Article 34 - Social security and social assistance
Key facts of the case:
Results (sanctions) and key consequences of the case:
Article 11(1)(d) and (4) of Council Directive 2003/109/EC of 25 November 2003 concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents should be interpreted as meaning that it precludes a law of a Member State, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which, with respect to housing benefit, treats third-country nationals who are long-term residents less favourably than home-country nationals and Union citizens who reside in that State, provided that the referring court: – first, establishes that such assistance is covered, pursuant to Article 11(1)(d) of Directive 2003/109, by the concepts of ‘social security’, ‘social assistance’ or ‘social protection’ as they are defined by the law of that State; and – second, verifies whether the Member State has exercised, in compliance with the principle of legal certainty, the option provided for in Article 11(4) of that directive. If that is the case, the concept of ‘core benefits’ within the meaning of that provision must be understood as referring to those which, by helping to satisfy basic needs such as food, accommodation and health, combat social exclusion. It is for the referring court, in the course of a comprehensive examination of the benefits which make up the social assistance system in force in the Member State of residence of a third-country national who is a long-term resident, to ascertain whether the loss of housing assistance, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, would cause the person who formerly received that benefit to lose his accommodation and make it very difficult or even impossible to obtain alternative accommodation.
85, 95