The external dimension of EU social security coordination
| Published date | 01 June 2018 |
| Date | 01 June 2018 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1388262718771734 |
| Subject Matter | Editorial |
Editorial
The external dimension of EU
social security coordination
Anne-Pieter van der Mei
University of Maastricht, The Netherlands
Pauline Melin
University of Maastricht, The Netherlands
Zvezda Vankova
University of Maastricht, The Netherlands
Herwig Verschueren
University of Antwerp, Belgium
As readers of this Journal know, the EU legislature has set in place an extensive regime for the
coordination of the social security systems of the EU Member States in order to facilitate cross-
border movements of persons within the Union. While the key legislative instruments, namely
Regulations 883/3004 and 987/2009, do not ensure beneficiaries full protection of social security
income, they do guarantee that they are subject to the legislation of (only) one Member State and
enjoy the protection of the principles of non-discrimination, portability, aggregation and retention
of acquired rights under national law in relation to virtually all social security risks.
This internal coordination regime is not supplemented by a comparable external coordination
regime linking the Member States’ social security systems to those of third countries. Individuals
moving from a third country to an EU Member State, or vice versa, cannot benefit from a single set
of coordination rules aimed at safeguarding their rights. Rather, the external dimension of social
security coordination consists of a wide variety of measures or instruments, including national
legislation, bilateral agreements concluded by the Member States with specific third countries,
some international agreements concluded by the EU as well as EU migration Directives. National
and international human rights instruments may also play a role, with the principle of non-
discrimination being featured.
There is an explanation for the difference between the common internal and the ‘patchy’
external approach to social security coordination. Internally, the EU aims at the free movement
Corresponding author:
Pauline Melin, Maastricht University, Faculty of Law, International and European Law, Postbus 616, 6200 MD Maastricht,
the Netherlands.
E-mail: pauline.melin@maastrichtuniversity.nl
European Journal of Social Security
2018, Vol. 20(2) 81–85
ªThe Author(s) 2018
Reprints and permissions:
sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/1388262718771734
journals.sagepub.com/home/ejs
EJSS
EJSS
To continue reading
Request your trial