Luxembourg, 02/11/2005 (Agence Europe) - The European Court of Justice has ruled against Luxembourg's requirement that EU nationals' spouses from outside the EU musts obtain a work permit before they can legally work in Luxembourg. A Luxembourg regulation of 1972 stipulates that nobody from outside the EU may work in a manual or intellectual job in Luxembourg without a work permit. The European Commission said this contravenes EU law since Article 11 of the EU's 1968 regulation, known as the '1612 Regulation' on the free circulation of workers stipulates that spouses are entitled to work throughout the EU even though if they do not have the nationality of an EU Member State.
Luxembourg admits that its regulation does not meet EU regulations, pointing out that it is in the process of amending its legislation, approving a draft law on 6 May 2005 to relieve non-EU spouses of EU workers from the obligation to obtain a work permit. The draft law now requires endorsement from the Luxembourg 'Conseil d'Etat' before it can be formally adopted and published.