28It should be noted, in this regard, that it follows from the case-law of the Court that the mere fact that a worker’s activities are performed outside the territory of the European Union is not sufficient to exclude the application of the European Union rules on the free movement of workers, as long as the employment relationship retains a sufficiently close link with the territory of the European Union. In a case such as that here at issue in the main proceedings, a link of that kind can be found in the fact, confirmed by the Hoge Raad, that Mr Bakker works on board a vessel registered in the Netherlands for an undertaking established in that Member State (see to that effect, Lopes da Veiga, paragraph 17, and Aldewereld, paragraph 14).
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