The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs adopted a report drafted by Emine BOZKURT (PES, NL) and made some amendments to the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems, and determining the content of Annex XI. Many of the amendments are the result of agreement reached during trialogue meetings between representatives of the Parliament, the Commission and the Council.
The Committee inserted a paragraph into the draft parliamentary resolution stating that it considers the procedure on the Coordination of social security systems: amending the annexes to Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 (COD/2007/0129) to have lapsed as a result of the incorporation into this procedure of the contents of the Commission proposal (COM(2007)0376). It should be noted that this procedure is linked to the proposal for the implementing regulation (see COD/2006/0006). Both these procedures need to be completed before the new social security coordinating Regulation 883/2004 becomes applicable.
Due to the merging of the procedures, the title for this proposal is changed to: Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems, and determining the content of its annexes. A new recital notes that Annexes I, III, IV, VI, VII, VIII and IX to Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 should be adapted to take into account both the requirements of the Member States that have acceded to the European Union since that Regulation was adopted and recent developments in other Member States.
The committee clarified the situation of family members of former frontier workers should benefit from the possibility to continue medical treatment in the former country of employment of the insured person after his or her retirement. It also clarified that the principle of unity of the applicable legislation is of great importance and should be enhanced. This should not mean, however, that the grant of a benefit alone, in accordance with the Regulation and comprising the payment of insurance contributions or insurance coverage for the beneficiary, renders the legislation of the Member State whose institution has granted that benefit the applicable legislation for that person.