What do some member states think about the fact that EU students are eligible for a larger package of loans and scholarships due to a European Court of Justice ruling in March?

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The ruling will put a smile on the faces of some students. Just how does the UK, the Dutch and the Belgium Flemish government interpret this decision and how will financial assistance to foreign students in the future change? Due to changes in European citizenship, the role a country plays as a host country is becoming more demanding. Higher education is one example. It has now become more difficult for host EU countries to refuse EU students loans and scholarships.

The Court did rule, however, that to make sure that these costs do not become an "unreasonable burden" on member states, a host member state is allowed to offer assistance "only to students who have demonstrated a certain degree of integration into the society of that State". So says a press release from the the European Court of Justice (nr. 25/05).

But which criteria will be used to determine the degree to which a student is integrated? What do these governments plan to do to make sure that they do not become victims of study tourism? What do these governments plan to do to make sure that they do not become victims of study tourism?

Head of the division responsible for student grants within the Flemish Ministry of Education, Raymonda Verdyck, explains that it has become incredibly complicated to create guidelines for EU students considering the different state financial assistance programs and social security systems.
It is quite difficult to compare one state system to another. In Belgium, parents receive from the state child support up until their children reach the age of 26, that is, if they are still studying. The students receive study grants depending upon their parent’s income.

But how do you calculate the parent's income of a foreign student and the income bracket under which this student falls? Especially, when the tax and social security systems are not similar and the wealth standards are different. Besides mentioning the huge problems the public service is confronted with while trying to obtain access to all the documents and information required in calculating a possible grant. Raymonda does not expect the number of EU student applicants will be large. However, she does wonder whether EU students will become more of a burden upon the wealthy host states as opposed to the poorer ones.

The Court's ruling that these costs may not become an "unreasonable burden" helps to prevent study tourism but still leaves the back door open to future litigation, as a member state’s definition of "socially integrated" can be contested.


EU students may have to prove they are integrated to get assistance
To meet the ruling, the Flemish Ministry will — despite the above mentioned problems —amend its study grant legislation by requiring a five-year residency for EU students who have no economic tie with Belgium. This amendment to the Flemish legislation still has to be passed by the Flemish parliament. Just like Belgium, the Netherlands has adopted the five-year period based upon the EU directive on free movement and residence, which goes into effect April 2006. The Dutch Minister of Education, Maria van der Hoeven, and the State Secretary for Education, Mark Rutte, will propose to the Dutch parliament that EU students, having lived a total of five years legally in the Netherlands, should receive a complete financial assistance package.

This package includes a public transportation card as well as an additional scholarship and a loan. A residency of three years is required for EU students to be able to apply for financial assistance in the UK. The British government is still studying the judgement, so no further decisions have been made regarding eligibility rules. According to a spokesman from the UK's Department of Education (DfES) , "the Government notes that this new European Court of Justice ruling which implies that most EU students will continue to be ineligible for our Higher Education maintenance loans and grants. We will study the judgement carefully to see what modifications are needed to our eligibility rules. However, it is clear that only a very limited number of EU students who meet specific criteria will be able to benefit from this judgement".

EU students are eligible and have a right to loans and scholarships in other EU countries, according to the European Court of Justice. Loans and scholarships fall, even those which cover maintenance costs, under European Union law. Although the Court in the past had considered assistance given to students for maintenance beyond the scope of the Treaty, the Treaty on European Union had changed with the introduction of citizenship of the Union, which included a chapter on education and vocational training. Due to this development in Community law, the Court considers that maintenance costs, either in the form of a loan or a grant, do fall within the scope of this Treaty.

French national, Dany Bidar, won his case before the High Court in Luxembourg in March. Having enrolled at University College London and applied to the London Borough of Ealing for financial assistance, Dany was granted assistance with tuition fees but he was refused a maintenance loan since he was not "settled" in the UK.

He moved to the UK in 1998 with his mother, who had to undergo medical treatment there. While living with his grandmother, he completed his last three years of secondary school education. English legislation prevents a national student of another member state from obtaining settled status. This was ruled by the Court as incompatible with Community law.
Now it is up to member states to adjust their regulations to comply with the Court's ruling.

 

The EU is moving gradually towards a goal that has eluded it for a long time. The harmonisation of the Social and Tax system across the EU. Until it suceeds in doing this, the Common market is incomplete. The above rulings all point towards taking control of the Tax and Social system from State governments to Brussels.