(January 22, 2015) 

On January 22, 2015 the European Court of Justice (CJEU) ruled in joined Cases C-401/13 (Vasiliki Balazs versus Casa Judeţeană de Pensii Cluj) & C-432/13 (Casa Judeţeană de Pensii Cluj versus Attila Balazs) (ECLI:EU:C:2015:26).

The following questions were referred to the CJEU for a preliminary ruling: 

Is Article 7(2)(c) of Regulation No 1408/71 to be interpreted as including within its scope a bilateral agreement which two Member States entered into before the date on which that regulation became applicable and by which the two States agreed to the termination of obligations relating to social security benefits owed by one State to nationals of the other State who had been political refugees in the territory of the first State and who have been repatriated to the territory of the second State, in exchange for a payment by the first State of a lump sum for the payment of pensions and to cover periods during which social security contributions were paid in the first Member State?

The CJEU ruled as follows:

Article 7(2)(c) of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of the Council of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons, to self-employed persons and to members of their families moving within the Community, in the version amended and updated by Council Regulation (EC) No 118/97 of 2 December 1996, as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1992/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006, must be interpreted as meaning that a bilateral agreement which relates to the social security benefits of nationals of one of the signatory States who had the status of political refugee in the territory of the other signatory State, which was concluded on a date when one of the two signatory States had not yet acceded to the European Union and which is not listed in Annex III to that regulation does not continue to apply to the situation of political refugees who were repatriated to their State of origin before the bilateral agreement was concluded and the regulation entered into force.

For further information click here to be forwarded to the text of the ruling as published on the website of the Court of Justice, which will open in a new window.

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