1. The Committee of Ministers has decided to transmit to the Consultative Assembly for its opinion the following draft Agreements :
2. Annex I to each Agreement lists the social security schemes to which the Agreement applies. Annex II lists the bilateral and multilateral agreements to which the Agreement applies. Annex III lists the reservations made by representatives of certain Members, which have been accepted by the Committee of Experts.
I. History of the Agreements
3. The Consultative Assembly, during its First Session, adopted on 6th September, 1949 a Recommendation on the subject of the rôle of the Council of Europe in the field of social security and recommended that Member States " should be guided by action already taken through bilateral or regional agreements in order to prepare one multilateral agreement which would make their own social security legislation completely applicable to the nationals of other countries " (1st Session, 1949 : Doc. 79, I, 3). The Assembly thus proposed equality of treatment as regards social security for the benefit of the nationals of all Member States.
4. Subsequently, the Committee of Ministers, at its Third Session, examined the possibility of extending to all Member States of the Council of Europe the provisions of the Multilateral Convention on Social Security signed on 7th November, 1949, at Paris by the five States signatory to the Brussels Treaty. It decided, in view of the complexity of the problem, to convene a Committee of Experts on social security, to consist of representatives of all Members, in order to study this question (2nd Session : Doc. 8 (1950), Report from the Committee of Ministers, para. 53).
5. At its first meeting (15th-17th June, 1950) at Strasbourg, the Committee of Experts came to the conclusion that this project would take a very long time, since it depended on the establishment of a network of bilateral treaties of the type which formed the basis of the multilateral convention in question. The Committee, therefore, as an interim measure designed to reach some practical results more quickly, proposed the conclusion of provisional multilateral agreements of the type now submitted to the Consultative Assembly.
6. The Committee of Ministers submitted the first report of the Experts (2nd Session, 1950 : Doc. 11, Appendix C) to the Consultative Assembly and ihe latter, in Recommendation 29 (1950) adopted on 24th August, 1950, took note of the report and requested to be associated more closely with the examination of the problem and to be kept informed of the results obtained.
7. At its second meeting the Committee of Experts decided what should be the main principles of the proposed agreements and requested the International Labour Office to prepare the necessary drafts. The I. L. 0. submitted the drafts to the Committee of Experts at its third meeting, and then again, after various amendments had been agreed, in a revised form, at its fourth meeting. Eventually two separate draft agreements were worked out, because there was reason to believe that some Governments might have difficulties in ratifying one Agreement covering the whole field of social security. Subsequently, there has been reason to hope that all Member- Governments will sign both agreements.
8. A joint meeting of the Committee of Experts on Social Security and the Committee of Experts on Social and Medical Assistance was held on 14th-16th November, 1951, in order to co-ordinate the scope of the agreements on social security and the proposed Convention on social and medical assistance, the intention being that the three instruments taken together should cover the entire field of social security and assistance.
9. The two draft Agreements on social security were subsequently submitted to the Governments and considered by the Ministers' Advisers in order to enable any final drafting changes to be made. In the course of the meeting of the Ministers' Advisers from 6th to 8th February, 1952, a number of changes of this sort was proposed, and the revised texts were then submitted to a further plenary meeting of the Committee of Experts, which was held from 10th to 13th March, 1952. On this occasion the final texts were prepared which are now submitted to the Consultative Assembly for its opinion.
10. It will be observed that much detailed work has been performed at successive meetings of the Committee of Experts and of the Ministers' Advisers. This was necessary in view of the fact that the Agreements will apply to 119 different schemes of social security in fifteen different countries and to 28 different bilateral or multilateral agreements.
11. In the meantime, the Consultative Assembly during the Second Part of its Third Session in December, 1951 had an opportunity of expressing its opinion on the work in progress on this subject. The Assembly expressed its complete agreement with the principles which had guided the work of the Committee of Experts and expressed the hope that it would be kept informed of the result of this work (See 3rd Session, 1951 : Reply of the Consultative Assembly to the Second Supplementary Report of the Committee of Ministers)
II. General principles of the Agreements
12. Each agreement gives, within its own field, effect to the following main principles :
13. The latter point should perhaps be explained in more detail. There are a considerable number of bilateral social security conventions in force between pairs of Member States. These conventions provide, among other things, for the maintenance of acquired rights and of rights in course of acquisition when a person moves from one country to the other and, in particular, for adding together insurance periods for the purpose of establishing the rights to receive benefits and calculating the amount of benefits due. The importance of the new European Interim Agreements in this connection is best shown by an example : France and the United Kingdom have concluded a bilateral convention of the above type. If a national of any other State which is a Party to the new Agreement comes to work in France, he will be insured on the same basis as a French national. If, after some time, he proceeds to the United Kingdom, he will not only be treated there like a national of the United Kingdom, but he may also invoke the French-British bilateral convention, so that he will be credited for the contributions he has paid in France.
