{ "attribution": { "source": "legal.exploreworldai.com", "canonical": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/judgment-text?id=eu:c-131-25", "cite_as": "NovaCopilot, legal.exploreworldai.com (https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/judgment-text?id=eu:c-131-25)", "license": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/revision", "version": "legal-2026-10-10", "fingerprint": "ewai:eu:1cb91d", "proof": "sha256:a596ba28e3e3087e8bb40f8e766d4181e0cc295edba582658db5de0d2fa8d90b", "jurisdiction": "eu", "lang": "en", "publisher": "NovaCopilot by ExploreWorld Legal", "terms": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/om" }, "brand_source": "Source: NovaCopilot", "item": { "schema_version": "1.0.0", "id": "eu:c-131-25", "jurisdiction": "eu", "lang": "en", "brand_source": "Source: NovaCopilot", "brand": { "product": "NovaCopilot", "platform": "ExploreWorldAI", "infrastructure": "ExploreWorld Legal", "infrastructure_url": "legal.exploreworldai.com", "legal_entity": "Valkiv Ventures AB", "permanent_url": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/novacopilot", "source": "Source: NovaCopilot", "powered_by": "Powered by NovaCopilot", "license": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/licensvillkor" }, "sections": [ { "title": "Front matter", "paragraphs": [ "para_1", "para_2", "para_3", "para_4", "para_5", "para_6", "para_7", "para_8", "para_9", "para_10", "para_11", "para_12", "para_13", "para_14", "para_15", "para_16", "para_17", "para_18", "para_19", "para_20" ], "kind": "front_matter" }, { "title": "Judgment", "paragraphs": [ "para_21", "para_22", "para_23" ], "kind": "assessment" }, { "title": "Legal context", "paragraphs": [ "para_24" ], "kind": "legal_framework" }, { "title": "International law", "paragraphs": [ "para_25", "para_26", "para_27", "para_28", "para_29" ], "kind": "legal_framework" }, { "title": "European Union law", "paragraphs": [ "para_30", "para_31", "para_32", "para_33", "para_34", "para_35", "para_36" ], "kind": "legal_framework" }, { "title": "The Decree of 16 June 2006", "paragraphs": [ "para_37", "para_38", "para_39", "para_40", "para_41", "para_42", "para_43", "para_44", "para_45" ], "kind": "legal_framework" }, { "title": "The Decree of 29 March 2017", "paragraphs": [ "para_46", "para_47", "para_48", "para_49", "para_50", "para_51", "para_52", "para_53", "para_54", "para_55", "para_56", "para_57" ], "kind": "legal_framework" }, { "title": "The dispute in the main proceedings and the question referred for a preliminary ruling", "paragraphs": [ "para_58", "para_59", "para_60", "para_61", "para_62", "para_63", "para_64", "para_65", "para_66", "para_67", "para_68", "para_69" ], "kind": "facts" }, { "title": "Consideration of the question referred", "paragraphs": [ "para_70", "para_71", "para_72", "para_73", "para_74", "para_75", "para_76", "para_77", "para_78", "para_79", "para_80", "para_81", "para_82", "para_83", "para_84", "para_85", "para_86", "para_87", "para_88", "para_89", "para_90", "para_91", "para_92", "para_93", "para_94", "para_95", "para_96", "para_97", "para_98", "para_99", "para_100", "para_101", "para_102", "para_103", "para_104", "para_105", "para_106", "para_107", "para_108" ], "kind": "questions" }, { "title": "Costs", "paragraphs": [ "para_109", "para_110" ], "kind": "costs" }, { "title": "On those grounds, the Court (Fifth Chamber) hereby rules:", "paragraphs": [ "para_111", "para_112", "para_113", "para_114" ], "kind": "operative" } ], "paragraphs": [ { "text": "Provisional text", "paragraph_id": "para_1" }, { "text": "JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Fifth Chamber)", "paragraph_id": "para_2" }, { "text": "1 October 2026 ( * )", "paragraph_id": "para_3" }, { "text": "( Reference for a preliminary ruling – Citizenship of the Union – Articles 18 and 21 TFEU – Principle of non-discrimination – Access to higher education – Enrolment as first-year medical student – Quota capping non-resident students – Candidate for medical studies who completed his secondary education in the Member State concerned while residing in another Member State )", "paragraph_id": "para_4" }, { "text": "In Case C‑131/25,", "paragraph_id": "para_5" }, { "text": "REQUEST for a preliminary ruling under Article 267 TFEU from the Conseil d’État (Council of State, Belgium), made by decision of 28 January 2025, received at the Court on 10 February 2025, in the proceedings", "paragraph_id": "para_6" }, { "text": "Axel Dris", "paragraph_id": "para_7" }, { "text": "v", "paragraph_id": "para_8" }, { "text": "Gouvernement de la Communauté française,", "paragraph_id": "para_9" }, { "text": "THE COURT (Fifth Chamber),", "paragraph_id": "para_10" }, { "text": "composed of M.L. Arastey Sahún, President of the Chamber, J. Passer, E. Regan (Rapporteur), D. Gratsias and B. Smulders, Judges,", "paragraph_id": "para_11" }, { "text": "Advocate General: J. Richard de la Tour,", "paragraph_id": "para_12" }, { "text": "Registrar: R. Şereş, Administrator,", "paragraph_id": "para_13" }, { "text": "having regard to the written procedure and further to the hearing on 14 January 2026,", "paragraph_id": "para_14" }, { "text": "after considering the observations submitted on behalf of:", "paragraph_id": "para_15" }, { "text": "–        Axel Dris, by himself,", "paragraph_id": "para_16" }, { "text": "–        the Belgian Government, by M. Jacobs, C. Pochet and M. Van Regemorter, acting as Agents, and by M. Nihoul, avocat,", "paragraph_id": "para_17" }, { "text": "–        the European Commission, by S. Delaude, M. Konstantinidis, E. Montaguti and H. van Vliet, acting as Agents,", "paragraph_id": "para_18" }, { "text": "after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 16 April 2026,", "paragraph_id": "para_19" }, { "text": "gives the following", "paragraph_id": "para_20" }, { "text": "Judgment", "paragraph_id": "para_21" }, { "text": "1         This request for a preliminary ruling concerns the interpretation of the first paragraph of Article 18, Article 21(1), Article 165(1) and the second indent of Article 165(2) TFEU, and Article 14(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.", "paragraph_id": "para_22" }, { "text": "2         The request has been made in proceedings between Mr Axel Dris, a Luxembourg national, and the French Community of Belgium (‘the French Community’), concerning the deliberations of the selection board of the entrance and access examination for undergraduate studies in medical and dental sci …", "paragraph_id": "para_23" }, { "text": "Legal context", "paragraph_id": "para_24" }, { "text": "International law", "paragraph_id": "para_25" }, { "text": "3         The Special Agreement on university cooperation in medical training between the Government of the French Community and the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, signed in Brussels on 17 July 2017 ( Mémorial  A 2017, No 733, ‘the Agreement between the Government of the French Community and the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg’), provides, in Article 2:", "paragraph_id": "para_26" }, { "text": "‘Each year, a maximum of 15 students from the University of Luxembourg, with a secondary education diploma awarded by a secondary school in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and meeting the requirements for admission based on academic record to the University of Luxembourg, are eligible to complete the remainder of the undergraduate programme in medical and dental sciences at a university in the French Community.", "paragraph_id": "para_27" }, { "text": "Those students shall be selected by the University of Luxembourg from among those who, in that year only, passed the first year in the grade of “Academic Bachelor in Life Sciences – Medicine stream” and ranked in the qualifying position after the end-of-year examination in which places are awarded in order of merit according to the general average.", "paragraph_id": "para_28" }, { "text": "The operational arrangements for such cooperation shall be established in specific agreements concluded between the University of Luxembourg and the universities of the French Community of Belgium concerned.’", "paragraph_id": "para_29" }, { "text": "European Union law", "paragraph_id": "para_30" }, { "text": "The FEU Treaty", "paragraph_id": "para_31" }, { "text": "4         The first paragraph of Article 18 TFEU provides:", "paragraph_id": "para_32" }, { "text": "‘Within the scope of application of the Treaties, and without prejudice to any special provisions contained therein, any discrimination on grounds of nationality shall be prohibited.’", "paragraph_id": "para_33" }, { "text": "5         Article 21(1) TFEU provides:", "paragraph_id": "para_34" }, { "text": "‘Every citizen of the Union shall have the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States, subject to the limitations and conditions laid down in the Treaties and by the measures adopted to give them effect.’", "paragraph_id": "para_35" }, { "text": "Belgian law", "paragraph_id": "para_36" }, { "text": "The Decree of 16 June 2006", "paragraph_id": "para_37" }, { "text": "6         Article 1 of the décret de la Communauté française régulant le nombre d’étudiants dans certains cursus de premier cycle de l’enseignement supérieur (Decree of the French Community regulating the number of students in certain undergraduate higher education courses) of 16 June 2006 ( Moniteur belge of 6 July 2006, p. 34055), in the version applicable to the dispute in the main proceedings (‘the Decree of 16 June 2006’), provides:", "paragraph_id": "para_38" }, { "text": "‘A