Research project SO/02/023 (Research action SO)
The need for a thorough revision of the EC legislation concerning the co-ordination of social security schemes was already recognised in 1992, when the Edinburgh Council called for a simplification of the co-ordinating provisions. In 1997, the European Commission acknowledged (COM 97/586 final: An Action Plan for Free Movement of Workers) that modernisation and simplification of the regulation was necessary in order to become more efficient and user-friendly.
The EC organised national seminars in all Member States on application of the European regulation concerning social security. This led to the two following results:
1. Based on these seminars, the European Commission drafted a proposal to change the co-ordination concerning systems (COM 1998 779 def. of 21/12/1998). The main difference between this proposal and the existing text on co-ordination is that the proposal shortens the text by two-thirds. An effort was made to simplify and streamline the various concepts, rules, definitions and procedures. However, the basic principles remain the same. The proposed changes primarily result in new rights and duties being attributed to non-EC nationals and expansion of the list of social security risks subject to the co-ordinating Regulations.
2. The seminars made clear that all parties who are interested in the co-ordination of social security do not have adequate information on the subject. This is an unacceptable situation, considering that an exchange of experience and knowledge in this area is necessary to make the system work, and to ensure that free movement of persons within the EU is properly protected. For the migrating persons themselves, it is of the utmost importance to be informed about their rights and duties and to have access to social security benefits in the Member State of employment and domicile via the respective legal instruments. This lack of available information and exchange between the various parties at the European level and within the Member States led the Commission, at the end of 1999, to create a European observatory on social security for migrating employees. One of the objectives is precisely to furnish a constant flow of accurate information about the application of EU regulations 1408/71 and 574/72 in the Member States by the national social security institutions and the courts. Thus, the starting point of this observatory is the current co-ordination provisions, and the emphasis lies on the application thereof within the Member States. This initiative does not focus its attention on future or new developments in connection with national social security systems, nor on a possible change of the EU regulations.
Our proposed 12-month exploratory research begins with the role of the current EC policy concerning the co-ordination of social security, including the Commission's recent proposal for new regulations and the case law of the E.C.J. concerning the (limited) free movement of patients. It builds further on the foundations which were laid by other research initiatives (such as the forthcoming results of the Observatory project, which are expected by the end of 2000) and simultaneously fills in several gaps.
Moreover, we will study the latest developments and the existing plan concerning the social security systems in Belgium and its neighbouring countries in order to learn from one another's experience. Special attention will be devoted to the interrelations between social security, tax law, European law and cross-border mobility. The main long-term objective (after completion of the second part) is to provide relevant policy advice to the Belgian government and to the social security institutions on this subject. Furthermore, we will formulate recommendations on the possible contribution of the Belgian government in connection with European policy-making on social security co-ordination. Finally, we will study how the results of the research can apply for the individual migrating employee in the broadest sense (including students, those seeking employment, pensioners, with special attention to nationals from non-member countries and inhabitants of candidate-Member States). The immediate result of this exploratory research will be the drafting of a research plan for a detailed and thorough 2-year study by a multidisciplinary team of Belgian and other European researchers.
The specific tasks of the PROJECT are the following:
A. European Component
The European research component is a collaboration between the four researchers under supervision of the Belgian co-ordinator. The activities begin with a start-up workshop organised at the University of Ghent (UG) immediately after project approval. The research plan and the timetable will be further refined. The European research section includes two components and will result in a general report on the research topic.
A.1 Current situation
This research section focuses on the current status with regard to the European regulations and case law in the area of social security co-ordination. It has three parts:
- analysis of recent changes in the co-ordination provisions
- overview of gaps in the co-ordination provisions
- overview of recent relevant case studies
A.2 forecast development and future plans
The second part is essentially future-oriented and includes three themes:
- future and existing plans
- study of the Commission's proposal for new provisions
- interviews with key figures
B. National component
Component B is principally an individual research by each of the four researchers, who will analyse the situation from their own national context. A detailed plan for the proper definition of the study will be discussed at the second workshop, which will be held at one of the partner institutions. The research is co-ordinated by our Belgian expert on the subject. The immediate result will be four national reports, which will be combined into a single document. Together with the European report from the first component, this will serve as the basis for the further research under the third component.
B.1 Comparative study of the application of the EC regulations in the four countries (Belgium, Germany, France and the Netherlands)
B.2 Developments in the national context
In a second part, the four experts will undertake an analysis of the recent changes in their national social security systems and the existing plans for changes. Here attention will be devoted to matters such as the creation of new systems (e.g. care insurance) and their consequences for social security co-ordination, new financing mechanisms and the correlation with the tax systems, the situation of cross-border workers, etc. This research section includes the following three themes:
- Recent and future changes in the national social security systems
- Interrelationship with the national tax context
- Cross-border movement
C. Integration and conclusion
Research section C is primarily a task for the Belgian co-ordinator. Attention will be focused on those components where conclusions relevant for the Belgian context have become apparent. The drafting of a detailed work plan for this follow-up research requires the co-operation of the four research teams. A third and last workshop will be organised at the conclusion of the project. The basic objective of this meeting is to integrate the various results of the different work packages, convert them into policy recommendations, and draft a work plan for the in-depth research. This seminar will be held at the UG. Afterwards a consistent synthesis will be prepared of the final results, particularly intended for policymakers in Belgium, and a briefer text in html format for distribution on the Internet.
C.1 Concluding Research
This research section builds on the results of the two preceding components and focuses on the following themes:
- Study of the consequences of changes at the European level for Belgium
- Lessons of our neighbouring countries
- Interdependency : social security - tax law - EC law and cross-border movement
- Consequences of changes in the Belgian regulatory framework of the European context
C.2 Preliminary recommendations
Under this project section, the research results are converted into concrete preliminary policy advice, which are further fleshed out in the multidisciplinary follow-up study. Points of attention are possible policy initiatives which can be taken within the internal Belgian context at the level of the federal government and at the level of the social security administration, and the degree to which Belgium can contribute to the European policy concerning social security co-ordination. To ensure the practical relevance of the research conducted, one will further study how the results of the research can be disseminated among individual migrating employees (in the broadest sense of the term).
C.3 Detailed research proposal and work plan for comprehensive follow-up research
The final result of this preparatory research is a detailed research proposal and work plan for multidisciplinary research.
Pour une meilleure coordination des régimes de sécurité sociale - première phase (2000/2001): phase préparatoire : résumé
Bruxelles : Politique scientifique fédérale, 2003 (SP1241)
[To download]
Een betere coördinatie van de stelsels van sociale zekerheid - fase I (2000/2001): voorbereidende studie : samenvatting
Brussel : Federaal Wetenschapsbeleid, 2003 (SP1242)
[To download]
A better Coordination of the Social Security Schemes - Phase 1 (2000-2001) : Preparatory Study : summary
Brussels : Science Policy Office, 2003 (SP1243)
[To download]
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