## Facts

- Mr. Ruckdeschel, a German national, worked in France before returning to Germany, where he became unemployed.
- He applied for unemployment benefits in Germany, which were initially granted but later reduced by the German authorities.
- The benefit reduction resulted from refusing to consider insurance periods completed by Mr. Ruckdeschel while working in France.
- The dispute centered on whether the exclusion of foreign insurance periods from benefit calculations violated Community law by constituting discrimination.

## Issues

1. Whether a Member State’s refusal to recognize insurance periods completed in another Member State when calculating social security benefits constitutes discrimination under Community law.
2. Whether the principle of non-discrimination requires aggregation of insurance periods from different Member States for migrant workers.
3. Whether Community legislation and the Treaty of Rome mandate substantive equality in social security rights for migrant workers.

## Decision

- The European Court of Justice held that Article 48 of the Treaty of Rome prohibits discrimination on the basis of nationality in employment and social security matters.
- The Court determined that refusing to aggregate insurance periods from another Member State amounts to indirect discrimination against migrant workers.
- It ruled that Member States must aggregate insurance periods completed in different Member States when determining entitlement to social security benefits.
- The Court emphasized that Community social security regulations must be interpreted in alignment with the principle of non-discrimination.

## Legal Principles

- Article 48 of the Treaty of Rome establishes a requirement for substantive, not merely formal, equality for migrant workers.
- Member States are obligated to aggregate insurance periods acquired in different Member States to ensure equal treatment in social security rights.
- Regulation No 1408/71 protects social security rights for migrant workers accrued across Member States.
- The ruling promotes the objective of free movement of workers by safeguarding their social security entitlements.

## Conclusion

The European Court of Justice confirmed that Member States must consider insurance periods completed in other Member States, thereby preventing discrimination in social security benefits for migrant workers and ensuring substantive equality as required by Community law.

Ruckdeschel v Hauptzollamt Hamburg-St. Annen (Case C-117/76) [1977] ECR 1753