence or stay which provided 
the  benefits  in  kind.  The  latter  shall  continue  to  pay  benefits  in  kind  as  sickness 
insurance benefits if the employed or self-employed person is entitled to them and an 
occupational accident or disease is not involved. In the opposite case, benefits in kind 
paid  to  the  beneficiary  as  sickness  insurance  shall  be  considered  as  occupational 
accident or disease benefits from the date on which the occupational accident or disease 
was first diagnosed.  

EN 

28 

   EN 

 
Article 36 
Procedure in the event of exposure to the risk of an occupational disease in 
several Member States 

In  the  case  referred  to  in  Article  38  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 883/2004,  the 
declaration  of  the  occupational  disease  shall  be  sent  either  to  the  competent 
institution  for  occupational  diseases  of  the  last  Member  State  under  the 
legislation of which the victim pursued an activity likely to cause the said disease, 
or to the institution in the place of residence, which shall forward the declaration to 
the above-mentioned competent institution. 

If  the  latter  institution  establishes  that  an  activity  likely  to  cause  the  occupational 
disease in question was last pursued under the legislation of another Member State, it 
shall send the declaration and the accompanying certificates to the equivalent institute 
in that Member State. 

Where  the  institution  of  the  last  Member  State  under  the  legislation  of  which  the 
victim  pursued  an  activity  likely  to  cause  the  occupational  disease  in  question 
establishes that the victim or his/her survivors do not meet the requirements of that 
legislation,  the  said  institution  shall  forward  immediately  to  the  institution  of  the 
previous Member State under the legislation of which the victim pursued an activity 
likely  to  cause  the  occupational  disease  in  question  the  declaration  and  all 
accompanying  certificates, 
the  findings  and  reports  of  medical 
examinations  performed  by  the  first  institution,  as  well  as  a  copy  of  the  decision 
referred to in the second paragraph. 

including 

It shall also inform the insured person of its decision, indicating in particular the reasons for 
refusing benefits, the remedies and periods allowed for appeals, as well as the date on 
which the dossier was sent to the institution of the Member State under the legislation 
of  which  the  insured  person  previously  pursued  an  activity  likely  to  cause  the 
occupational disease in question. 

It is advisable, where appropriate, to apply the same procedure and go back as far as 
the equivalent institution in the Member State under whose legislation the victim first 
pursued an activity likely to cause the occupational disease in question. 

Article 37 
Exchange of information between institutions and advance payments in the event of 
an appeal against rejection 

In  the  event  of  an  appeal  against  a  decision  to  refuse  benefits  taken  by  the 
institution  of  one  of  the  Member  States  under  the  legislation  of  which  the  victim 
pursued  an  activity  likely  to  cause  the  occupational  disease  in  question,  that 
institution  shall  inform  the  institution  to  which  the  declaration  was  sent,  in 
accordance  with  the  procedure  provided  for  in  Article  36(2), and shall subsequently 
inform it of the final decision. 

Where a person is entitled to benefits under the legislation applied by the institution 
to which the declaration was sent, that institution shall make the advance payments, 
the  amount  of  which  shall  be  determined,  where  appropriate,  after  consulting  the 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

EN 

29 

   EN 

 
 
 
institution which made the decision against which the appeal was lodged. The latter 
institution shall reimburse the advance payments made if, as a result of the appeal, it 
is  obliged  to  provide  these  benefits.  That  amount  will  then  be  deducted  from  the 
benefits due to the person concerned, in accordance with the procedure provided for 
in Article 71. 

Article 38 
Aggravation of an occupational disease  

In the cases covered by Article 39 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, the claimant 
must  give  the  institution  in  the  Member  State  from  which  he/she  is  claiming 
entitlement to benefits all the details concerning benefits previously granted for the 
occupational  disease  in  question.  That  institution  may  contact  any  other  previously 
competent institution in order to obtain the information it considers necessary. 

Article 39 
Assessment of the degree of incapacity in the event of occupational accidents or 
diseases which occurred previously or subsequently. 

For the purposes of applying Article 40(3) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, where a 
previous  or  subsequent  incapacity  for  work  was  caused  by  an  accident  which 
occurred when the person concerned was subject to the legislation of a Member State 
which  makes  no  distinction  according  to  the  origin  of  the  incapacity  to  work,  the 
competent institution in the case of the previous or subsequent incapacity for work or 
the body designated by the competent authority of the Member State in question shall 
be  obliged,  when  requested  to  do  so  by  the  competent  institution  of  another  Member 
State,  to  provide  information  concerning  the  degree  of  the  previous  or  subsequent 
incapacity for work, and, where possible, information making it possible to determine 
whether the incapacity is the result of an accident at work within the meaning of the 
legislation applied by the institution in the other Member State.  

In this case, the competent institution shall take into account the degree of incapacity 
caused  by  these  previous  or  subsequent cases  when  determining  the  right  to  benefits 
and the amount, in accordance with the applicable legislation.  

Article 40 
Submission and investigation of claims for pensions or supplementary allowances  

1. 

2. 

In order to receive a pension or supplementary allowance under the legislation of a 
Member State, the employed or self-employed person or his/her survivors residing in 
the  territory  of  another  Member  State  shall  submit  a  claim  either  to  the  competent 
institution  or  to  the  institution  in  the  place  of  residence,  which  shall  send  it  to  the 
competent institution.  The claim shall  be  accompanied  by  the necessary  supporting 
documents  and  be  drawn  up  in  accordance  with  the  legislation  applied  by  the 
competent institution. 

The competent institution shall notify the claimant of its decision directly or through 
the liaison body of the competent State; it shall send a copy of this  decision to the 
liaison body of the Member State in which the claimant resides. 

EN 

30 

   EN 

 
 
Article 41 
Special implementing measures 

The provisions of Title III, Chapter 2 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 covering benefits in 
kind  shall  not  apply  to  persons  entitled  to  benefits  in  kind  solely  on  the  basis  of  a  special 
scheme  for  civil  servants  in  one  of  the  Member  States  referred  to  in  Annex  2  to  this 
Regulation. 

Chapter III – Death grants 

Article 42 
Claim for death grants 

For the purposes of applying Articles 42 and 43 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, the claim 
for death grants shall be sent to the institution in the claimant's place of residence. 

Chapter IV – Invalidity benefits and old-age and survivors’ pensions 

Article 43 
Calculation of benefit 

1. 

2. 

3. 

For the purposes of calculating the theoretical amount and the actual amount of the 
benefit  in  accordance  with  Article  52(1)(b)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  883/2004,  the 
rules provided for in Article 12(3), (4) and (5) of this Regulation shall apply. 

Where periods of voluntary or optional continued insurance have not been taken into 
account  under  Article  12(3)  of  this  Regulation,  the  institution  of  the  Member  State 
under  whose  legislation  these  periods  were  completed  shall  calculate  the  amount 
corresponding to these periods under the legislation it applies. The actual amount of 
the  benefit,  calculated  in  accordance  with  Article  52(1)(b)  of  Regulation  (EC) 
No 883/2004, shall be increased by the amount corresponding to periods of voluntary 
or optional continued insurance. 

The institution of each Member State shall calculate, under the legislation it applies, 
the  amount  due  corresponding  to  periods  of  voluntary  or  optional  continued 
insurance  which,  under  Article  53(3)(c)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 883/2004,  shall  not 
be  subject  to  another  Member  State’s  rules  relating  to  withdrawal,  reduction  or 
suspension. 

Article 44 
Inclusion of children’s periods of education 

Without prejudice to the competence of the Member State determined in accordance with the 
provisions of Title II of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, the institution of the Member State in 
which  the  beneficiary  of  the  pension  has  resided  for  the  longest  period  during  the  twelve 
months following the birth of the child must take into account the child’s periods of education 
in  another  Member  State,  provided  that  the  legislation  of  another  Member  State  is  not 

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applicable to the person concerned through the pursuit of an activity as an employed or self-
employed person. 

