Dano v Jobcenter Leipzig
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''Dano v Jobcenter Leipzig'' (2014
C‑333/13
is an
EU law European Union law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European Union (EU). Since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community following World War II, the EU has developed the aim to "promote peace, its val ...
case, concerning the
free movement of citizens European Union citizenship is afforded to all citizens of member states of the European Union (EU). It was formally created with the adoption of the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, at the same time as the creation of the EU. EU citizenship is additio ...
in the European Union.


Facts

Ms Dano and her son Florin,
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
n nationals, claimed an entitlement to unemployment benefits at the
Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
Social Court, after being denied by the Jobcenter Leipzig. She was not seeking employment, had no training and had not worked in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
or Romania before, but had lived in Germany since November 2010 at her sister’s home. Ms Dano received €184 per month in child benefits and €133 per month for maintenance payments. The German law on ''Grundsicherung'' denied help to people who enter purely for social assistance or while searching for employment. The Social Code Book II (''
Sozialgesetzbuch Social security in Germany is codified on the ''Sozialgesetzbuch'' (SGB), or the "Social Code", contains 12 main parts, including the following, *Unemployment insurance and public employment agencies (SGB II and III) * Health insurance (SGB V) * ...
II'') said a person must be ‘capable of earning a living’ although the code as a whole was ‘to enable the beneficiaries to lead a life in keeping with human dignity’. It excluded ‘foreign nationals whose right of residence arises solely out of the search for employment and their family members’.


Judgment


Advocate General Opinion

AG Wathelet advised that Ms Dano should not be entitled to social assistance. 131. ‘It serves to prevent persons exercising their right to free movement without intending to integrate themselves from becoming a burden on the social assistance system... In other words, it serves to prevent abuse and a certain form of ‘benefit tourism’.’


Court of Justice

The Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice held Ms Dano did not have sufficient resources and could not claim a right of residence in Germany. Therefore, they could not invoke the principle of non-discrimination in the Directive and Regulation. The Citizens Rights Directive article 24(2) did not require granting social assistance in the first three months of residence. The right to equal treatment depends on ‘residing on the basis of this Directive’. Under article 7(1)(b) that requires one to ‘have sufficient resources for themselves and their family members not to become a burden on the social assistance system’. For residence between three months and five years, economically inactive persons should have sufficient resources of their own to prevent a host member state’s welfare system being used as a means of subsistence. A member state should be able to refuse social assistance to economically inactive citizens. Domestic law can exclude migrants from ‘special non-contributory cash benefits’ although they are granted to nationals of the host member state who are in the same situation. The CFREU did not apply, because when member states put conditions on benefits and their extent, they are not implementing EU law.


See also

*
European Union law European Union law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European Union (EU). Since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community following World War II, the EU has developed the aim to "promote peace, its valu ...


Notes

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References

* Court of Justice of the European Union case law