Brussels, 19/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - Making financial support for students abroad subject to the sole condition of uninterrupted residence in that country for a given period prior to the beginning of study, as in Germany, is counter to the free movement of European citizens, the EU Court of Justice states in a ruling on Thursday 18 July.
Called upon to rule on two similar cases, the German court called on the Court of Justice of the EU to look at a particularity of the German legislation: - a student may unconditionally receive financial support for his/her first year of study in another member state if that student is able to prove that he/she has been resident on national territory for three years before the studies begin. If unable to do so, the student cannot hope to receive the same aid for the following years of study.
One might ask what grounds there are for such a system. The German government's argument is that this residency condition for financial aid throughout the study period provides the best guarantee to ensure beneficiaries are sufficiently integrated into German society. Funding students, whose only link to Germany is the fact of having been born there, would be an “unreasonable financial burden” on the state.
This argument was not entirely rejected by the Court, which felt it is legitimate to demand a certain degree of integration. However, the condition of an uninterrupted three-year period of residency is “too general and exclusive”, and thus constitutes unjustified restriction to the free movement of EU citizens. The criterion of nationality, coupled with a “significant” period of schooling, family presence, employment or language skills are also examples of criteria that should be taken into account in order to determine whether the student is sufficiently integrated into the society, the Court believes. (JK/transl.jl)