Article 45 
Claim for benefits 

A) 

Submission  of  the  claim  for  benefits  under  Article  44(2)  of  Regulation  (EC) 
No 883/2004 

1. 

2. 

3. 

In  order  to  receive  benefits  under  Article  44(2)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 
883/2004,  the  claimant  shall  submit  a  claim  to  the  institution  of  the  Member 
State whose legislation was applicable at the time when the incapacity for work 
occurred followed by invalidity or the aggravation of this invalidity.  

If sickness benefits in cash have been awarded, the expiry date of the period for 
awarding these benefits shall, where appropriate, be considered as the date of 
submission of the pension claim. 

In the case referred to in Article 47(1)(b) of Regulation(EC) No 883/2004, the 
institution  with  which  the  person  concerned  was  last  insured  shall  inform  the 
institution  which  initially  paid  the  benefits  of  the  amount  and  the  date  of 
commencement of the benefits under the applicable legislation. From that date 
benefits due before aggravation of the invalidity shall be withdrawn or reduced 
to the supplement referred to in Article 47(2) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004. 

B) 

Submission of other claims for benefits 

4. 

5. 

6. 

In situations other than that referred to in Article 44(2) of Regulation (EC) No 
883/2004, the claimant shall submit a claim either to the institution in his/her 
place of residence if the person concerned was subject to the legislation of that 
institution at a given time or to the institution of the last Member State whose 
legislation was applicable to the person concerned in other cases. 

The  date  of  submission  of  the  claim  shall  apply  in  all  the  institutions 
concerned.  

By way of derogation from paragraph 5, if the claimant does not specify all the 
periods of insurance or residence which were subject to the legislation of other 
Member States, despite being specifically asked to do so, the date on which the 
claimant completes his/her initial claim or submits a new claim for the missing 
periods  shall  be  considered  as  the  date  of  submission  of  the  claim  to  the 
institution  applying  the  legislation  in  question,  subject  to  more  favourable 
provisions of that legislation.  

7.  A  claim  for  benefits  sent  to  the  institution  of  a  Member  State  automatically 
results  in  the  concurrent  award  of  benefits  under  the  legislations  of  all  the 
Member States in question for which the claimant meets the requirements. 

8.  However,  this  concurrent  award  of  benefits  shall  not  take  place  if,  in 
accordance  with  Article  50(1)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 883/2004,  the  claimant 

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has  requested  deferment  of  the  award  of  benefits  which  would  be  obtained 
under the legislation of one of more Member States. 

Article 46 
Certificates and information to be submitted with the claim by the claimant 

1. 

2. 

The claim shall be submitted by the claimant in accordance with the provisions of the 
legislation  applied  by  the  institution  referred  to  in  Article  45(1)  and  (4)  and  be 
accompanied  by  the  necessary  supporting  documents.  The  claimant  shall  indicate 
either  the  institution  or  institutions  for  invalidity  insurance,  old-age  or  death 
(pensions) of any Member State with which the insured person has been insured, or, 
in the case of an employed person, the employer or employers by whom he/she was 
employed  in  the  territory  of  any  Member  State  and  shall  produce  any  relevant 
certificates in his/her possession. 

Where,  in  accordance  with  Article  50(1)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  883/2004,  the 
claimant  requests  deferment  of  the  award  of  old-age  benefits  which  would  be 
obtained  under  the  legislation  of  one  or  more  Member  States,  he/she  shall  specify 
under which legislation the deferment of the award of benefits is requested. 

Article 47 
Investigation of claims by the institutions 

A) 

Investigating institution 

1. 

The claim for benefits shall be investigated by the institution to which it 
is sent or forwarded in accordance with the provisions of Article 45(1) or 
(4).  This  institution  shall  be  referred  to  hereafter  as  the  “investigating 
institution”. 

B) 

Investigation of claims for benefits under Article 44 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 

2. 

In the case referred to in Article 44(3) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, 
the  investigating  institution  shall  send  all  the  documents  of  the  person 
concerned  to  the  institution  with  which  he/she  was  previously  insured, 
which shall in turn examine the case. 

3.  Articles  48  to  52  shall  not  be  applicable  to  the  investigation  of  claims 

referred to in Article 44 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004. 

C) 

Investigation of other claims for benefits  

4. 

In  situations  other  than  that  referred  to  in  Article  44  of  Regulation  (EC) 
No 883/2004,  the  investigating  institution  shall  immediately  send  claims  for 
benefits  to  all  the  institutions  in  question  so  that  they  can  all  examine  them 
immediately  and  concurrently.  It  shall  notify  them  of  periods  of  insurance  or 
residence  subject  to  their  legislation,  accompanied,  where  appropriate,  by  the 
certificates supplied by the claimant. 

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5. 

6. 

Each  of  the  other  institutions  in  question  shall  notify  the  investigating 
institution  of  periods  of  insurance  or  residence  subject  to  their  legislation. 
Except  in  the  case  provided  for  in  Article  46(2)  of  this  Regulation,  each 
institution shall also notify it of the amount of the independent benefit referred 
to in Article 52(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 where the entitlement to 
benefits is satisfied exclusively under national law. 

The  investigating  institution  shall  send  all  the  information  obtained  to  all  the 
institutions in question. On the basis of this, each of the institutions in question 
shall  calculate  theoretical  and  actual  amounts  of  benefits  in  accordance  with 
Article  52(1)(b)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 883/2004  and  shall  notify  the 
investigating institution of these amounts. 

7.  As  soon  as  the  investigating  institution  establishes  on  the  basis  of  the 
information  referred  to  in  paragraph  5  that  the  provisions  of  Article  46(2)  or 
Article 57(2) or (3) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 must be applied, it shall 
inform the other institutions involved. 

8. 

In order to enable the claimant to exercise his/her right to deferment provided 
for  in  Article  50  (1)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 883/2004,  the  investigating 
institution  shall  notify  him/her  of  all  the  information  available  to  it  so  that 
he/she is aware of the consequences of the concurrent award of benefits which 
he/she  might  claim.  The  claimant  shall  send  any  claim  for  deferment  of  the 
award  of  benefits  to  the  investigating  institution,  which  shall  send  it 
immediately to the institution in question. 

Article 48 
Notification of decisions to the claimant 

1. 

2. 

1. 

Each  institution  shall  notify  the  claimant  of  its  decision  concerning  the  award  of 
benefits in accordance with the applicable legislation. Each decision shall specify the 
remedies and periods allowed for appeals. A copy of each decision shall be sent to 
the  investigating  institution.  Once  it  has  received  a  copy  of  all  the  decisions,  the 
investigating  institution  shall  notify  the  claimant  of  these  decisions  in  a  summary 
note drawn up in his/her own language in accordance with Article 3(4). It shall also 
send this summary note to the other institutions in question.  

The  summary  note  sent  to  the  claimant  in  accordance  with  Article  3  (4)  shall  be 
considered as a new decision against which an appeal may be lodged. 

Article 49 
Determination of the degree of invalidity 

Where  the  provisions  of  Article  46(3)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 883/2004  are 
applicable, the investigating institution alone shall be authorised to take the decision 
concerning the degree of invalidity of the claimant. It shall take this decision as soon 
as it can determine whether the conditions for eligibility laid down in the applicable 
legislation are met, taking into account, where appropriate, the provisions of Articles 

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6  and  51  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 883/2004.  It  shall  immediately  notify  the  other 
institutions in question of this decision. 