14. Article 1 of each Agreement determines its scope. Article 2 embodies the principle of equality of treatment and states the conditions for such equality. Article 3 embodies the principle of the extension of the benefits from existing bilateral and multilateral conventions. It will be seen that in regard to non-contributory social security schemes these principles are applied only after certain waiting periods, which are considered necessary and reasonable, in view of the fact that benefits under such schemes are paid entirely out of public funds.
15. Reservations. — Owing to the fact that certain of the laws at present in force in Member States do not grant equality of treatment to nationals and foreigners, and that it has not yet been possible for the Governments concerned to amend their legislation accordingly, certain Governments have found it necessary to make reservations as regards the application of the principle of equality to the social security schemes in question.
16. Nevertheless, the Committee of Experts has proposed, and the Committee of Ministers has agreed, to recommend to the Governments at the time of signature that they should take any necessary steps in order to amend their legislation, so that these reservations may be withdrawn by the end of the first period of two years for which the agreements will be in force.
17. Effect of the Agreements
18. Extension of the Agreements to refugees. —At its fifth meeting, the Committee of Experts on Social Security discussed a proposal made to extend the benefits of the interim agreements to refugees resident in the contracting States. It was not possible to reach a conclusion at this meeting, in view of the complicated nature of the problem, and the question was therefore postponed until the next meeting of the Committee, in order that the latter should have further time.to study the question in the light of the Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees of 1951, and, if possible, prepare a Protocol for this purpose.
19. Signature of the Agreements by the Government of the Saar. — The Government of the German Federal Republic has made known its objection to the signature of international agreements by the Government of the Saar. At the same time it did not wish to prevent the inhabitants of the territory of the Saar from benefiting from the provisions of the two agreements. Accordingly, the German representative, at the meeting of the Ministers' Advisers in March, 1952, proposed certain amendments to the draft Agreements which would make it possible for the inhabitants of the Saar to benefit from their provisions without their being signed by the Government of the Saar. When this question was considered by the Ministers' Deputies at their meeting from April 28th to May 5th, 1952, the German representative renewed this proposal, and the French representative reserved the position of his Government. The Ministers' Deputies agreed that this was a political question which would have to be submitted to the Committee of Ministers at its Eleventh Session.
III. Detailed comments on the draft Agreements
20. With the exception of Articles 1, 2 and 3, the corresponding Articles of the two draft Agreements are identical. Even the three first Articles correspond to a large extent, and separate remarks on each draft Agreement will be made only where necessary. The comments are based on the discussions of the Committee of Experts on Social Security. (For reasons of brevity, the Agreement on Social Security other than schemes for Old Age, Invalidity and Survivors is referred to below as " the First Agreement ". The Agreement covering these three schemes is referred to as " the Second Agreement " . )
21. The litle indicates the interim nature of the two draft agreements. They are intended to he replaced in due course by a multilateral social security convention, based on a network of bilateral agreements between the Contracting Parties, similar to the system established by the five Brussels Treaty Powers.
Definition
22. During the preparation of the agreements, the question arose of defining the terms " nationals " and " territory which are used in the text of the Agreements in many places. It was clear that there would be many difficulties both of a legal and political nature in finding definitions of these terms that would be acceptable to the fifteen Member Governments. Consequently, it was decided not to hold up signature of the Agreements for this purpose. At the same time, in order that each signatory should know to which persons and to what territories the other signatories would expect the Agreements to apply, it was decided to ask each Government to transmit to the Secretary-General, for communication to the other signatories, the interpretation which it proposed to give to the terms in question.
23. Although the provisions of the agreements apply differently to contributory schemes and non-contributory schemes, the Committee of Experts did not consider it feasible to draw any generally accepted and precise border-line between the two types of schemes. Each Contracting Party has been invited to give its interpretation of these terms in a separate document.
Article 1
24. No definition of the term " social security " is given in the draft agreements. The scope of the Agreements in this respect is, however, determined by the sub—paragraphs of paragraph 1 and by the list of laws and regulations contained in Annex I (Sec further comments on Article 7).
