The Government of Sarbotinia in the European Union - Case Study Example

EU Law The Government of Sarbotinia announce that our country has joined the European Union (EU) which already has 27 s as member countries witheffect from January 2010. The said member countries in the alphabetical order are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the U.K.(Great Britain and Northern Ireland) The EU formerly known as European Community offers borderless travel, unrestricted place of living and trade among the member countries and a common currency of Euro. Article 18(1) of the E.C. Treaty provides that every citizen can move and reside freely in any part of the E.U. Article 39 (1) provides for free movement of workers. Article 43 provides for freedom of establishment by which individuals can get self employed. Article 49 gives freedom to provide and receive service in any part of the E.U.1. Citizens are bound by the law of the European Union and decision of the European Union Court of Justice is final. The individuals and Government officials should consult the legislation relating to the European parliament which represents people of Europe, the Council of the European Union which represents national governments of member states, and the European Commission that takes care of the common interest of the E.U. The Sarbotinians should exercise their votes in European Parliament elections. Some of the benefits that Sarbotinians can enjoy because of this membership in the EU are that they can travel across EU regions without passports and border checks. They can buy goods of their choice in any other member state where they may get at cheaper prices without custom duties. The single currency Euro makes it easier for all EU members to travel in any part of EU without having to convert it to local currency. Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain are already using Euro even for their local transactions. Hereafter it will be a single market without frontiers for member states thus intensifying competition and ensuring the highest possible quality for goods and services at the lowest possible prices. As per ascension treaty, there can be restrictions on work in other member states for new Sarbotinians between January 2010 and December 2015 but they will be phased out gradually. While the U.K., Ireland, Denmark have consented not to impose restrictions on employment in their respective countries for Sarbotinians, all the other member states have provided for obtaining work permits from their respective Governments during the period of transition. Sarbotinia will impose corresponding restrictions or exemptions from the citizens of respective member states seeking employment in Sarbotinia.2 Sarbotinians are also advised to consult Directive 2005/36/EC 3 which details the recognised qualifications for professions under General System and Specific sectors. Qn 2 (a) (i) I have a job offer in the UK. Which members of my family, all dependent on me, have the right to accompany me to the UK? My daughter aged twenty three and out of work. The U.K. has not placed restriction on employment of Sarbotinians. Directive 2004/38/EC of 29 April 20044 applies in respect of rights of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the member states. Article 2 of the directive stipulates the following persons as family members (a) the spouse, (b) partner in a marriage partnership if recognised in the host state, © the direct descendants under the age of 21 or dependants and dependants of the spouse or marriage partner (d) the dependant direct relatives in the ascending line of the citizen, his/her spouse or marriage partner. Hence as per the article 2 (c), the daughter being the dependant though aged 23 is eligible to accompany the citizen. If the daughter is working and not dependant on the citizen, she shall not be eligible to accompany the citizen. If the daughter is aged less than 21, she would have been eligible to accompany her under the same article 2(a). Qn 2 (a) (ii) My ex-husband who is disabled but continues to live with me as I look after him. Answer: As per article 2 (c), dependants irrespective of relationship can accompany. Hence an ex-husband who is disabled and dependant on the citizen can go along with her to U.K. Qn 2 (a) (iii) My partner following the registration of our civil partnership Answer: As per Article 2 (b), partner in a marriage is considered a family member and hence allowed to accompany the union citizen. Qn 2(a) (iv) My dog. Answer: As part of the personal effects, pets can accompany a citizen subject to rules prevailing in the host country, such as certificates of vaccination to prevent rabies. As far as U.K. is concerned, the requirement of quarantining the imported animals for six months has since been lifted subject to conditions.5 Thus all the above persons including the dog can accompany the E.U citizen to the U.K. for employment. This is however subject to the persons’ obtaining residence card in the U.K. Qn 2 (b) I plan to apply for a place to study law at a university in the UK, as I like the country, having visited on holiday several times. Would I be entitled to financial support from the UK government? Answer :Article 7 ( c) of the Directive 2004/38 states that students enrolled for a course of study should have comprehensive sickness insurance in the host State besides giving assurance to the national authority of having sufficient resources for themselves and their accompanying family members so as not to become a burden on social assistance system of the host State. However there is no restriction in the relative article 93/96 since repealed for availing grants from the host State for the purpose of study. In Brown6, the student claimed grant from the British Government