Where the eligibility criteria, other than those relating to the degree of invalidity, laid 
down in the applicable legislation are not met, taking into account the provisions of 
Articles 6 and 51 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, the investigating institution shall 
immediately  inform  the  competent  institution  of  the  last  Member  State  to  whose 
legislation the claimant was subject. The latter institution shall be authorised to take 
the decision concerning the degree of invalidity of the claimant if the conditions for 
eligibility laid down in the applicable legislation are met; it shall immediately notify 
the other institutions involved of this decision. 

It is advisable, where appropriate, when determining eligibility, to go back under the 
same procedure as far as the competent institution for invalidity in the Member State 
to whose legislation the claimant was first subject. 

Where  the  provisions  of  Article  46(3)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 883/2004  are  not 
applicable,  each  institution  shall  have  the  possibility  of  having  the  claimant 
examined by a doctor of their choice to determine the degree of invalidity. However, 
the  institution  of  a  Member  State  shall  take  into  consideration  documents,  medical 
reports  and  administrative  information  collected  by  the  institution  of  any  other 
Member State as if they had been drawn up in its own Member State. 

Where  the  medical  examination  takes  place  in  a  Member  State  other  than  the 
Member  State  of  residence  of  the  person  concerned,  the  relevant  travel  and 
subsistence  allowances  shall  be  paid  for  by  the  institution  which  requested  the 
medical examination. 

Article 50 
Provisional instalments and advance payment of benefits 

Notwithstanding Article 7 of this Regulation, any institution which establishes while 
investigating  a  claim  for  benefits  that  the  claimant  is  entitled  to  an  independent 
benefit  under  the  applicable  legislation,  in  accordance  with  Article  52(1)(a)  of 
Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, shall pay this benefit immediately. This payment shall 
be  considered  provisional  if  the  amount  may  be  affected  by  the  result  of  the  claim 
investigation procedure. 

Where no provisional benefit can be paid to the claimant under paragraph 1 but it is 
evident  from  the  information  received  that  the  claimant  is  eligible  under  Article 
52(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, the investigating institution shall make a 
recoverable advance payment, the amount of  which shall be as close as possible to 
the  amount  which  will  probably  be  paid  under  Article  52(1)(b)  of  Regulation  (EC) 
No 883/2004. 

The institution which is obliged to pay the provisional benefits under paragraphs 1 or 
2 shall inform the claimant immediately, specifically drawing his/her attention to the 
provisional nature of the measure and to the fact that an appeal may be lodged only 
against the future payment decision. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

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1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

Article 51 
New calculation of benefits 

Where  there  is  a  new  calculation  of  benefits  in  accordance  with  Articles  48(3)  and 
(4), 50(4) and 59(1) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, Article 50 of this Regulation 
shall be applicable mutatis mutandis. 

Where  there  is  a  new  calculation,  withdrawal  or  suspension  of  the  benefit,  the 
institution which took the decision shall inform the person concerned immediately in 
accordance  with  the  procedure  provided  for  in  Article  3(4)  to  (7)  and  shall  inform 
each of the institutions in respect of which the person concerned has an entitlement. 

Article 52 
Measures intended to accelerate the payment of benefits 

Where  the  legislation  of  a  Member  State  is  applicable  to  a  person,  the  body 
designated  by  the  competent  authority  of  that  Member  State  shall  send  to  the 
designated body of the Member State of nationality of that person all the information 
relating to the identity of that person, including the identification number allocated to 
that person by the competent institution for pensions in the first Member State and 
the name of the said competent institution. It shall also furnish any other information 
likely to facilitate and accelerate the subsequent payment of pensions. 

For the purposes of applying paragraph 1, stateless persons and refugees as well as 
persons  who  have  never  been  subject  to  the  legislation  of  their  Member  State  of 
nationality shall be considered as nationals of the Member State to whose legislation 
they were first subject. 

The  institutions  in  question,  acting  on  a  request  from  the  person  concerned  or  the 
institution  with  which  he/she  is  insured  at  that  time,  shall  draw  up  the  insurance 
history  of  the  person  concerned,  starting  not  later  than  one  year  before  the  date  on 
which the person concerned reaches the age of entitlement to the pension. 

The  Administrative  Commission  shall  lay  down  implementing  measures  for  the 
provisions in the previous paragraphs. 

Article 53 
Coordination measures in a Member State 

Where national legislation includes rules for determining the institution responsible 
for paying the pension, those rules shall be applied, taking into account only periods 
of insurance completed under the legislation of the Member State concerned. 

Where national legislation includes rules for the coordination of special schemes for 
civil servants and the general scheme for employed persons, those rules shall not be 
affected by the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 and of this Regulation. 

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1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

Chapter V – Unemployment benefits 

Article 54 
Calculation of benefits 

For  the  purposes  of  applying  Article  62(3)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 883/2004,  the 
competent institution of the Member State to whose legislation the person concerned 
was subject in respect of his/her last activity as an employed or self-employed person 
shall, at the request of the institution in the place of residence, provide it with all the 
information necessary to calculate unemployment benefits, in particular the salary or 
professional income received.  

For the purposes of applying Article 62 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, where the 
worker  referred  to  in  Article  65(5)  of  the  said  Regulation,  other  than  a  frontier 
worker,  has  never  been  employed  under  the  legislation  of  the  Member  State  of 
residence, unemployment benefits shall be calculated on the basis of the normal pay 
in that Member State for a job equivalent or similar to the one he/she last pursued in 
the territory of another Member State. 

For  the  purposes  of  applying  Article  62  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 883/2004  and 
notwithstanding  Article  63  of  the  said  Regulation,  the  competent  institution  of  a 
Member State whose legislation provides that the calculation of benefits varies with 
the number of members of the family shall also take into account the members of the 
family of the person concerned residing in another Member State as if they resided in 
the  competent  Member State. This  provision  shall not apply  where,  in the Member 
State  of  residence  of  members  of  the  family,  another  person  is  entitled  to 
unemployment  benefits  calculated  on  the  basis  of  the  number  of  members  of  the 
family. 

Article 55 
Conditions and restrictions on the retention of the entitlement to benefits for unemployed 
persons going to another Member State 

In  order  to  be  covered  by  the  provisions  of  Article  64  of  Regulation  (EC) 
No 883/2004,  the  unemployed  person  going  to  another  Member  State  shall  inform 
the competent institution prior to his/her departure and request a document certifying 
that he/she retains entitlement to benefits under the conditions laid down in Article 
64(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004.  

That  institution  shall  inform  the  person  concerned  of  his/her  obligations  and  shall 
provide the abovementioned document which includes the following information: 

a) 

b) 

the  date  on  which  the  unemployed  person  ceased  to  be  available  to  the 
employment services of the competent State; 

the period granted in accordance with Article 64(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 
883/2004 in order to register as a person seeking work in the Member State to 
which the unemployed person has gone; 

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c) 

the maximum period during which the entitlement to benefits may be retained 
in accordance with Article 64(1)(c) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004; 

d) 

circumstances likely to affect the entitlement to benefits. 

The unemployed person shall register as a person seeking work with the employment 
services of the Member State to which he/she goes in accordance with the provisions 
of  Article  64(1)(b)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 883/2004  and  shall  send  the  document 
referred to in paragraph (1) to the institution of that Member State. If he/she fails to 
do  this,  the  institution  in  the  place  to  which  the  unemployed  person  has  gone  shall 
contact the competent institution in order to obtain the necessary information. 

The employment services in the Member State to which the unemployed person has 
gone to seek employment shall inform the unemployed person of his/her obligations. 

The  institution  in  the  place  to  which  the  unemployed  person  has  gone  shall 
immediately inform the competent institution of the date on which the unemployed 
person registered with the employment services and of his/her new address.  

Every  month  throughout  the  period  during  which  the  unemployed  person  retains 
entitlement to benefits, it shall send to the competent institution relevant information 
concerning  the  follow-up  of  the  unemployed  person’s  situation  and  in  particular 
whether the latter is still registered with the employment services and is complying 
with organised checking procedures. 

