79With regard to the possibilities open to the Luxembourg legislature, it can be observed, in line with the Commission’s submission at the hearing, that where the aid granted consists in, for example, a loan, a system of financing which made the grant of that loan, or even the outstanding balance thereof, or its non-reimbursement, conditional on the student who receives it returning to Luxembourg after his or her studies abroad in order to work and reside there, could attain the objective pursued, without adversely affecting the children of frontier workers. In addition, the risk of duplication with equivalent financial aid paid in the Member State in which the student resides, with or without his parents, could be avoided by taking that aid into account in the grant of the aid paid by the State of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.80 Above all, in order to avoid the risk of ‘study grant forum shopping’ referred to by all the governments which submitted observations to the Court, and to ensure that the frontier worker who is a taxpayer and who makes social security contributions in Luxembourg has a sufficient link with Luxembourg society, the financial aid could be made conditional on the frontier worker, the parent of the student who does not reside in Luxembourg, having worked in that Member State for a certain minimum period of time. In another context, Article 24(2) of Directive 2004/38 provides that, by derogation from Article 24(1) – according to which all Union citizens residing on the basis of that directive in the territory of the host Member State are to enjoy equal treatment with the nationals of that Member State – the host Member State is not to be obliged to grant maintenance aid for studies before the acquisition of a right of permanent residence which, under Article 16(1) of Directive 2004/38, is subject to a condition of residence of five years in the territory of the Member State concerned.
Source: EUR-Lex, © European Union, 1998-2026. Reuse authorised under Decision 2011/833/EU.