25. The term " laws and regulations " as used in the Agreements does not cover advantages granted by local authorities and not provided for in the national legislation. Benefits granted under such decisions are therefore not covered by the Agreements.
26. Article 1 of each Agreement enumerates the types of benefit to which that Agreement applies. Taken together, the two Agreements are intended to cover the whole field of social security. There are excluded special schemes applying to civil servants and benefits paid in respect of war injuries due to foreign occupation. Such schemes are not based on ordinary social security principles. With regard to the First Agreement, the long-term sickness benefits included in the United Kingdom social security legislation are recognised as equivalent to invalidity pensions under the terms of the Agreement. The same applies to the longterm disablement benefits included in the Irish social security scheme.
27. Death grants, and benefits in respect of invalidity and survivors' benefits granted under an employment injury scheme, are excluded from the Second Agreement because they are covered by the First Agreement.
Article 2
28. This Article incorporates the principle that each Contracting Party shall treat the nationals of the other Contracting Parties on a basis of equality with its own nationals.
29. Since a case exists where eligibility to participate in an unemployment assistance scheme is based not on nationality, but on place of birth, and since this tends in practice to operate mainly against aliens, the Committee of Experts considered that the Agreements, in order to be true to their spirit, should cover this case specifically. This is the purpose of Article 2, paragraph 2.
30. Article 2 of the First Agreement has a third paragraph relating to discrimination on grounds of nationality, where the right to benefit depends on the nationality of a child. This is intended to cover a French maternity benefit scheme under which birth-grants are paid to parents whose, children are of French nationality at birth or acquire that nationality within a period of three months.
31. Article 2 of each Agreement lays down the conditions for equal treatment in respect of benefits covered by that Agreement.
32. First Agreement. — The main rule, covering any benefit other than in respect of employment injury, is that the person in question must be ordinarily resident in the territory of the Contracting Party of which he claims the benefit. The Agreement does not define the term " ordinarily resident " which has been adopted from the text previously agreed on in the Convention of the Brussels Treaty Powers. The interpretation of this term is thus left to the appropriate authorities in each country in the light of the national legislation; nevertheless, a Contracting Party which disagrees with the interpretation given in an individual case by another Contracting Party may have recourse to Article 11 which deals with the settlement of disagreements. Intermittent or occasional sojourn, however, will not be considered as ordinary residence.
33. In addition to the above general rule there is, in regard to benefits claimed in respect of sickness, maternity or unemployment, the further requirement that these events must have materialised after the person in question became ordinarily resident in the country concerned.
34. In accordance with general practice the residence requirements are considerably relaxed in regard to employment injury benefits. It is sufficient that the person in question simply resides in the territory of any one of the Contracting Parties. This has importance not only for the establishment of the claim but also for the payment of the benefits. It is not necessary for the claimant to satisfy the stricter requirements of " ordinary residence " in the country in question before the occurrence of the event giving rise to the claim. And if that country pays employment injury benefits to its own nationals anywhere abroad without restriction, it will pay the benefits to the alien claimant even if he leaves the country, provided that he continues to reside in the territory of one of the other Contracting Parties.
35. In respect of benefits provided under a non-contributory scheme, other than benefits for employment injuries, the claimant mushave resided in the territory where he makes the claim for at least six months.
36. Second Agreement. — It follows from Article 2, paragraph 1 (c) that once the right to old age, invalidity or survivors' benefits has been established under a contributory scheme, the benefit will be paid to an alien abroad on the same conditions as to nationals, provided that the alien resides in the territory of any one of the Contracting Parties. With regard to the establishment of the right, however, the residence requirements are stricter for invalidity benefits than for the other benefits covered by this Agreement, since the claimant must have been ordinarily resident in the country concerned at the time of the event giving rise to the claim.
37. With regard to benefits under noncontributory schemes the residence period required for the establishment of the right to benefit is 15 years, qualified as mentioned in paragraph 1, (b). And in this case the payment of the benefits depends on continued ordinary residence in the territory of the Contracting Party responsible for the payment.
38. The reference in Article 2 in both agreements to Article 9 indicates that the equality of treatment is subject to reservations, (see further comments on Article 9).
Article 3
39. This Article incorporates the other main principle of the two Agreements : Extension to the nationals of all Contracting Parties of the benefits derived from the bilateral or multilateral conventions on social security concluded between two or more Contracting Parties. The Article is identical in both agreements except for the residence period required in relation to non-contributory schemes. The difference between the Agreements in this respect is the same as with regard to the application of the principle of equal treatment. The reference to Article 9 again indicates the possibility of reservations.
