On Thursday 25 July, the European Commission decided to take Germany and Italy to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to respect the rights of mobile workers from other Member States with regard to the amount of family benefits.
“This failure to respect the rights of mobile workers constitutes discrimination and a violation of EU legislation on the coordination of social security systems (Regulation 883/2004) and the free movement of workers (Regulation 492/2011 and Article 45 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union)”, according to a statement.
In 2018, Bavaria introduced a new family allowance scheme for Bavarian residents with young children. EU nationals whose children live in a Member State where the cost of living is lower than in Bavaria only receive a reduced amount.
The Commission believes that this is not compatible with EU law, as it discriminates against mobile workers in the EU, who must be treated in the same way, without distinction based on nationality.
In March 2022, Italy introduced a new family allowance scheme for dependent children (‘Assegno unico e universale per i figli a carico’). Under this scheme, workers who have not been resident in Italy for at least 2 years or whose children are not resident in Italy are not entitled to the benefit.
The Commission considers that this scheme is not compatible with EU legislation either. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)