The institution in the place to which the unemployed person has gone shall carry out 
or  arrange  for  checks  to  be  carried  out  as  if  the  person  concerned  were  an 
unemployed person obtaining benefits under its own legislation. It shall immediately 
inform the competent institution of the occurrence of any circumstance referred to in 
paragraph 1(d). 

The  competent  authorities  or  competent  institutions  of  two  or  more  Member  States 
may  agree  amongst  themselves  a  set  of  measures  to  promote  the  job-seeking 
activities  of  unemployed  persons  who  go  to  one  of  those  Member  States  under 
Article 64 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

Article 56 
Unemployed persons who resided in a Member State other than the competent Member State 

1. 

Where  the  unemployed  person  decides,  in  accordance  with  Article  65(2)  of 
Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, to register as a person seeking work in the Member 
State in which he/she resides as well as in the Member State in which he/she pursued 
his/her last activity as an employed or self-employed person, he/she shall inform as a 
priority the institution and employment services of his/her place of residence. 

At  the  request  of  the  employment  services  of  the  Member  State  in  which  he/she 
pursued  his/her  last  activity  as  an  employed  or  self-employed  person,  the 
employment  services  in  the  place  of  residence  shall  send  the  relevant  information 
concerning the unemployed person’s registration and search for employment.  

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2. 

3. 

Where the entitlement to benefits is linked to the fulfilment of certain obligations by 
the  unemployed  person  under  the  legislation  applicable  in  the  Member  State  of 
residence,  any  commitments  made  by  the  unemployed  person  to  the  employment 
services  of  the  other  Member  State  shall  be  taken  into  account.  The  unemployed 
person shall be responsible for informing the institution in his/her place of residence 
of the timetable and nature of those commitments. 

For the purposes of applying Article 65(5)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, the 
institution of the Member State to whose legislation the worker was last subject shall 
inform the institution in the place of residence, when requested to do so by the latter, 
whether  the  worker  is  entitled  to  benefits  under  Article  64  of  Regulation  (EC) 
No 883/2004. 

Chapter VI – Family benefits 

Article 57 
Priority rules in the event of overlapping  

For the purposes of applying Article 68(1)(b)(i) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, where the 
order of priority cannot be established on the basis of the children’s place of residence, each 
Member  State  concerned  shall  calculate  the  amount  of  benefits  including  the  children  not 
resident  within  its  own  territory.  The  competent  institution  of  the  Member  State  whose 
legislation provides for the highest level of benefits shall pay the full amount of such benefits 
and be reimbursed half this sum by the competent institution of the other Member State up to 
the limit of the amount provided for in the legislation of the latter Member State.  

Article 58 
Rules applicable where a person is subject successively to the legislation of several Member 
States during the same period or part of a period 

1 

2 

If  a  person  has  been  subject  successively  to  the  legislation  of  two  Member  States 
over  a  calendar  month,  irrespective  of  the  payment  dates  for  family  benefits  under 
the  legislation  of  those  Member  States,  the  institution  which  has  paid  the  family 
benefits  by  virtue  of  the  first  legislation  applied  during  the  period  under 
consideration shall continue to do so until the end of the month in progress. 

It  shall  inform  the  institution  of  the  other  Member  State  of  the  date  on  which  it 
ceases to pay the family benefits in question. 

Article 59 
Procedure for applying Articles 67 and 68 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 

1. 

The application for family benefits shall be addressed in the first place to: 

a) 

the institution of the Member State of employment if there is an entitlement to 
benefits on the basis of activity as an employed or self-employed person, and 
the applicant’s spouse does not hold entitlement to benefits on the basis of an 
activity as an employed or self-employed person in another Member State; 

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2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

b) 

in all other cases, the institution of the place of residence of the children, or one 
of those institutions if the children reside in different Member States. 

The  institution  to  which  application  is  made  in  accordance  with  paragraph  1  shall 
examine  the  application  on  the  basis  of  the  detailed  information  supplied  by  the 
applicant, and make a provisional decision where necessary on the priority rules to 
be  applied,  taking  into  account  the  overall  de  facto  and  legal  situation  of  the 
applicant’s family. 

It  shall  inform  the  applicant  of  its  decision  and  make  provisional  payment  of  the 
benefits provided for by the legislation it applies. 

All  institutions  of  the  other  Member  State(s)  whose  legislation  may  potentially 
provide  for  entitlement to benefits shall be informed  of  the provisional decision on 
the  priority  rules  applicable  in  the  given  case.  These  institutions  shall  have  one 
month from the date on which the decision is communicated within which to contest 
it or request further information. 

Beyond this deadline, the decision of the institution to which application was made 
in  accordance  with  paragraph  1  shall  be  enforceable  vis-à-vis  the  institutions 
concerned. On this basis, each of these institutions shall draw up a statement of the 
amount  of  benefits  due  to  the  beneficiary  and  transmit  it  to  the  institution  dealing 
with the claim as soon as possible.  

The institution to which application has been made in accordance with paragraph 1 
shall inform the applicant of the decision taken in respect of the order of priorities for 
award of the benefits, accompanied by the statement of benefits due drawn up by the 
institutions concerned. 

If  the  institution  which  has  supplied  benefits  on  a  provisional  basis  has  paid  more 
than the amount for which it is ultimately responsible, it shall claim reimbursement 
of the excess from the institution with primary responsibility in accordance with the 
procedure laid down in Article 71. 

Article 60 
Procedure for applying Article 69 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 

For  the  purposes  of  applying  Article  69  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  883/2004,  if  the  competent 
institution  finds  that  there  is  no  entitlement  under  the  legislation  being  applied,  it  shall 
immediately forward the application, together with all relevant documents and information, to 
the institution of the Member State to whose legislation the person concerned has been subject 
for the longest period of time. In some cases, this may mean referring back, under the same 
conditions,  to  the  institution  of  the  Member  State  under  whose  legislation  the  person 
concerned has completed the shortest of his or her insurance or residence periods. 

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TITLE IV – FINANCIAL PROVISIONS 

Chapter I – Reimbursement of the cost of benefits in application of Article 35(1) and 

Article 41 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 

Section 1 – Reimbursement on the basis of actual expenditure 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

Article 61 
Principles 

For  the  purposes  of  applying  Article  35(1)  and  Article  41  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 
883/2004,  the  actual  amount  of  benefits  in  kind,  as  shown  in  the  accounts  of  the 
institution  that  provided  them,  shall  be  reimbursed  to  the  latter  by  the  competent 
institution, except where Article 62 of this Regulation is applicable. 

For  the  purposes  of  applying  paragraph  1,  the  competent  institution  shall  be  the 
institution  of  the  place  of  residence  of  the  members  of  the  insured  person’s  family 
who reside in a different Member State from the insured person, in the cases referred 
to in Article 20(4) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004; and the institution of the place 
of residence of the pensioner and the members of his/her family, in the cases referred 
to in Article 27(5) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004. 

If  any  or  part of the actual amount of the benefits referred to in paragraph 1 is not 
shown  in  the  accounts  of  the  institution  that  provided  them,  the  amount  to  be 
refunded shall be determined on the basis of a lump-sum payment calculated from all 
the  appropriate  references  obtained  from  the  data  available.  The  Administrative 
Commission  shall  assess  the  bases  to  be  used  for  calculation  of  the  lump-sum 
payment and shall decide the amount thereof. 

Higher rates than those applicable to the benefits in kind provided to insured persons 
subject to the legislation applied by the institution providing the benefits referred to 
in paragraph 1 may not be taken into account in the reimbursement. 

The provisions of paragraph 1 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the reimbursement of 
cash benefits paid in accordance with the provisions of the second sentence of Article 
27(8). 

