MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Location: file:///C:/CAE31AB2/ARTICLE42.htm Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii" [ARTICLE 42]

SINGLE MARKET:

TREATY GIVES AWAY POWERS MAKING IT EASIER FOR MIGRANT WORKERS TO “ACQUIRE AND RETAIN THE RIGHT TO BENEFIT” IN THE UK

[ARTICLE 42]

 

 

AMENDMENT TO: Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and t= he Treaty establishing the European Community (Lisbon, 13 December 2007)<= /span>

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Policy Area:

Treaty= on the Functioning of the European Union, Part Three Policies and Internal Act= ions of the Union, Title III – Free movement of persons, services and capi= tal, Chapter 1 – Workers, Article 42

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Lisb= on Treaty: =

“= ;51) Article 42 shall be amended as follows:

(a) in the first paragraph, the words "migrant worker= s and their dependants:" shall be replaced by "employed and self-employ= ed migrant workers and their dependants:";

(b) th= e last paragraph shall be replaced by the following: "Where a member of the Council declares that a draft legislative act referred to in the first subparagraph would affect important aspects of its social security system, including its scope, cost or financial structure, or would affect the finan= cial balance of that system, it may request that the matter be referred to the European Council. In that case, the ordinary legislative procedure shall be suspended. After discussion, the European Council shall, within four months= of this suspension, either:

(a) refer the draft back to the Council, which shall termi= nate the suspension of the ordinary legislative procedure; or<= /p>

(b) take no action or request the Commission to submit a n= ew proposal; in that case, the act originally proposed shall be deemed not to = have been adopted."”        &= nbsp;

 

Consolidated Treaty Article(s):

“Article 42

The Council shall, acting in accordance with the procedure referred= to in Article 251, adopt such measures in the field of social security as are necessary to provide freedom of movement for workers; to this end, it shall make arrangements to secure for migrant workers and their dependants:<= /o:p>

(a) aggregation, for the purpose of acqu= iring and retaining the right to benefit and of calculating the amount of benefit= , of all periods taken into account under the laws of the several countries;

(b) payment of benefits to persons resid= ent in the territories of Member States.

 

The Council shall act unanimously throughout the procedure referred= to in Article 251.”

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Expl= anation:

Article 42 details the extended EU rights of mig= rant workers´ to claim social security within the Member States. The Lisbon Treaty replaces the words "migrant workers and their dependants” with "employed and self-employed migrant workers and their dependants" providing a clear legal base on social security for measures related to “self-employed migrant workers.”

 

The Council will continue to legislate on these matters with the European Parliament. Presently, = the Council is required to act unanimously throughout the co-decision procedure when adopting social security measures necessary to provide freedom of move= ment for workers and their dependants. The words "the Council [shall], acti= ng in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251" will be replaced with "the European Parliament and the Council [shall], acting= in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure." The Council will = continue to legislate on these matters with the European Parliament although the Lisbon Treaty has extended Qualified Majority Voting into this are= a. =

 

The Council’s unanimity procedu= re is replaced with a complex procedure which allows any Member State to temporarily suspend a draft proposal for four months. Under this Article= , as amended by the Lisbon Treaty, a Member State may declare “that a draft legislative act refe= rred to in the first subparagraph would affect important aspects of its social security system, including its scope, cost or financial structure, or would affect the financial balance of that system” requesting the matter to= be referred to the European Council. Then, the ordinary legislative procedure = will be suspended for four months and the European Council either “refer t= he draft back to the Council, which shall terminate the suspension of the ordi= nary legislative procedure or take no action or request the Commission to submit a new proposal in = that case, the act originally proposed shall be deemed not to have been adopted." Under the Lisbon Treaty, essentially, it will be much easier= for EU citizens in the U= K to adopt measures concerning “aggregation, for the purpose of acquiri= ng and retaining the right to benefit and of calculating the amount of benefit= , of all periods taken into account for employed and self employed migrant worke= rs and their dependants” (Article 42 first subparagraph).

 

There is a Declaration on the second paragraph of Article 42 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union which sta= tes that the European Council will act by consensus. The power of veto will be replaced by an ‘emergency brake’ mechanism and it is not clear = if unanimity is still required for “the payment of benefits to persons resident in= the Territories of Member States” (Article 42 second = subparagraph). The Lisbon Treaty only refers to the emergency brake regarding “the f= irst subparagraph.” So when the Treaty is enforced, with this anomaly, it = will not allow the UK any control – even an emergency brake to be applied – on the payment of benefits to persons resident in the territories of Member States= .