## Facts

- Michel Trojani, a French national, moved to Belgium in 2000 and later lived in a Salvation Army hostel in Brussels.
- Beginning in January 2002, he joined a personal socio-occupational reintegration program at the hostel.
- Under the program, he performed various tasks (including maintenance and services for the hostel) for about 30 hours per week, under the hostel’s direction.
- In exchange, he received board and lodging plus some pocket money.
- Belgian law provided a minimum subsistence allowance (*minimex*) for persons lacking sufficient resources, including certain EU nationals.
- Trojani applied to the Brussels Public Centre for Social Welfare (CPAS) for the *minimex*; CPAS refused on the grounds that he was not Belgian and did not qualify as an EU “worker.”
- Trojani challenged the refusal in the Brussels Labour Court, which referred questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union (Grand Chamber) for interpretation of EU law.

## Issues

1. Whether activities performed in a host state under a reintegration program, under another’s direction and for in-kind benefits plus pocket money, fall under Treaty rules on freedom of establishment or freedom to provide services.
2. Whether such activities can qualify the person as a “worker” under EU law, with corresponding residence and equal-treatment rights.
3. If not a worker, whether an economically inactive Union citizen who holds a host-state residence permit may rely on Union citizenship and non-discrimination principles to claim equal treatment for a minimum-subsistence social assistance benefit, subject to EU-law limitations and proportionality.

## Decision

- The Treaty provisions on freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services did not apply to Trojani’s situation.
- Trojani could qualify as a “worker” if his activities were real and genuine rather than marginal; the national court had to assess that question based on all circumstances.
- If Trojani was not a worker, a Union citizen who is not economically active but holds a valid residence permit in the host state could invoke non-discrimination in conjunction with Union citizenship residence rights to claim equal treatment regarding a minimum-subsistence social assistance benefit, subject to applicable EU-law conditions and proportionality.
- The matter was remitted to the national court to apply these standards and decide entitlement to the *minimex*.

## Legal Principles

- Freedom of establishment concerns self-employed activity and does not cover work performed under another’s direction in an employment-type relationship.
- Freedom to provide services generally concerns temporary activity; open-ended, ongoing activity is not treated as cross-border services for these purposes.
- “Worker” status turns on whether, for a period of time, a person performs services for and under the direction of another in return for remuneration; atypical arrangements, low pay, payment in kind, or the national-law characterization of the relationship are not determinative.
- The “worker” inquiry also requires that the activity be real and genuine, not purely marginal and ancillary; this is a fact-intensive assessment for the national court.
- Union citizenship confers a right to move and reside in other Member States, subject to limitations and conditions set by EU measures and applied consistently with proportionality.
- A lawfully resident Union citizen may invoke equal treatment (non-discrimination on nationality) in access to social assistance designed to ensure a minimum subsistence allowance, while the host state may apply proportionate measures to prevent unreasonable burdens on its social assistance system.

## Conclusion

The court held that the claimant’s activities did not implicate establishment or services, but could support EU “worker” status if they were real and genuine; alternatively, if lawfully resident as an EU citizen, he could claim equal treatment for a minimum-subsistence benefit subject to EU-law conditions and proportionality, leaving final application to the national court.


Trojani v. Centre public d’aide sociale de Bruxelles (CPAS), Case C-456/02, 2004 E.C.R. I-7573 (C.J.E.U. 2004)