40. Article 3 will also apply to multilateral conventions concluded between some of the Contracting Parties and other States, provided that no additional obligations will thereby be imposed on those third-party States.
Article 4
41. " The date of the entry into force of this Agreement for all the Contracting Parties concerned with the claim in question " is the first day of the month following the date on which the last one so concerned ratifies or accedes to the agreement.
Article 5
42. No comment.
Article 6
43. This Article is intended to make it clear that the Agreements do not apply to national laws or regulations relating to the election of persons concerned with the administration of social security schemes.
Article 7
44. Annex I to the First Agreement and Annex I to the Second Agreement taken together are designed, in regard to each Contracting Party, to contain a list of all its social security schemes, without exception. Thus, even social security schemes to which a Government does not want the agreements to apply, are listed, but in such a case a reservation may be made. Annex I does not mention in detail the various laws relating to social security. It gives broad references to whole schemes. Thus, if a new law or regulation relates to a scheme already listed in Annex I and does not change the character of the scheme, it is not necessary to notify such law or regulation to the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe.
45. Some further indication of the content of Annex I is as follows : autonomous orphans' benefit schemes which are not linked to survivors' benefit schemes are included in Annex I of the First Agreement; the same applies to unemployment assistance schemes which do not form an integral part of general assistance. Annex I of each Agreement includes schemes based on laws of a temporary character if they are in force at the time of signature or accession. The same applies to schemes based on laws which have been repealed, if any provisions thereof continue to be effective.
46. Mutual aid society schemes are excluded. This applies also to schemes not based on laws or regulations, such as schemes operated by unofficial associations granting benefits additional to those based on laws or regulations.
47. Annex I also indicates in regard to each scheme whether it is of a contributory or a non-contributory nature.
Article 8
48. Bilateral or multilateral conventions which provide only for equality of treatment, such as the convention concluded by the Nordic countries on 27th August, 1949 concerning old age pensions, are not included in Annex II.
Article 9
49. This Article makes it possible for the original Contracting Parties to make reservations which may limit the full application of the principles incorporated in the agreements, either with regard to a certain social security scheme or to a particular bilateral or multilateral convention. Such reservations may be made at the date of signature or at a future date in connection with the notification of any new law, regulation or convention.
50. Eighteen reservations of the first type mentioned above have been made and accepted by the Committee of Experts. They are set out in Annex III. However, since the two Agreements together cover 119 social security schemes in 15 countries, it is not to be expected that the Governments should be ready to extend the benefits of all these schemes to the nationals of all other Contracting Parties immediately, because in some cases such extension would necessitate changes in legislation. No reservations of the second type mentioned above have been made.
51. Consideration has been given to the question whether provisions should be included in the Agreements to the effect that States which may accede thereto in the future in accordance with Article 14 should be allowed to make reservations. It was decided that no such provision should be made. In other words, reservations may not be made by acceding States so far as concerns schemes in force at the date of accession.
52. The whole question of the permissibility of reservations should be considered in the light of the temporary nature which the reservations are intended to have, and of the interim nature of the Agreements themselves. The desire to make it possible for the Members of the Council of Europe to ratify the Agreements in the near future has led to the acceptance of reservations. This consideration, however, does not apply to States acceding in the future. Furthermore, it is hoped that the Member States of the Council of Europe will withdraw their reservations within the initial period for which the Agreements will be concluded, i.e. two years from the date of their entry into force in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 13. Where this involves changes in legislation, Governments will take such action as may be necessary in accordance with their constitutional procedure. It is envisaged that reservations will be withdrawn at the latest by the end of 1955. In the case of reservations not withdrawn by that date, Governments will be requested to inform the Secretary- General of the Council of Europe of the reasons why it was impossible to withdraw them.
53. The Governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom have indicated that they hope to be in a position to withdraw their reservations within the above time-limit. The Belgian Government has already withdrawn its reservation contained in Annex III to the Second Agreement.
Article 10
54. No comment.
Article 11
55. This Article contains provisions for the settlement of disagreements regarding the interpretation of the agreements or their application. These provisions are based on the model bilateral agreement prepared by the Brussels Treaty Powers.
Article 12
56. The Article provides that even a Contracting Party which denounces the agreements will respect rights acquired on the basis thereof. The special reference to the right to receive benefits under the laws and regulations of one of the Contracting Parties while the beneficiary is resident in the territory of another, applies to benefits in respect of employment injury, and benefits in respect of old age and invalidity or survivors' benefits acquired under a contributory scheme.
