EU Rights in the Spotlight – from September to November 2018

This EU Rights in the Spotlight section features three ECJ judgments affecting access to social security for posted workers, personal data and Brexit negotiations. 

A posted worker is covered by the social security system of his place of work if he replaces another posted worker, even if those workers were not posted by the same employer.

On 6 September the ECJ ruled that an A1 certificate issued by the competent social security institution of a Member State (Hungary in this case) is binding on both the social security institutions and the courts of the Member State in which the activity is carried out (Austria) so long as that certificate has not been withdrawn or declared invalid by the Member State in which it was issued.

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Criminal offences that are not particularly serious may justify access to personal data retained by providers of electronic communications services provided that that access does not constitute a serious infringement of privacy.

On 2 October the Court ruled that that interference is not sufficiently serious to entail access being restricted, in the area of prevention, investigation, detection and prosecution of criminal offences, to the objective of fighting serious crime.

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Brexit: the application for annulment of the decision authorising the opening of Brexit negotiations, brought by thirteen British citizens who live in EU Member States other than the UK, is inadmissible.

On 26 November 2018, the ECJ ruled that The Court notes that, although the decision of the Council authorising the opening of the Brexit negotiations has legal effects as regards the relations between the EU and its Member States and between the EU institutions, it does not directly affect the legal situation of the applicants.

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