Europees Hof: uitsluiting buitenlandse studenten van studiebeurs is discriminatie (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Court of Justice has ruled that students asking for a loan in a member state other than their own may not be discriminated against.

The Court's decision, presented on Tuesday (15 March) refers to provisions applied in England and Wales under which student loans for maintenance costs are available only for the UK citizens or nationals "settled" in the UK who have lived there for the three years before starting their course.

Under English rules, it is not possible to become "settled" if one stays in the UK only to study.

But the European court argued that students from other member states could actually never acquire such a status and so they have been discriminated against on the basis of nationality - which is forbidden under EU law.

Still, the Court admits that member states can, in principle, allow restrictions for loans to cover the students' expenditure - otherwise they might end up with an "unreasonable burden" that could also influence the overall level of loans for students.

"It is thus legitimate for a host Member State to grant such assistance only to students who have demonstrated a certain degree of integration into the society of that State," said the Court.

So, unlike under the English legislation, the conditions for elegibility to get a maintenance loan should not completely exclude students from other member states.

Growing scope of EU law

The decision makes an important point about the broadening scope of European legislation.

In previous cases concerning assistance given to students for maintenance, the Court pointed out that the issue fell outside the scope of EU law.

However, with the introduction of EU citizenship by the Maastricht treaty (in force since 1993) and a special chapter on education and vocational training, the member states are now obliged to follow common rules - as interpreted by the European Court of Justice - also in this area.