under article 7 (2) for pursing a study at Cambridge University in engineering. His argument was that having worked for 8 months in U.K., he was entitled to the grant. The court rejected his claim of being worker and therefore held as not entitled to grant both under Article 7 (2) as well as under Article 12 which prohibits general discrimination. Even Article 3 of the Student’s Directive 93/96 specifically excluded any right grant by the host state for student acquiring right of residence only. Presently article 24 (2) of Directive 2004/38 states that until the permanent residence is acquired after 5 years as per article 16 of the said Directive, the host member state is not liable to grant aid for studies to students other than workers, and the self-employed.7 Hence, if the person under this question is the same as in Qn 2 (a), as a worker, she will be eligible for the grant. Otherwise, she is not eligible. The question raised by the court in Brown 8 whether purpose of taking employment was mainly to become a student or becoming a student is in the normal course. If former is the case, she will not be entitled to all the rights and advantages as a worker would have. In case of Brown, he had already worked for eight or (nine?) months in a company in Scotland as a pre-university industrial training before applying to join Cambridge University for an Engineering degree. The court held that although he could be regarded as a worker engaged in full time economic activity, he could not be considered for all the social advantages of maintenance grant which would be otherwise available to regular workers. In this case, his job was merely ancillary to his course of study.9 Further in Antonissen10, the Belgium national had come to the U.K.in 1984 in search of job but was unsuccessful. Meanwhile he was imprisoned for offence relating to substance and was sought to be deported by the State. On his appeal, it was argued by the State that only those nationals having confirmation of engagement of employment could be considered for the right of residence. The ECJ considered the argument that application of Article 48 (3) (a) & (b) of the Treaty would show that citizens can move freely only for accepting offers already made and Article 48 (3) (c) would show that a citizen can stay in a member state for the purpose of employment. The ECJ held that strictly applying this article would restrict free movement and stay for seeking employment and hence, the deportation could not be allowed. Qn 2 (c) I am financially independent and no longer work after I won the lottery in Sarbotinia. Am I entitled to live wherever I like in the EU? Would it make any difference if I lost all my money in the current economic difficulties? The Directive 2004/38/EC gives a EU citizen the right to move and reside freely anywhere in the E.U area under four categories of (1) being a worker including one looking for work, (2) self-employed person, (3) student and (4) being self sufficient or retired. As per article 6(1) of the Directive 2004/38/EC, this person can stay for maximum three months without any condition or formalities other than the possession of a valid identity card or passport of the country of origin. As per Article 6(2), his family members can accompany him. As per Article 7(1) (b), he can stay for more than three months in a Member State only if he has sufficient resources for himself and his family members and a comprehensive sickness insurance cover in the host State. As per Article 8 (1), the E.U. citizen should register in the host Member State for stay therein for more than three months. Article 16 gives right of permanent residence if he has resided in the host member state for a continuous period of five years without having to satisfy conditions under Chapter III of the Directive embodying articles 6 & 7 sated above, among others. If the person becomes insolvent before the period of five years without having worked or been self-employed, he will face expulsion from the member state as envisaged by article 14 which states that Union citizen can retain the right of residence only as long as he is not a burden on the social assistance system of the member state. 11 Thus after the period of five years of continuous period of residence in a host state, the EU citizen need not show that he has sufficient resources for his living. Whether he is economically active or not, he is considered to have been absorbed into the Member State as if he is eligible for all the benefits and privileges enjoyed by a national of the Member State.12 However he faces the risk of being expelled from the member state if he acts against public policy or public security of the member state. It is left to the discretion of member state if the citizen has resided for the previous ten years as mentioned in article 28(3)(a). It would also be relevant to note that Article 35 of the Directive 2004/38 giving right to a member state to refuse or withdraw under the Directive if there has been abuse or fraud on the part of a citizen of the origin state. But so far no example has emerged except sham marriage enacted just to secure EU rights.13 References Bernard Catherine (2007) The Substantive Law of the E.U.: the four freedoms, Oxford University Press, p 304 Craig P Paul, Burca De Grainne, (2007) EU Law: text, cases and materials, Oxford University Press. Directive 2004/38/EC available from [30 [March 2009 Greaves R 2008, The Internal Market and Free Movement of Persons, accessed 21 March 2009 Panorama of the European Union, accessed 21 March, 2009 < http://europa.eu/abc/panorama/index_en.htm> Travelling to another EU Country, Pets, Available from < http://ec.europa.eu/youreurope/nav/en/citizens/services/eu-guide/travelling/index_en.html>[30 March 2009] Read More