Social devolution and the impact of European Union Law: A critical analysis
| Date | 01 June 2019 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1388262719847871 |
| Published date | 01 June 2019 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Social devolution and the impact
of European Union Law:
A critical analysis
Herwig Verschueren
Faculty of Law, University of Antwerp, Belgium
Abstract
This article examines the extent to which EU law impacts on the relationship between the sub-
national entities of a Member State where these sub-national entities have regulatory powers in the
field of social protection. More specifically, it explores whether the criteria relied on in EU law for
determining the scope of the circles of solidarity in the relationship between the Member States
can also be applied in the context of the relations between the sub-national entities of regionalised
Member States. It appears that EU law on the free movement of persons influences these matters,
more specifically the European social security coordination system that determines to which
national circle of solidarity a person migrating between Member States belongs. Indeed, in its
judgment in the Flemish care insurance case, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)
also applied these rules to some categories of persons in a cross-border situation between dif-
ferent regions of a single Member State. This article critically analyses this case law specifically in
terms of respect for the regionalised identity of socially devolved Member States. It concludes that
this kind of respect requires that in the context of the relations between sub-national entities of a
regionalised Member State, the domestic constitutional rules determining the boundaries of circles
of solidarity between these entities should, in all circumstances, have preference over the EU rules
applicable between Member States.
Keywords
Social devolution, E uropean Union law, fre e movement of persons, p urely internal situat ion,
national identity
Introduction
Several Member States with regionalised structures have introduced a residence-based distribution
of competences between sub-national entities in this field. In Member States like Belgium,
Corresponding author:
Prof. Dr. Herwig Verschueren, Faculty of Law, University of Antwerp, Prinsstraat 13, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium.
E-mail: herwig.verschueren@uantwerpen.be
European Journal of Social Security
2019, Vol. 21(2) 192–206
ªThe Author(s) 2019
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/1388262719847871
journals.sagepub.com/home/ejs
EJSS
EJSS
To continue reading
Request your trial