Section 2 – Reimbursement of benefits on a lump-sum basis 

Article 62 
Identification of the Member States concerned 

The  Member  States  referred  to  in  Article  35(2)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  883/2004 
whose  legal  or  administrative  structures  are  such  that  the  use  of  reimbursement  on 
the  basis  of  actual  expenditure  is  not  appropriate  are  indicated  in  Annex  3  to  this 
Regulation. 

A  Member  State  may  decide  not  to  use  the  lump-sum  reimbursement  method, 
provided  that  this  decision  takes  effect  at  the  beginning  of  a  calendar  year.  In  this 
case,  the  Member  State  concerned  shall  inform  the  Administrative  Commission  of 

EN 

41 

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3. 

1. 

the  change  at  the  latest  by  the  end  of  June  of  the  year  preceding  that  in  which  the 
change is to take effect. 

In the case of the Member States indicated in Annex 3 to this Regulation, the amount 
of  benefits  in  kind  supplied  to  family  members  who  do  not  reside  in  the  same 
Member State as the insured person, as provided for in Article 17 of Regulation (EC) 
No  883/2004,  and  to  pensioners  and  members  of  their  family,  as  provided  for  in 
Article  22,  Article  24(1)  and  Articles  25  and  26  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  883/2004, 
shall  be  reimbursed  by  the  competent  institutions  to  the  institutions  providing  the 
said benefits, on the basis of a fixed amount established for each calendar year. This 
fixed amount shall be as close as possible to actual expenditure. 

Article 63 
Lump-sum calculation method 

For each debtor Member State, the lump-sum for a calendar year shall be equal to the 
sum  of  the  products  obtained  by  multiplying  the  annual  average  cost  per  person, 
broken  down  by  age  group,  by  the  number  of  persons  to  be  taken  into  account  in 
each age group and applying a reduction to the result. 

LUMP-SUM AMOUNT =

Where: 

3

∑

1i
=

(
(
-1

)
YX
×
i

)

×

Z

i

- 

the summation index (i = 1, 2 and 3) represents the three age groups used for 
calculating the lump sum: 

i = 1: persons aged under 20 

i = 2: persons aged from 20 to 64 

i = 3: persons aged 65 and over 

- 

- 

- 

the coefficient X (number between 0 and 1) represents the reduction as defined 
in paragraph 4. 

Yi represents the annual average cost for persons in age group i, as defined in 
paragraph 2. 

Zi  represents  the  average  number  of  people  in  age  group  i  to  be  taken  into 
account, as defined in paragraph 3. 

2. 

The annual average cost per person (Yi) in age group i shall be obtained by dividing 
annual expenditure on all benefits in kind provided by the institutions of the creditor 
Member State to all persons in the age group concerned subject to its legislation and 
residing  within  its  territory  by  the  average  number  of  persons  in  that  age  group. 
Expenditure  under  the  regime  referred  to  in  Article  23  shall  be  included  in  this 
calculation. 

EN 

42 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
3. 

4. 

5. 

For  each  debtor  Member  State,  the  average  number  of  persons  (Zi)  in  age  group  i 
shall  be  equal  to  the  number  of  persons  subject  to  that  Member  State’s  legislation 
and eligible to receive benefits in kind from the creditor Member State at its expense. 

The  number  of  persons  to  be  taken  into  account  shall  be  determined  from  an 
inventory kept for that purpose by the institution of the place of residence, based on 
documentary  evidence  of  the  entitlement  of  the  beneficiaries  supplied  by  the 
competent institution. 

The reduction to be applied to the lump sum shall, in principle, be equal to 15% (X = 
0.15). It shall be equal to 20% (X = 0.20) where the competent Member State is one 
of those listed in Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 883/2004. 

The  Administrative  Commission  shall  establish  the  methods  for  determining  the 
elements for calculating the lump sum referred to in the above paragraphs. 

Article 64 
Notification of annual average costs 

The  annual  average  cost  per  person  in  each  age  group  for  a  specific  year  shall  be 
communicated  to  the  Audit  Board  by  30 June  of  the  second  year  following  the  year  in 
question at the latest. If notification is not made by this deadline, the annual average cost per 
person for the previous year will be taken. 

The annual average costs shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. 

Section 3 – Common provisions 

Article 65 
Procedure for reimbursement between institutions 

The reimbursements between the institutions of the Member States, provided for in Articles 
35 and 41 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, shall be made via the liaison body. 

Article 66 
Deadlines for the introduction and settlement of claims 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

Claims based on actual expenditure shall be introduced within six months of the end 
of the calendar half-year during which the benefits were provided. 

Lump-sum claims for a calendar year shall be presented within the six-month period 
following  the  month  during  which  the  average  costs  for  the  year  concerned  were 
published in the Official Journal of the European Union. 

Claims  introduced  after  the  deadlines  specified  in  paragraphs  1  and  2  shall  not  be 
considered. 

The claims shall be verified and paid by the debtor institution within six months of 
the end of the calendar half-year during which they are introduced. Where applicable, 

EN 

43 

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5. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

the  debtor  institution  shall  inform  the  creditor  institution  of  any  decision  to  reject 
certain expenditure within the six-month period. 

Any dispute as to the nature and amount of a claim shall be settled within one year 
following the end of the calendar half-year during which the claim was introduced. 
Beyond this deadline, the claim shall be considered payable. 

Article 67 
Interest on late payments 

From  the  end  of  the  six-month  period  referred  to  in  Article  66(4),  interest  shall  be 
added  to  outstanding  claims.  This  interest  shall  be  calculated  on  the  basis  of  the 
reference  rate  applied  by  the  European  Central  Bank  to  its  main  refinancing 
operations. The reference rate applicable shall be that in force on the first day of the 
month on which the payment is due. The rate shall be increased by two percentage 
points from the end of the one-year period referred to in Article 66(5).  

The interest calculation method and base shall be established by the Administrative 
Commission. 

Article 68 
Statement of annual accounts 

The Administrative Commission shall establish the claims situation for each calendar 
year in accordance with Article 72(g) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, on the basis 
of  the  Audit  Board’s  report.  To  this  end,  the  liaison  bodies  shall  notify  the  Audit 
Board, by the deadlines and according to the procedures laid down by the latter, of 
the amount of the claims introduced, settled or contested (creditor position) and the 
amount of claims received, settled or contested (debtor position). 

The  Administrative  Commission  may  perform  any  appropriate  checks  on  the 
statistical and accounting data used as the basis for drawing up the annual statement 
of  claims  provided  for  in  paragraph  1  in  order,  in  particular,  to  ensure  that  they 
comply with the rules laid down under this Title. 

Chapter II – Reimbursement of unemployment benefits pursuant to Article 65 of 

Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 

Article 69 
Reimbursement of unemployment benefits 

If there is no agreement in accordance with Article 65(8) of  Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, 
the  institution  of  the  place  of  residence  shall  request  reimbursement  of  unemployment 
benefits  by  virtue  of  Article  65(6)  and  (7)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  883/2004  from  the 
institution of the Member State to whose legislation the beneficiary was last subject, within 
six  months  of  the  last  payment  of  unemployment  benefit  for  which  reimbursement  is 
requested.  The  request  shall  indicate  the  amount  of  benefit  paid  during  the  three-  or  five-
month period referred to in paragraphs 6 and 7 of Article 65 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, 

EN 

44 

   EN 

 
the  period  for  which  the  benefits  were  paid  and  the  identification  data  of  the  unemployed 
person. 

In the event of any dispute between the institutions concerning these amounts, the provisions 
of Article 66(4) and (5) of this Regulation shall apply mutatis mutandis.  

Chapter III – Recovery of benefits paid in excess, recovery of provisional payments, 

compensation, assistance with recovery 

Section 1 - Principles 

Article 70 

1. 

