PSOE asks Brussels to rule on the compatibility of “national priority” with EU rules

Eduardo González The PSOE has asked the European Commission to rule on whether the "national priority" principle, agreed upon by the People's Party (PP) and Vox for access to social services in the autonomous communities of Extremadura and Aragon, is compatible with European Union rules. The principle of "national priority," included in the investiture agreements between the PP and Vox in Extremadura and Aragon, allows for preferential access to Spanish nationals over immigrants and European citizens in areas such as public housing, aid, social benefits, and public services. According to the PSOE Delegation in the European Parliament, Socialist MEP and former Minister of Justice Juan Fernando López Aguilar has submitted a written question to the European Commission warning that this principle “raises serious legal doubts regarding its compatibility with the EU legal framework, especially in relation to the principle of non-discrimination on grounds of nationality enshrined in Article 18 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), as well as with the provisions on EU citizenship, contained in Articles 20 and 21, and with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU.” Specifically, Article 18 of the TFEU establishes that, “within the scope of the Treaties and without prejudice to the individual provisions contained therein, any discrimination on grounds of nationality shall be prohibited.” Furthermore, Article 20 of the Treaty, which establishes Union citizenship, states that “citizens of the Union shall be entitled to the rights and subject to the duties set out in the Treaties,” and Article 21 stipulates that “every citizen of the Union shall have the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States” and that it is the responsibility of the Council to adopt, “unanimously and after consulting the European Parliament,” “measures relating to social security or social protection.” Moreover, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights prohibits “any discrimination, and in particular discrimination based on sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic characteristics, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation,” as well as “any discrimination based on nationality within the scope of the Treaties and without prejudice to their specific provisions.” Therefore, the PSOE's parliamentary initiative asks the Commission "whether it considers the application of a principle of national priority in access to public housing, aid, social benefits, or public services compatible with EU law" and requests that the European Commission clarify "what measures it plans to adopt should this principle be applied, to guarantee full compliance with European Union law." In statements to the press, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares warned this Tuesday that "it is clear that national priority, which is an old issue for the far right, has no place in a democratic state where the criterion is always residency."

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