Export of study grants and the lawfulness of durational residency requirements: comments on Case C-542/09, Commission v the Netherlands

In Commission v the Netherlands (export of study grants) the Court has rendered an important judgment which has ramifications for the lawful use of durational residency requirements imposed on students wishing to export maintenance grants for study purposes as a means to balance the promotion of student mobility on the one hand and Member States' desire to protect their educational budgets. Moreover, the judgment also addresses the legal position of frontier workers and migrant workers as regards access to social advantages in the state of employment, and more generally as regards the use of residency requirements for the purposes of assessing the link between the individual and the host society in EU law. Overall the conclusion seems to be that the Court is seeking to clarify its existing position while simultaneously developing new and more extensive obligations for the Member State in its relations with EU nationals of other Member States.