For the purposes of applying Article 84 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 and within 
the  framework  defined  therein,  recovery  of  claims  shall,  wherever  possible,  be  by 
way of compensation either between the creditor institutions (hereinafter referred to 
as “the applicant parties”), and the debtor institutions (hereinafter referred to as “the 
requested  parties”),  or  vis-à-vis  the  insured  person  in  accordance  with  Articles  71 
and 72 of this Regulation.  

If  it  has  not  been  possible  to  recover  all  or  any  of  the  claim  via  the  compensation 
procedure referred to in the previous paragraph, the remainder of the amount payable 
by the beneficiary shall be recovered in accordance with the provisions of Articles 73 
to 82. 

2. 

The liaison body shall be considered as the requested party in respect of the claims 
addressed to it.  

Section 2 - Compensation 

Article 71 
Cash benefits received unduly or in excess 

1. 

2. 

If the institution of a Member State has paid benefits to a recipient in excess of his 
or her entitlement, that institution shall, within the terms and limits laid down in the 
legislation it applies, request the institution of any other Member State responsible 
for  paying  benefits  to  that  beneficiary  to  deduct  the  amount  paid  in  excess  from 
further sums owed to the beneficiary. The latter institution shall deduct the amount 
concerned subject to the conditions and limits applying to this kind of compensation 
system  by  the  legislation  it  applies  in  the  same  way  as  if  it  had  made  the 
overpayments  itself,  and  shall  transfer  the  amount  deducted  to  the  creditor 
institution. 

In connection with Article 6, by two months at the latest after the applicable legislation 
has been determined or the institution responsible for paying the benefits identified, the 
institution  that  provisionally  paid  the  cash  benefits  shall  draw  up  a  statement  of  the 
amount owed  to it  by the competent institution.  Where  contributions  have  been  paid 
provisionally by the beneficiary and/or his or her employer, these shall be taken into 
account in establishing the amount owed.  

EN 

45 

   EN 

 
The competent institution responsible for paying the benefits shall deduct the amount 
due  in  respect  of  the  provisional  payment  from  the  amounts  it  owes  to  the 
beneficiary. The debtor institution shall deduct this amount subject to the conditions 
and  limits  applying  to  this  kind  of  compensation  system  under  the  legislation  it 
applies and transfer the amount deducted immediately to the creditor institution. 

3. 

If  an  insured  person  has  received  social  welfare  assistance  in  one  Member  State 
during  a  period  in  which  he/she  was  entitled  to  benefits  under  the  legislation  of 
another  Member  State,  the  body  which  provided  the  assistance  may,  if  it  is  legally 
entitled to reclaim the benefits due to the said person, request the institution of any 
other Member State responsible for paying benefits in favour of that person to deduct 
the  amount  of  assistance  paid  from  the  amounts  which  the  latter  pays  to  the  said 
person.  

This  provision  shall  apply  mutatis  mutandis  to  any  family  member  of  an  insured 
person who has received assistance in the territory of a Member State during a period 
in which the insured person was entitled to benefits under the legislation of another 
Member State in respect of the family member concerned.  

The  creditor  institution  shall  send  a  statement  of  the  amount  due  to  the  debtor 
institution,  which  shall  then  deduct  the  amount  subject  to  the  conditions  and  limits 
laid  down  for  this  kind  of  compensation  system  by  the  legislation  it  applies  and 
transfer the amount immediately to the creditor body. 

4. 

In the cases specified in paragraphs 2 and 3, the competent institution shall address a 
statement  to  the  person  concerned  showing  the  amounts  still  due  or  paid  in  excess 
according to the legislation it applies. 

Article 72 
Contributions paid unduly or in excess 

In the terms of Article 6, an institution which has provisionally received contributions from an 
insured  person  and/or  his/her  employer  shall  not  reimburse  the  amounts  in  question  to  the 
persons who paid them until it has ascertained from the competent institution the sums due to 
it under Article 6(3).  

Section 3 - Recovery 

Article 73 
Requests for information 

1. 

The requested party shall provided the applicant party at the latter’s request with all 
relevant information for recovery of a claim. 

In order to obtain such information, the requested party shall make use of the powers 
conferred  under  the  laws,  regulations  or  administrative  provisions  applicable  to  the 
recovery of similar claims arising in its own Member State. 

2. 

The  request  for  information  shall  indicate  the  name,  address,  and  any  other 
information to which the applicant party normally has access on the person to whom 

EN 

46 

   EN 

 
 
3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

the  information  to  be  provided  relates  and  the  nature  and  amount  of  the  claim  in 
respect of which the request is being made.  

The requested party shall not be obliged to transmit information it would not be able 
to  obtain  for  the  purposes  of  recovering  similar  claims  arising  in  its  own  Member 
State.  

The  requested  party  shall  inform  the  applicant  party  of  any  reasons  preventing  the 
information requested from being supplied.  

Article 74 
Notification  

At the request of the applicant party, the requested party shall notify the addressee, in 
accordance with the rules of law in force on the notification of similar acts in its own 
Member State, of all instruments and decisions, including those of a judicial nature, 
relating to a claim or its recovery, emanating from the Member State of the applicant 
party.  

The request for notification shall indicate the name and address of the addressee and 
any  other  information  concerning  the  latter  to  which  the  applicant  party  would 
normally have access, the nature and the subject of the instrument or decision to be 
notified and, where applicable, the name, address and any other information to which 
the applicant party would normally have access on the debtor and the claim to which 
the instrument or decision relates, and any other useful information.  

The requested party shall inform the applicant party immediately of the action taken 
in response to the request for notification and, more particularly, of the date on which 
the decision or instrument was forwarded to the addressee.  

Article 75 
Request for recovery 

The  request  for  recovery  of  contributions  or  of  benefits  paid  unduly  or  in  excess, 
addressed by the applicant party to the requested party, shall be accompanied by an 
official or certified copy of the instrument permitting its enforcement, issued in the 
Member State of the applicant party and, where applicable, the original or a certified 
copy of other documents needed for recovery. 

2. 

The applicant body may make a request for recovery only if: 

a) 

b) 

the claim and/or the instrument permitting its enforcement are not contested in 
the  Member  State,  except  where  the  second  subparagraph  of  Article  78(2)  is 
applied;  

it has, in its own Member State, applied the recovery procedure available to it 
on  the  basis  of  the  instrument  referred  to  in  paragraph  1,  and  the  measures 
taken will not result in the payment in full of the claim. 

3. 

The recovery request shall indicate: 

EN 

47 

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a) 

the  name,  address  and  any  other  relevant  information  relating  to  the 
identification  of  the person concerned  and/or to the third party holding his or 
her assets; 

b) 

any information relevant for identifying the requested party;  

c) 

d) 

e) 

f) 

the  instrument  permitting  enforcement,  issued  in  the  Member  State  of  the 
applicant party; 

the nature and amount of the claim, including the principal, the interest and any 
other penalties, fines and costs due, indicated in the currencies of both parties’ 
Member States; 

the date of notification of the instrument to the addressee by the applicant party 
and/or the requested party;  

the date from which and the period during which enforcement is possible under 
the laws in force in the Member State of the applicant party;  

g) 

any other relevant information. 

The  request  for  recovery  shall  also  contain  a  statement  by  the  applicant  party 
confirming that the conditions laid down in paragraph 2 have been fulfilled. 

As  soon  as  any  relevant  information  relating  to  the  matter  which  gave  rise  to  the 
request for recovery comes  to the knowledge of the  applicant  party, the  latter shall 
forward it to the requested party. 

Article 76 
Instrument permitting enforcement of the recovery  

The  instrument  permitting  enforcement  of  recovery  of  the  claim  shall  be  directly 
recognised and treated automatically as an instrument permitting the enforcement of 
a claim of the requested party. 

