The CJEU and EFTA Court decisions in a comparative perspective : MoveS legal report 2023

Coordination of the national social security systems is an integral part of the legal framework of the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). Although the legal system is to a large extent the same, different courts decide on interpretation and application. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is competent to decide on EU law and EEA law, when applied by EU Member States and the Court of Justice of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA Court) decides on EEA law when applied by the EEA States Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The scope of the EEA Agreement is more limited than the EU Treaties, but for free movement of workers and social security coordination, the same regulations apply. This means that it is possible to make direct comparisons between the CJEU and the EFTA Court in this field of law. As of August 2023, the EFTA Court had ruled on 18 cases of social security coordination, either under Regulations (EEC) Nos 1408/71 and 574/72 or Regulations (EC) Nos 883/2004 and 987/2009, depending on the relevant period. Ten cases concern Norway, six Liechtenstein and two Iceland. Over the years, the CJEU has ruled on a large number of social security issues, thus covering most legal aspects of the coordination. The EFTA Court, on the other hand, has only covered a smaller number of aspects: Applicable legislation (three cases) family benefits (two cases), sickness benefits (five cases), unemployment benefits (three cases) and administrative cooperation (three cases). In addition, concerning social protection there has been e.g. one case on equal treatment of women and men, which will not be dealt with in this Report.