The European Commission has referred Greece to the Court of Justice of the
The European Commission has referred Greece to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), accusing Athens of failing to align its national legislation on family benefits with EU rules on social-security coordination and the free movement of workers.
According to the Commission’s announcement, Greek law permits EU nationals to claim family benefits only if they have lived in Greece with their children for at least five years. For third-country nationals—even those covered by EU social-security coordination rules because they previously lived in another EU member state—the eligibility threshold rises to 12 years of residence.
In the Commission’s view, these requirements amount to discrimination and breach EU law. The bloc’s coordination rules explicitly prohibit residence conditions for accessing social-security benefits such as family allowances.
The infringement procedure began in Nov. 2023, when the Commission sent Greece a formal notice. This was followed by a reasoned opinion in July 2024. As Greece has not taken the steps needed to bring its legislation into compliance, Brussels has now escalated the case to the EU’s top court.
Background
EU rules on social-security coordination are designed to ensure that citizens who move to another member state for work do not lose entitlements such as pensions, healthcare,
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