Notwithstanding  paragraph  1,  the  instrument  permitting  enforcement  of  the  claim 
may,  where  appropriate  and  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  in  force  in  the 
Member  State  of  the  requested  body,  be  accepted,  recognized,  supplemented,  or 
replaced  by  an  instrument  authorising  enforcement  in  the  territory  of  that  Member 
State. 

Within three months of the date of receipt of the request for recovery, the competent 
authorities  shall  endeavour  to  complete  the  formalities  for  such  acceptance, 
recognition, supplementing or replacement, except where the provisions of the third 
subparagraph  are  applied.  They  may  not  be  refused  if  the  instrument  permitting 
enforcement  is  properly  drawn  up.  If  the  three-month  deadline  is  exceeded,  the 
requested party shall inform the applicant party of the reasons for the delay. 

If  any  of  these  formalities  should  give  rise  to  contestation  concerning  the  claim 
and/or  the  instrument  permitting  enforcement  issued  by  the  applicant  party,  Article 
78 shall apply. 

4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

EN 

48 

   EN 

 
1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

Article 77 
Payment arrangements and deadlines 

Claims shall be recovered in the currency of the Member State of the requested party. 
The  requested  party  shall  transfer  the  entire  amount  of  the  recovered  claim  to  the 
applicant party. 

Where the laws, regulations or administrative provisions in force in its own Member 
State  so  permit,  and  after  consulting  the  applicant  party,  the  requested  party  may 
allow  the  debtor  time  to  pay  or  authorise  payment  by  instalment.  Any  interest 
charged  by  the  requested  party  in  respect  of  such  extra  time  to  pay  shall  also  be 
remitted to the applicant party. 

From the date on which the instrument permitting enforcement is directly recognised 
or  accepted,  recognised,  supplemented  or  replaced  in  accordance  with  Article  76, 
interest  shall  be  charged  for  late  payment  under  the  laws,  regulations  and 
administrative  provisions  in  force  in  the  Member  State  of  the  requested  party  and 
shall also be remitted to the applicant party. 

Article 78 
Contestation of the claim or of the instrument permitting enforcement of its recovery 

If, in the course of the recovery procedure, the claim and/or the instrument permitting 
its  enforcement  issued  in  the  Member  State  of  the  applicant  party  are  contested  by 
the  party  concerned,  the  action  shall  be  brought  by  the  latter  before  the  competent 
body of the Member State of the applicant party in accordance with the laws in force 
there.  The  applicant  party  shall  notify  the  requested  party  of  this  action.  The 
requested party may also be notified of it by the party concerned.  

As soon as the requested party has received the notification referred to in paragraph 1 
either  from  the  applicant  party  or  from  the  party  concerned,  it  shall  suspend  the 
enforcement  procedure  pending  the  decision  of  the  body  competent  in  the  matter, 
unless a request to the contrary is made by the applicant party in accordance with the 
second  subparagraph.  Should  the  requested  party  deem  it  necessary,  it  may  take 
precautionary measures to guarantee recovery in as far as the laws or regulations of 
its own Member State allow such action for similar claims. 

Notwithstanding the first subparagraph above, the applicant party may, in accordance 
with  the  laws,  regulations  and  administrative  practices  in  force  in  its  own  Member 
State,  request  the  requested  party  to  recover  a  contested  claim,  provided  that  the 
laws, regulations and administrative practices in the requested party’s Member State 
so  permit.  If  the  contestation  is  settled  in  favour  of  the  debtor,  the  applicant  party 
shall be liable to reimburse any sums recovered, together with any compensation due 
in accordance with the legislation in force in the requested party’s Member State. 

3. 

Where the contestation concerns enforcement measures taken in the Member State of 
the  requested  party,  the  action  shall  be  brought  before  the  competent  body  of  that 
Member State in accordance with its laws and regulations.  

EN 

49 

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4. 

Where  the  competent  body  before  which  the  action  is  brought  in  accordance  with 
paragraph  1  is  a  judicial  or  administrative  tribunal,  the  decision  of  that  tribunal,  if 
favourable to the applicant party and permitting recovery of the claim in the Member 
State of the applicant party, shall constitute the “instrument permitting enforcement” 
and recovery of the claim shall proceed on the basis of that decision. 

Article 79 
Limits applying to assistance 

1. 

The applicant party shall not be obliged: 

a) 

b) 

to grant the assistance provided for in Articles 73 to 78 if recovery of the claim 
may, because of the situation of the debtor, create serious economic or social 
difficulties  in  the  latter’s  Member  State,  in  as  far  as  the  laws,  regulations  or 
administrative practices in the Member State of the applicant party allow such 
action for similar national claims;  

to  grant  the  assistance  provided  for  in  Articles  73  to  78,  if  the  initial  request 
under  Articles  73  to  75  applies  to  claims  more  than  five  years  old,  counted 
from  the  time  the  instrument  permitting  enforcement  is  established  in 
accordance  with  the  laws,  regulations  or  administrative  practices  of  the 
Member State of the applicant party up to the date of the request. However, if 
the  claim  or  instrument  is  contested,  the  time  limit  shall  commence  from  the 
moment that the applicant state establishes that the claim or the instrument may 
no longer be contested. 

Article 80 
Precautionary measures  

Upon  reasoned  request  by  the  applicant  party,  the  requested  party  shall  take  precautionary 
measures  to  ensure  recovery  of  a  claim  in  as  far  as  the  laws  and  regulations  in  force  in  the 
Member State of the requested party so permit. 

For  the  purposes  of  implementing  the  above  paragraph,  the  provisions  and  procedures  laid 
down in Articles 73 to 75 and Article 77 shall apply mutatis mutandis. 

Article 81 
Costs 

1. 

2. 

No enforcement costs are payable where the debt is recovered via the compensation 
method provided for in Articles 71 and 72. 

The requested party shall also recover from the person concerned any costs linked to 
recovery pursuant to Articles 73 to 77 and Article 81 and retain them, in accordance 
with  the  laws  and  regulations  of  that  party’s  Member  State  applicable  to  similar 
claims. 

EN 

50 

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3. 

4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

The  Member  States  shall  waive  all  claims  upon  each  other  for  reimbursement  of 
costs  arising  from  the  mutual  assistance  afforded  under  Regulation  (EC)  No 
883/2004 or this Regulation. 

Where recovery poses a specific problem or concerns a very large amount in costs, 
the requesting and requested parties may agree reimbursement arrangements specific 
to the cases in question. 

The competent authority of the applicant party’s Member State shall remain liable to 
the  competent  authority  of  the  requested  party’s  Member  State  for  any  costs  and 
losses incurred as a result of actions deemed to be unfounded as far as the substance 
of  the  claim  or  the  validity  of  the  instrument  issued  by  the  applicant  party  is 
concerned. 

Title V – Miscellaneous, transitional and final provisions 

Article 82 
Administrative checks and medical examination 

Without  prejudice  to  the  provisions  of  Article  27,  where  a  recipient  of  benefits  as 
referred  to  in  Chapters  I,  II  and  IV  of  Title  III  is  staying  or  residing  within  the 
territory of a Member State other than that in which the debtor institution is located, 
the medical examination shall be carried out, at the request of the latter institution, by 
the  institution  of  the  beneficiary’s  place  of  stay  or  residence  as  provided  for  in  the 
legislation applied by this latter institution. In this case, the debtor institution shall be 
bound  by  the  findings  of  the  institution  of  the  place  of  stay  or  residence. 

If,  by  virtue  of  Article  82  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  883/2004,  the  institution  of  the 
place of stay or residence is called upon to perform a medical examination, it shall 
follow the procedures laid down by the legislation it applies. If no such procedures 
have  been  specified,  it  shall  consult  the  debtor  institution  on  the  procedures  to  be 
followed. 