57. The question of rights in course of acquisition at the time when a denunciation becomes effective may be settled by special agreements between the Contracting Parties concerned. If no such agreements are concluded, the principle is that provisions of the Agreement which has been denounced continue to apply to insurance periods and equivalent periods completed before the date when the denunciation becomes effective.
Articles 13 to 15
58. These Articles contain standard provisions concerning signature and ratification by Members, accession by non-Member States and notification by the Secretary-General of important information received by him under the provisions of the agreements.
Article 16
59. . Although the agreements are concluded for an initial period of two years, no positive act is required in order to keep them in force indefinitely, from year to year. On the other hand, a State which wishes not to be bound by the agreements any longer must positively denounce them, and the denunciation procedure is, for practical reasons, so arranged that the denunciation always takes effect from the expiry, either of the initial two—year period or of a subsequent yearly period.
Draft European Interim Agreement on Social Security other than schemes for old age, invalidity and survivors
The Governments signatory hereto, being Members of the Council of Europe,
Considering that the aim of the Council of Europe is to achieve greater unity between its Memb ers for the purpose, among others, of facilitating their social progress.
Affirming the principle that the nation als of any one of the Contracting Parties to this Agreement should receive under the social security laws and regulations of any other Contracting Party equal treatment with the nationals of the latter, a principle sanctioned by Conventions of the International Labour Organisation,
Affirming also the principle that nationals of any one of the Contracting Parties should receive the benefits of agreements on social security concluded by any two or more of the other Contracting Parties,
Desirous of giving effect to these principles by means of an Interim Agreement, pending the conclusion of a general convention based on a network of bilateral agreements,
Have agreed as follows :
Article 1
1. This Agreement shall apply to all social security laws and regulations which are in force at the date of signature or may subsequently come into force in any part of the territory of the Contracting Parties and which relate to :
2. This Agreement shall apply to schemes of contributory and non-contributory benefits, including employers' obligations to compensate for employment injuries. It shall not apply to public assistance, special schemes for civil servants, or benefits paid in respect of war injuries or injuries due to foreign occupation.
3. For the purpose of this Agreement, the word " benefit " includes any increase in or supplement to the benefit.
Article 2
1 Subject to the provisions of Article 9, a national of any one of the Contracting Parties shall be entitled to receive the benefits of the laws and regulations of any other of the Contracting Parties under the same conditions as if he were a national of the latter :
2. In any case where the laws and regulations of any one of the Contracting Parties impose a restriction on the rights of a national of that Party who was not born in its territory, a national of any other of the Contracting Parties born in the territory of the latter shall be treated as if he were a national of the former Contracting Party born in its territory.
3. In any case where, in determining a right to benefit, the laws and regulations of any one of the Contracting Parties make any distinction which depends on the nationality of a child, a child who is a national of any other of the Contracting Parties shall be treated as if he were a national of the former Contracting Party.
Article 3
1. Any agreement relating to the laws and regulations referred to in Article 1 which has been or may be concluded by any two or more of the Contracting Parties shall, subject to the provisions of Article 9, apply to a national of any other of the Contracting Parties as if he were a national of one of the former Parties insofar as it provides, in relation to those laws and regulations :
2. The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply to any provision of the said Agreement which concerns benefits provided under a non-contributory schemes unless the national concerned has resided for six months in the territory of the Contracting Party under whose laws and regulations he claims benefit.
Article 4
Subject to the provisions of any relevant bilateral and multilateral agreements, benefits which in the absence of this Agreement have not been awarded or have been suspended shall be awarded or reinstated from the date of the entry into force of this Agreement for all the Contracting Parties concerned with the claim in question, provided that the claim thereto is presented within one year after such date or within such longer period as may be determined by the Contracting Party under whose laws and regulations the benefit is claimed. If the claim is not presented within such period, the benefit shall be awarded or reinstated from the date of the claim or such earlier date as may be determined by the latter Contracting Party.
Article 5
The provisions of this Agreement shall not limit the provisions of any national laws or regulations, international conventions, or bilateral or multilateral agreements which are more favourable for the beneficiary,
Article 6
This Agreement shall not affect those provisions of national laws or regulations which relate to the participation of insured persons, and of other categories of persons concerned, in the management of social security.
Article 7
1. Annex I to this Agreement sets out in relation to each Contracting Party the social security schemes to which Article 1 applies which are in force in any part of its territory at the date of signature of this Agreement.
