Cross-border personal care allowances in the EU

Subject: Cross-border personal care allowances in the EU

As a result of the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, dozens of Czech citizens are in receipt of a Slovak pension. Slovakia does not allocate or award them long-term care allowances if chronic ill health means that they require personal assistance. The Czech health ombudsman has repeatedly discussed the issue with Slovakia’s Ministers for Labour, Social Affairs and Family, even calling upon the EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion for help. Nevertheless, Slovakia refuses to grant long-term care allowances to residents of other Member States.

The Commission took the issue to the CJEU, launching infringement proceedings against the Slovak Republic in 2013. According to the Court’s 2015 judgment, care and personal assistance allowances do not constitute social security benefits within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems. Consequently, Slovakia does not have to pay these benefits to people residing outside the country.

This means that there is currently no legislation guaranteeing access to a benefit designed to ensure care in times of ill health. This practice does not merely infringe the rights of Czech citizens in highly straitened circumstances; ultimately, it also negates the point and purpose of coordinating social security systems within the EU.

1. Will the Commission change this state of affairs?

2. Is the Commission planning to amend legislation so that these citizens, too, are given the right to care allowances, assistance allowances and compensatory allowances for increased costs?

Answer given by Mr Schmit on behalf of the European Commission

(26 August 2020)

The Commission would like to recall that EC law in the field of social security provides for the coordination and not the harmonisation of the Member States' national social security systems.

This means that each Member State is free to determine the details of its own social security system, including which benefits are provided, the conditions for eligibility, etc.

It is important to note that regulation (EC) No 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems (1) applies only to national legislation concerning the branches of social security, and that, on the contrary, it does not apply to social and medical assistance (2).

As the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in its judgment of 16 September 2015 (3), care and personal assistance allowances, as defined by the Slovak legislation, do not constitute social security benefits within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 and therefore, cannot be exported to another Member State.

In fact, when a care allowance is categorised as social assistance, Member States may decide to grant it only to persons residing in the territory of the Member State granting it.

Since the abovementioned allowances do not fall within the scope of the EU rules on coordination of social security systems, the Commission cannot take any action in this regard.

⋅1∙ Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the coordination of social security systems, OJ L 166, 30.4.2004,

p.1.

⋅2∙ Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems.

⋅3∙ Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 16 September 2015, Commission v Slovakia, C-433/13, EU:C:2015:602.