‘It is possible to protect our student grants from EU citizens’

Published on 19 July 2013 at 10:50

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The European Court of Justice ruling on July 18 on the provision of student grants in Germany was anxiously awaited in Denmark, points out Jyllands-Posten.

Basing its conclusions on the principle of the free movement of citizens in the EU, the court judged that Germany cannot tie eligibility for student grants to the condition of three years of uninterrupted residency in the Federal Republic.

In Denmark, where the government insists that foreign students be resident in the country for at least two years in the 10 years preceding their application for a grant, the fear was that the ruling would set a precedent obliging the country to provide student grants to any European citizen who applied.

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However, according to the Jyllands-Posten experts, it is possible to circumvent the court ruling —

Student grants could for example be reclassified as student loans. We could also also insist that students have at least one parent who works in the country (...) If the European Court of Justice rules that it is legal, we could adapt our legislation.

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