2. Each Contracting Party shall notify the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe of every new law or regulation of a type not included in Annex I in relation to that Party. Such notifications shall be made by each Contracting Party within three months of the date of publication of the new law or regulation, or if such law or regulation is published before the date of ratification of this Agreement by the Contracting Party concerned, at that date of ratification.
Article 8
1. Annex II to this Agreement sets out in relation to each Contracting Party the agreements concluded by it to which Article 3 applies which are in force at the date of signature of this Agreement.
2. Each Contracting Party shall notify the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe of every new agreement concluded by it to which Article 3 applies. Such notification shall be made by each Contracting Party within three months of the date of coming into force of the agreement, or if such new agreement has come into force before the date of ratification of this Agreement, at that date of ratification.
Article 9
1. Annex III to this Agreement sets out the reservations hereto made at the date of signature.
2. Any Contracting Party may, at the time of making a notification in accordance with Article 7 or Article 8, make a reservation in respect of the application of this Agreement to any law, regulation or agreement which is referred to in such notification. A statement of any such reservation shall accompany the notification concerned; it will take effect from the date of entry into force of the new law, regulation or agreement.
3. Any Contracting Party may withdraw either in whole or in part any reservation made by it by a notification to that effect addressed Lo the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe. Such notification shall take effect on the first day of the month following the month in which it is received : and this Agreement shall apply accordingly.
Article 10
The Annexes to this Agreement shall constitute an integral part of this Agreement.
Article 11
1. Arrangements where necessary between the competent authorities of the Contracting Parties shall determine the methods of implementation of this Agreement.
2. The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties concerned shall endeavour lo resolve by negotiation any disagreement relating to the interpretation or application of this Agreement.
3. If any such disagreement has not been resolved by negotiation within a period of three months, the disagreement shall be submitted to arbitration by an arbitral body whose composition and procedure shall be agreed upon by the Contracting Parties concerned, or, in default of such agreement within a further period of three months, by an arbitrator chosen at the request of any of the Contracting Parties concerned by the President of the International Court of Justice.
4. The decision of the arbitral body, or arbitrator, as the case may be, shall be made in accordance with the principles and • spirit of this Agreement and shall be final and binding.
Article 12
In the event of the denunciation of (his Agreement by any of the Contracting Parties,
(a) Any right acquired by a person in accordance with its provisions shall be maintained and, in particular, if he has, in accordance with its provisions, acquired the right to receive any benefit under the laws and regulations of one of the Contracting Parties while he is resident in the territory of another, he shall continue to enjoy that right;
(b) Subject to any conditions which may be laid down by supplementary agreements concluded by the Contracting Parties concerned for the settlement of any rights then in course of acquisition, the provisions of this Agreement shall continue to apply to insurance periods and equivalent periods completed before the date when the denunciation becomes effective.
Article 13
1. This Agreement shall be open to the signature of the Members of the Council of Europe. It shall be ratified. Instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary- General of the Council of Europe.
2. This Agreement shall come into force on the first day of the month following the date of deposit of the second instrument of ratification.
3. As regards any Signatory ratifying subsequently, the Agreement shall come into force on the first day of the month following the date of the deposit of its instrument of ratification.
Article 14
1. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe may invite any State not a member of the Council of Europe to accede to this Agreement.
2. Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of accession with the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, which shall take effect on the first day of the month following the date of deposit.
3. Any instrument of accession deposited in accordance with this Article shall be accompanied by a notification of such information as would be contained in the Annexes I and II to this Agreement if the Government of the State concerned were, on the date of accession, a Signatory hereto.
4. For the purposes of this Agreement any information notified in accordance with paragraph 3 of this Article shall be deemed to be part of the Annex in which it would have been recorded if the Government of the State concerned were a Signatory hereto.
Article 15
The Secretary-General of the Council of Europe shall notify :
Article 16
This Agreement shall remain in force for a period of two years from the date of its entry into force in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 13. Thereafter it shall remain in force from year to year for such Contracting Parties as have not denounced it by a notification to that effect addressed to the Secretary- General of the Council of Europe, at least six months before the expiry either of the preliminary two year period, or of any subsequent yearly period. Such notification shall take effect at the end of the period to which it relates.
Done at this day of 1952, in the English and French languages, both texts being equally authoritative, in a single copy which shall remain in the archives of the Council of Europe and of which the Secretary-General shall send certified copies to each of the Signatories and to the Director-General of the International Labour Office.
