91997E1697

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1697/97 by Ria Oomen-Ruijten (PPE) to the Commission (20 May 1997)

Subject: Frontier workers

1. Is the Commission aware of the proposals by the Netherlands State Secretary of Social Affairs and Public Health concerning a review of Royal Decree 164?

2. Has the Commission been in contact with the Netherlands government on this matter?

3. Is exclusion from national insurance in the Netherlands of persons entitled to disability benefits who are not resident in the Netherlands compatible with regulation 1408/71 and relevant decisions of the Court of Justice?

Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission (5 June 1997)

1. The Commission has been informed, by former frontier workers, of the Netherlands government's intention to amend Royal Decree No 164, particularly as regards the position of this category of persons under the general insurance scheme in the Netherlands. It is suggested that the Netherlands government plans to impose a residence condition on fully disabled former frontier workers, thus excluding them from the insurance scheme.

2. The Commission has contacted the Netherlands authorities to obtain their point of view on the question of whether the exclusion of fully disabled former frontier workers from the general insurance scheme is compatible with Community law.

3. On the basis of the replies received from the Netherlands authorities, the Commission will examine the matter in detail. In this connection the Commission would like to draw the Honourable Member's attention to Article 13 (2) (f) of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 ((OJ L 149, 5.7.1971. )), which would allow a Member State in whose territory a person has worked to impose a residence requirement on such a person, provided that he or she has irrevocably ceased all occupational activity. However, the interpretation of this provision is currently being examined by the Court of Justice, under Case C-275/96 (Kuusijärvi), and it would be appropriate to take the Court's ruling into consideration.