The European Commission
\nhas reacted following Austria’s decision to slash the benefits for children
\ncurrently not residing in Austria and whose parents are working in this
\ncountry, depending on the average living costs in their country of origin. The
\nCommission claims the measure is in breach of community legislation and said it
\nwould closely analyze the law passed by the Austrian Parliament. The European
\nCommission says that, in principle, adjusting child benefits is not allowed and
\ncould be seen as discriminatory for people who actually contribute to national
\nsecurity schemes and expect to receive the same benefits, irrespective of
\nnationality or where their children are at present. Statistics show some 14
\nthousand Romanian children will be affected by the new law which will slash
\ntheir benefits to half. Bucharest authorities have also argued against the
\nmeasure which they deem discriminatory. Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu said
\nthe Government is considering the possibility of referring the matter to the
\nEuropean Court of Justice, claiming the law violates the EU Treaty. In turn,
\nLabor Minister Marius Budai told Radio Romania that foreign workers should
\nreceive equal treatment in any member state where they are conducting their
\nactivity, their right to free movement being one of the fundamental principles
\nunderlying the Union and the single market. Marius Budai: <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We believe that equal
\ncontributions should bring equal benefits. Romanians working in Austria pay the
\nsame contributions as Austrians. We will discuss the matter at the level of the
\nEuropean Commission and consider the measures and actions that need taking.
\nSince the law was passed on October 25, 2018 we have addressed a letter to the
\nAustrian Parliament expressing our disapproval and held talks with Commissioner
\nMarianne Thyssen to see the measures we will be taking over the coming period.
\nIt’s clear to me we need to defend the rights of Romanians living in Austria
\nwhose children are currently in Romania.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The Ministry for
\nRomanians Worldwide has in turn announced it has given special priority to this
\nissue, highlighting the fact that the law does not affect Romanian citizens
\nalone, but the EU as a whole. To this end, as part of the meetings the Ministry
\nwill be organizing as part of Romania’s Presidency of the Council of the
\nEuropean Union, the agenda for talks will also include the Austrian
\nParliament’s decision to slash child benefits. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The European Commission says the measure affecting the benefits of children of EU citizens in Austria is in breach of community legislation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":80176,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[29153,34356,39543,34452,31448],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-80175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-austria","tag-child-benefits","tag-marius-budai","tag-romanian-citizens","tag-teodor-melescanu"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n