BELGIUM :
Laws and regulations relating to :
All the above mentioned schemes are of a contributory nature.
DENMARK :
Laws and regulations relating to :
All these schemes are of a contributory nature, except (d) (e) and (/) which are of a non-contributory nature.
FRANCE :
Laws and regulations relating to :
All the above schemes except that listed under (g) are of a contributory nature.
GERMAN FEDERAL REPUBLIC :
Law and regulations relating to :
All the above schemes, except that covering unemployment assistance, are of a contributory nature.
GREECE :
Laws and regulations relating to :
These schemes are of a contributory nature.
ICELAND :
Laws and regulations relating to :
All these schemes are of a contributory nature.
IRELAND :
Laws and regulations relating to :
The schemes listed under (a) (c) and (e) above are of a contributory nature. The others are non-contributory. (The scheme mentioned under (b) imposes an obligation on employers, with no State contribution.)
ITALY :
Laws and regulations relating to :
The scheme mentioned under (e) above is partly of a contributory nature and partly non-contributory. All other schemes are contributory.
LUXEMBOURG :
Laws and regulations relating to :
The above schemes, with the exception of unemployment allowances and birth grants to independent workers, are of a contributory character.
NETHERLANDS :
Laws and regulations relating to :
The above-mentioned schemes are of a contributory nature, with the following exceptions : family allowances for self-employed persons and for pensioners, and unemployment assistance.
NORWAY :
Laws and regulations relating to :
These schemes, with the exception of that covering family allowances, are of a contributory nature.
SAAR :
Laws and regulations relating to :
These schemes, with the exception of those concerned with unemployment assistance, are of a contributory nature.
SWEDEN :
Laws and regulations relating to :
The schemes listed under (a) and (b) and the unemployment insurance scheme listed under (c) are of a contributory nature. The schemes listed under (e) are partly contributory and partly non-contributory. The unemployment assistance scheme listed under (c) and the schemes listed under (d) and (/) are non-contributory.
TURKEY :
Laws and regulations relating to :
All these schemes are of a contributory nature
UNITED KINGDOM :
Laws and regulations concerning Great Britain, Northern Ireland, and the Isle of Man :
The schemes listed under (a) and (b) are of a contributory nature. Those listed under (c) and (d) are of a non-contributory nature
BELGIUM :
DENMARK :
FRANCE :
GERMAN FEDERAL REPUBLIC :
General Convention between the German Federal Republic and France on social security, dated 10 July, 1950.
ICELAND :
IRELAND :
ITALY :
LUXEMBOURG :
NETHERLANDS :
NORWAY :
SAAR :
General Convention between the Saar and France on social securitv, dated 25 February, 1949.
SWEDEN :
UNITED KINGDOM :
The Governments signatory hereto, being Members of the Council of Europe,
Considering that the aim of the Council of Europe is to achieve greater unity between its Members, for the purpose, among others, of facilitating their social progress,
Affirming the principle that the nationals of any one of the Contracting Parties to this Agreement should receive, under the laws and regulations of any other Contracting Party relating to benefits payable in respect of old age, invalidity or survivors, equal treatment witb the nationals of the latter, a principle sanctioned by Conventions of the International Labour Organisation,
Affirming also the principle that the nationals of any one of the Contracting Parties should receive the benefits of agreements relating to old age, invalidity and survivors concluded by any two or more of the other Contracting Parties,
Desirous of giving effect to these principles by means of an Interim Agreement pending the conclusion of a general convention based on a network of bilateral agreements;
Have agreed as follows :
Article 1
Article 2
Article 3
Article 4
Subject to the provisions of any relevant bilateral and multilateral agreements, benefits which, in the absence of this Agreement, have not been awarded or have been suspended shall be awarded or reinstated from the date of the entry into force of this Agreement for all the Contracting Parties concerned with the claim in question, provided that the claim thereto is presented within one year after such date or within such longer period as may be determined by the Contracting Party under whose laws and regulations the benefit is claimed. If the claim is not presented within such period, the benefit shall be awarded or reinstated from the date of the claim or such earlier date as may be determined by the latter • Contracting Party.
Article 5
The provisions of this Agreement shall not limit the provisions of any national laws or regulations, international conventions, or bilateral or multilateral agreements which arc more favourable for the beneficiary.
Article 6
This Agreement shall not affect those provisions of national laws or regulations which relate to the participation of insured persons, and of other categories of persons concerned in the management of social security.
Article 7
Article 8
Article 9
Annex III to this Agreement sets out the reservations hereto made at the date of signature.
