Impact of the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the basic child guarantee in Germany

Abstract

The German government is planning a new basic child guarantee, which will consist of a guaranteed amount and an additional income-related amount. According to press reports, the competent Ministry assumes that the new social benefit will not have to be paid to EU citizens working or looking for work in Germany whose children still live in other EU countries. This paper examines the changes envisaged in the law in the light of the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. It concludes that the Ministry’s assessment is erroneous, and that the basic child guarantee envisaged would be ‘exportable’ in its entirety. It concludes with a call to strengthen child education within the framework of Book VIII of the Social Security Code (CSS; Book VIII deals with German child and youth welfare legislation) with budgeted tax funds, and to refrain from implementing the basic child guarantee.