92001E1356

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1356/01

by Vitaliano Gemelli (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(7 May 2001)

Subject: Discrimination against Italian citizens on the basis of linguistic ability

With reference to a letter sent to me by Mr Marco Meneghini on 18 March 2001, I should like to know whether or not the contents of that letter correspond to reality.

Job advertisements have appeared in certain European newspapers to fill posts in the Socrates and Leonardo offices and the Youth Office in Brussels, all of which are financed by the Commission. However, those job offers seem to be aimed principally at people with a perfect command of French or English.

Would the Commission say once spot checks have been carried out whether or not the state of affairs described above is an accurate reflection of reality and whether or not it constitutes discrimination based on language or nationality, which is specifically banned under Belgian legislation designed to combat racism and under Article 211 of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(5 July 2001)

Community law on the free movement of workers prohibits not only open discrimination on the basis of nationality, but also the use of recruitment criteria that in practice constitute a form of covert discrimination. Conditions relating to linguistic knowledge required by reason of the nature of the post to be filled do not in principle constitute discrimination on the grounds of nationality (Article 3, Paragraph 1 of Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 of the Council of 15 October 1968 on freedom of movement for workers within the Community(1)), but in practice the use of a specific criterion such as a candidate's mother tongue or native language for assessing the required level of knowledge may be considered disproportionate in relation to the aim in view (Judgment of the Court of Justice of 6 June 2000 in Case C-281/98).

Organisations performing services under contract for the Commission, such as the Socrates, Leonardo and Youth Technical Assistance Office, are required to operate in a wide range of languages and the staff recruited by such organisations is composed of a wide range of nationalities and mother tongues. They may from time to time require to recruit staff with a very high level of knowledge of a specific language or languages. In so doing, they are bound to comply with all legal and administrative provisions applicable in Belgium, including Community regulations on the free movement of workers, and are answerable to the Belgian authorities for their compliance with such provisions.

(1) OJ L 257, 19.10.1968.