Any Contracting Party may, at the time of making a notification in accordance with Article 7 or Article 8, make a reservation in respect of the application of the present Agreement to- any law, regulation or agreement which is referred to in such notification. A statement of any such reservation shall accompany the notification concerned; it will take effect from the date of entry into force of the new law, regulation or agreement.
Any Contracting Party may withdraw either in whole or in part any reservation made by it, by a notification to that effect addressed to the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe. Such notification shall take effect on the first day of the month following the month in which it is received, and this Agreement shall apply accordingly.
Article 10
The Annexes to this Agreement shall constitute an integral part of this Agreement.
Article 11
Article 12
In the event of the denunciation of this Agreement by any of the Contracting Parties,
(a) Any "right acquired by a person in accordance With its provisions shall be maintained, and, in particular, if he has in accordance with its provisions, acquired the right to receive any benefit under the laws and regulations of one of the Contracting Parties while he is resident in the territory of another, he shall continue to enjoy that right;
(b) Subject to any conditions which may be laid down by supplementary agreements concluded by the Contracting Parties concerned for the settlement of any rights then in course of acquisition, the provisions of this Agreement shall continue to apply to insurance periods and equivalent periods completed before the date when the denunciation becomes effective.
Article 13
Article 14
Article 15
The Secretary-General of the Council of Europe shall notify :
Article 16
This Agreement shall remain in force for a period of two years from the date of its entry into force in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 13. Thereafter it shall remain in force from year to year for such Contracting Parties as have not denounced it by a notification to that effect addressed to the Secretary- General of the Council of Europe, at least six months before the expiry either of the preliminary two year period, or of any subsequent yearly period. Such notification shall take effect at the end of the period to which it relates.
Done at this day of 1952, in the English and French languages, both texts being equally authoritative, in a single copy which shall remain in the archives of the Council of Europe and of which the Secretary-General shall send certified copies to each of the Signatories and to the Director-General of the International Labour Office.
BELGIUM :
Laws and regulations relating to :
The scheme listed under (/) above is of a non-contributory nature. The others arc contributory.
DENMARK :
Laws and regulations relating to :
Both schemes arc of a non-contributory nature.
FRANCE :
Laws and regulations relating to :
The schemes listed under (a) (b) (c) and (/) above are of a contributory nature. The schemes listed under (d) and (g) are non-contributory.
The laws relating to (e) provide. first for a permanent scheme of a contributory nature, and secondly for a temporary scheme of a non-contributory nature applied to persons who do not fulfil the conditions governing payment of contributions prescribed under the contributory scheme.
GERMAN FEDERAL REPUBLIC :
Laws and regulations relating to :
GREECE :
Laws and regulations relating to :
These schemes are of a contributory nature.
ICELAND :
Laws and regulations relating to :
For the purposes of this Agreement these schemes are accepted as non-contributory.
IRELAND :
Laws and regulations relating to :
The scheme listed under (a) above is non-contributory. The scheme listed under (b) (i) is non-contributory, that under (b) (ii) is contributory, and the scheme listed under (c) is partly contributory and partly non-contributory.
ITALY :
Laws and regulations relating to :
These schemes are of a contributory character.
LUXEMBOURG :
Laws and regulations relating to :
These schemes are all contributory except the provisional pensions for artisans.
NETHERLANDS :
Laws and regulations relating to :
The scheme listed under (b) is noncontributory. The other schemes are contributory.
NORWAY :
Laws and regulations relating to :
The schemes listed under (a) and (b) above are non-contributory. The other schemes are contributory.
SAAR :
Laws and regulations relating to :
All these schemes are contributory.
SWEDEN :
Laws and regulations relating to :
All these schemes are non-contributory.
TURKEY :
Laws and regulations relating to :
These schemes arc contributory.
UNITED KINGDOM :
Laws and regulations concerning Great Britain, Northern Ireland and tho Isle of Man :
The schemes mentioned under (a) arc contributory. The schemes mentioned under (b) are non-contributory.
BELGIUM :
FRANCE :
GERMAN FEDERAL REPUBLIC :
General Convention between the German Federal Republic and France on social security, dated 10 July, 1950.
IRELAND :
Agreement between Ireland and the United Kingdom relating to insurance for sickness benefit and maternity benefit, dated 13 September, 1948.
ITALY :
LUXEMBOURG :
NETHERLANDS :
SAAR :
General Convention between the Saar and France on social security, dated 25 February, 1949.
UNITED KINGDOM :