Following the changes in recent years to the eligibility criteria concerning student grants and loans through CEDIES, in which the Luxembourg Government and the European Court of Justice have lodged and heard cases and appeals, the court today issued its latest ruling.
Intitially non-residents (cross-border residents) were not eligible for such stdent finances, then the court decreed that they were, so Luxembourg had to introduce restrospective legislation based on which CEDIES would operate. This stipulated that parents of students applying, and who themselves worked in Luxembourg, could avail of the CEDIES financial support once they could prove that they were working in Luxembourg for the past five consecutive years.
This then opened up questions on what if someone was made redundant (between jobs) for a period during this five years, or if the parent retired during this period.
Today's judgement (in Case C-238/15) saw the European Court of Justice ruling on the question of whether the above eligibility criteria of five years uninterrupted employment in Luxembourg is compatible or not with the law of the European Union.
The Court considered the condition is too restrictive. It should, however, be pointed out that the ruling does not apply to the amended law of 24 July 2014, which is currently in force, but relates to the previous legislation on State financial assistance for higher education, which was applicable only for one academic year (2013-2014).
Under current legislation, the five-year continuous working condition in Luxembourg has been replaced by a period of work of at least five years over a seven-year reference period.
