Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 14 February 2008 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal du travail de Bruxelles (Belgium)) — Sophiane Gysen v Groupe S-Caisse d'Assurances sociales pour indépendants

(Case C-449/06) (1)

(Officials - Remuneration - Staff Regulations - Family allowances - Calculation of the amount of national family allowances - Determination of the ranking of the children - Child giving rise to entitlement to family allowances under the Staff Regulations)

(2008/C 79/08)

Language of the case: French

Referring court

Tribunal du travail de Bruxelles (Belgium)

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Sophiane Gysen

Defendant: Groupe S-Caisse d'Assurances sociales pour indépendants

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Tribunal du travail de Bruxelles — Interpretation [of Article 67] of Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 of the Council of 29 February 1968 laying down the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities (OJ 1968 L 56, p. 1) — Family allowances — Permissibility of a national family allowance system which excludes, from the calculation of the order of the beneficiary children, children in respect of whom there is entitlement to family allowances under the Staff Regulations — Legal classification of the Staff Regulations of Officials under national law

Operative part of the judgment

Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 of the Council of 29 February 1968 laying down the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities and instituting special measures temporarily applicable to officials of the Commission, as amended by Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 2074/83 of 21 July 1983, has general application, is binding in its entirety and is directly applicable in all Member States. In view of the direct applicability of that regulation in the legal systems of the Member States, a child giving rise to entitlement to family allowances under the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities must be treated in the same way as a child giving rise to entitlement to family allowances under national law or an international social security convention in force in the Member State concerned.

(1)  OJ C 326, 30.12.2006.