National approaches of EU Member States in concluding bilateral social security agreements with third countries: The case of Austria. Issue 2 (June 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Spiegel, Bernard
• Other Names: van der Mei Anne-Pieter guest-editor.; Melin Pauline guest-editor.; Vankova Zvezda guest-editor.; Verschueren Herwig guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: European journal of social security. Volume 20:Issue 2(2018)
• Page Start: 148
• Page End: 161
• Publication Date: 2018-06
• Subjects: Social security -- international agreements -- Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004 -- equal treatment -- assimilation of facts -- export of benefits -- applicable legislation -- sickness -- pensions -- data protection; Social security -- Europe -- Periodicals; Social security -- Law and legislation -- Europe -- Periodicals; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 362.9405
• DOI: 10.1177/1388262718780747
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2399-2948

Abstract

For EU Member States like Austria, the EU Regulations on the coordination of social security schemes are the focus of academic and political attention. They deal with many cases and are usually very complex. They are supervised by the European Commission and the CJEU. Compared to these EU rules, bilateral agreements with third countries are treated as step-children. They do not get the academic and political attention they deserve, taking into account their importance in practice. They have common features compared to the EU rules, but there are also remarkable differences in the texts and their interpretation. The differences sometimes lead to practical problems of application and interpretation in the EU Member States. Based on Austrian experiences, all these aspects are elaborated in this article. Enhanced cooperation and exchange of information between the EU Member States in the future could help to improve the negotiating position of these countries and also guarantee greater esteem for the bilateral agreements.