RECOMMENDATION No 21 of 28 November 1996 concerning the application of Article 69 (1) (a) of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 to unemployed persons accompanying their spouses employed in a Member State other than the competent State (97/C 67/03)

THE ADMINISTRATIVE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ON SOCIAL SECURITY FOR MIGRANT WORKERS,

Having regard to Article 81 (a) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons, to self-employed persons and to members of their families moving within the Community, under which it is responsible for dealing with all administrative questions and questions of interpretation arising from the provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 and subsequent regulations,

Whereas under the terms of Article 69 (1) and employed or self-employed person who is wholly unemployed and who goes to one or more Member States other than the competent State in order to seek employment is allowed, subject to certain conditions and limits, to retain his entitlement to unemployment benefits;

Whereas one of the conditions set out in subsection (a) of the said paragraph is that the person concerned must have remained available to the employment services of the competent State for at least four weeks after becoming unemployed.

Whereas the final sentence of subsection (a) does, however, allow the competent services or institutions to authorize the job-seeker's departure before four weeks have expired;

Whereas this authorization should not be denied to persons who, while meeting the other conditions set out in Article 69 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71, wish to accompany their spouse who has taken a job in another Member State;

Acting in accordance with the provisions of Article 80 of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71,

HEREBY RECOMMENDS to the competent services and institutions that:

1. authorization of departure before four weeks have expired as provided for in the final sentence of Article 69 (1) (a) shall be granted to an employed or self-employed person who is wholly unemployed, meets all the other conditions laid down in Article 69 (1) and is accompanying his/her spouse who has taken a job in a Member State other than the competent State;

2. this recommendation shall apply from the first day of the month following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Chairman of the Administrative Commission

Denis CROWLEY