The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is poised to deliver a decisive ruling on Thursday in a nearly decade-long legal battle that will determine whether Luxembourg must pay family allowances for the non-biological children of cross-border workers. The outcome carries high stakes for blended families employed in the Grand Duchy.
The case originates from a 2016 law passed by the Chamber of Deputies, which abolished the right to these benefits for non-biological children residing outside the country. This led the Children’s Future Fund to cease payments to affected cross-border worker families.
In June, the court’s Advocate General issued a non-binding opinion favourable to the workers. The opinion concluded that support should be payable from the moment a non-biological child “resides at the shared home and, therefore, lives in a family unit with this [cross-border] worker”. This position highlights a disparity, as such allowances are granted for the non-biological children of resident workers.
While the final judgement rests with the CJEU judges, they typically follow the Advocate General’s guidance. Georges Gondon, president of the non-profit Frontaliers Luxembourg, and Pascal Peuvrel, president of the Thionville-based Association of Cross-Border Workers in Luxembourg (AFAL), noted the ruling’s significance: after ten years of legal struggle, “we will have clarification on the key concept of ‘providing for a child’s maintenance’”.