The  debtor  institution  shall  reserve  the  right  to  have  the  beneficiary  examined 
subsequently by a doctor of its own choice. However, the beneficiary may be asked 
to  return  to  the  Member  State  of  the  debtor  institution  only  if  he  or  she  is  able  to 
make  the  journey  without  prejudice  to  his/her  health  and  the  cost  of  travel  and 
accommodation is paid for by the debtor institution. 

Where  a  recipient  of  benefits  as  referred  to  in  Chapters  I,  II  and  IV  of  Title  III  is 
staying  or  residing  in  the  territory  of  a  Member  State  other  than  that  in  which  the 
debtor  institution  is  located,  the  administrative  check  shall,  at  the  request  of  the 
debtor institution, be performed by the institution of the beneficiary's place of stay or 
residence.  The  debtor  institution  shall  inform  the  institution  of  the  place  of  stay  or 
residence of the points to be covered by the administrative check. If this information 
is  not  provided,  the  institution  of  the  place  of  stay  or  residence  shall  undertake  the 
check in accordance with its own legislation. 

EN 

51 

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The institution of the place or stay or residence shall forward a report to the debtor 
institution that requested the check. 

Article 83 
Notifications 

The Member States shall notify the Commission of the details of the bodies defined 
in Article 1 (m), (q) and (r) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 and Article 1(a) and (b) 
of  this  Regulation,  and  the  designated  institutions  referred  to  in  Title  II  of  this 
Regulation.  

The bodies specified in paragraph 1 shall be provided with an electronic identity in 
the form of an identification code and electronic address. 

The  Administrative  Commission  shall  establish  the  procedures,  including  the 
common format and model, for notification of the details specified in paragraph 1. 

Annex  4  to  this  Regulation  gives  details  of  the  public  data  base  containing  the 
information specified in paragraph 1.  

The  Member  States  shall  be  responsible  for  keeping  the  information  specified  in 
paragraph 1 up to date.  

Article 84 
Documents 

The  models,  forms  and  formats  of  the  documents  needed  for  application  of 
Regulation  (EC)  No  883/2004  and  of  this  Regulation  shall  be  drawn  up  by  the 
Administrative Commission in accordance with Article 4.  

The competent institutions shall make them available to the persons covered by this 
Regulation. 

The competent authorities or institutions of two or more Member States may agree 
among  themselves  on  the  use  of  simplified  documents  or  exchange  of  simplified 
data. The Administrative Commission shall be notified of such agreements. 

Article 85 
Information 

The Administrative Commission shall prepare the information needed to ensure that 
the  parties  concerned  are  aware  of  their  rights  and  the  administrative  formalities 
required  to  assert  them.  This  information  shall,  where  possible,  be  disseminated 
electronically  via  publication  on  line  on  sites  accessible  to  the  public.  The 
Administrative Commission shall ensure that the information is regularly updated. 

The Advisory Committee referred to in Article 75 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 
may  issue  opinions  and  recommendations  on  improving  the  information  and  its 
dissemination. 

1. 

2. 

3 

4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

EN 

52 

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3. 

4. 

The Member States shall ensure that the necessary information is made available to 
the persons covered by Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 in order to inform them of the 
changes  introduced  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  883/2004  and  by  this  Regulation  to 
enable them to assert their rights. 

The competent authorities shall ensure that their institutions are aware of and apply 
all the Community provisions, legislative or otherwise, including the decisions of the 
Administrative  Commission,  in  the  areas  covered  by  and  within  the  terms  of 
Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 and this Regulation. 

Article 86 
Currency conversion 

For the purposes of applying Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 and this Regulation, the 
exchange  rate  between  two  currencies  shall  be  the  reference  rate  published  by  the 
European Central Bank. 

Article 87 
Statistics  

The  competent  authorities  shall  compile  statistics  on  the  application  of  Regulation 
(EC)  No  883/2004  and  this  Regulation  and  forward  them  to  the  secretariat  of  the 
Administrative  Commission.  These  data  shall  be  collected  and  organised  according 
to the plan and method defined by the Administrative Commission. The Commission 
shall be responsible for disseminating the information. 

Article 88 
Amendment of the Annexes 

Annexes 1, 2, 3 and 4 to this Regulation and Annexes I, VI, VII, VIII and IX of Regulation 
(EC) No 883/2004 may be amended by Commission Regulation at the request of the Member 
State(s) concerned or their competent authorities, subject to the unanimous agreement of the 
Administrative Commission. 

Article 89 
Transitional provisions  

The  provisions  of  Article  87  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  883/2004  shall  apply  to  the  situations 
covered by this Regulation. 

Article 90 
Repeal  

1. 

Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  574/72  is  repealed  with  effect  from  the  date  of 
application of this Regulation. 

EN 

53 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
However,  Regulation  (EEC)  No 574/72  shall  remain  in  force  and  continue  to  have 
legal effect for the purposes of: 

a) 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  859/2003  of  14  May  2003  extending  the 
provisions  of  Regulation  (EEC)  No  1408/71  and  Regulation  (EEC)  No 
574/72  to  nationals  of  third  countries  who  are  not  already  covered  by 
those  provisions  solely  on  the  grounds  of  their  nationality8  until  such 
time as the said Regulation is repealed or amended; 

b)  Council Regulation (EEC) No 1661/85 of 13 June 1985 laying down the 
technical  adaptations  to  the  Community  rules  on  social  security  for 
migrant  workers  with  regard  to  Greenland9,  until  such  time  as  the  said 
Regulation is repealed or amended; 

c) 

the  Agreement  on  the  European  Economic  Area10,  the  Agreement 
between  the  European  Community  and  its  Member  States,  of  the  one 
part, and the Swiss Confederation, of the other, on the free movement of 
persons11  and  other  agreements  containing  a  reference  to  Regulation 
(EEC) No 574/72, until such time as the said agreements are amended on 
the basis of this Regulation. 

2. 

In Council Directive 98/49/EC of 29 June 1998 on safeguarding the supplementary 
pension  rights  of  employed  and  self-employed  persons  moving  within  the 
Community12 the references to Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 shall be understood as 
referring to this Regulation. 

Article 91 
Final provisions  

This Regulation shall enter into force six months after the day following that of its publication 
in the Official Journal of the European Union. 

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

8 
9 
10 
11 

12 

OJ L 124, 20.5.2003, p. 1. 
OJ L 160, 20.6.1985, p. 7. 
OJ L 1 of 3.1.1994, p. 1. 
OJ L 114, 30.4.2002, p. 6. Agreement most recently amended by Decision No 2 of the EU-Swiss Joint 
Committee (OJ L 187, 26.7.2003, p. 55). 
OJ L 209, 25.7.1998, p. 46. 

EN 

54 

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ANNEX 1 

Implementing provisions for bilateral agreements remaining in force and new implementing 
provisions for bilateral agreements  

(Article 8(1) and Article 9(2)) 

EN 

55 

   EN 

 
ANNEX 2 

Special schemes for civil servants  

(Articles 31 and 41) 

A. Special schemes for civil servants not covered by the provisions of Title III, Chapter 1 of 
Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 concerning benefits in kind  

1. Germany 

Versorgungssystem für Beamte (sickness scheme for civil servants) 

2. Spain 

Mutualismo  administrativo  (special  scheme  for  civil  servants,  the  armed  forces  and  court 
administrative officials) 

B. Special schemes for civil servants not covered by the provisions of Title III, Chapter 2 of 
Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 concerning benefits in kind 

1. Germany 

Unfallfürsorge für Beamte (accident scheme for civil servants) 

EN 

56 

   EN 

 
ANNEX 3 

Member States reimbursing the cost of benefits on a lump-sum basis 

(Article 62(1)) 

EN 

57 

   EN 

 
ANNEX 4 

Competent authorities and institutions, institutions of the place of residence and stay, access 
points, institutions and bodies designated by the competent authorities. 

(Article 84(4)) 

EN 

58 

   EN