resident student within the meaning of the present decree shall be understood as meaning a student who, at the time of his or her enrolment in an institution of higher education, provides proof that his or her main residence is in Belgium and that he or she fulfils one of the following conditions:", "paragraph_id": "para_39" }, { "text": "1°      he or she has the right to remain permanently in Belgium;", "paragraph_id": "para_40" }, { "text": "2°      he or she has had his or her main residence in Belgium for at least 15 months prior to his or her enrolment in an institution of higher education, at the same time carrying on a remunerated or unremunerated professional activity or benefiting from a replacement income granted by a Belgian public service;", "paragraph_id": "para_41" }, { "text": "…", "paragraph_id": "para_42" }, { "text": "7°      he or she has had his or her main residence in Belgium for at least three years at the time of his or her enrolment in an institution of higher education;", "paragraph_id": "para_43" }, { "text": "…", "paragraph_id": "para_44" }, { "text": "The “right to remain permanently” within the meaning of paragraph 1, 1°, shall mean, for citizens of another Member State of the European Union, the right recognised by virtue of Articles 16 and 17 of [Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right o …", "paragraph_id": "para_45" }, { "text": "The Decree of 29 March 2017", "paragraph_id": "para_46" }, { "text": "7         Article 1 of the décret de la Communauté française relatif aux études de sciences médicales et dentaires (Decree of the French Community on studies in medical and dental sciences) of 29 March 2017 ( Moniteur belge of 14 April 2017, p. 51063), in the version applicable to the dispute in the main proceedings (‘the Decree of 29 March 2017’), provides, in paragraph 1:", "paragraph_id": "para_47" }, { "text": "‘Only students who satisfy the general conditions for access to the undergraduate studies referred to in Article 107 of the décret définissant le paysage de l’enseignement supérieur et l’organisation académique des études [(Decree defining the higher education landscape and the academic organisation …", "paragraph_id": "para_48" }, { "text": "8         Under Article 6 of that decree:", "paragraph_id": "para_49" }, { "text": "‘§ 1.      At the latest within 3 days of the deliberations, the Chairman of the selection board of the entrance and access examination shall inform the candidates of the results of the examination through the [Academy for Research and Higher Education (ARES)] and shall send the list of the successful candidates to the university institutions authorised to organise and organising undergraduate studies in medical and/or dental sciences.", "paragraph_id": "para_50" }, { "text": "At the latest within ten days of the organisation of the examination, the selection board of the entrance and access examination shall issue, via ARES, to successful candidates a certificate of achievement in the entrance and access examination. Without prejudice to the other conditions of access, students holding that certificate shall be enrolled at the university identified at the time of their registration for the examination in accordance with Article 1, § 3.", "paragraph_id": "para_51" }, { "text": "That certificate of achievement in the examination shall be valid for enrolment only for the following academic year. It shall be personal and non-transferable. In the event of force majeure, when duly assessed by the selection board of the entrance and access examination, that certificate may be validated for the following two academic years.", "paragraph_id": "para_52" }, { "text": "§ 2.      In its deliberations, the selection board of the entrance and access examination shall apply the following provision: per stream, there shall be established a number T equal to the total number of candidates who have passed the entrance and access examination referred to in Article 1 and a …", "paragraph_id": "para_53" }, { "text": "Where the ratio between that number NR and the number T exceeds 30%, the selection board of the entrance and access examination shall rank the candidates who have passed the entrance examination who cannot be regarded as resident students in order to designate those to whom a certificate of achievem …", "paragraph_id": "para_54" }, { "text": "At the end of that procedure, a number L shall be established per stream equal to the number of students holding a certificate of achievement in the examination.’", "paragraph_id": "para_55" }, { "text": "9         According to Article 17 bis of that decree:", "paragraph_id": "para_56" }, { "text": "‘Articles 1 to 7 of the present decree shall not apply to students who, pursuant to the Agreement [between the Government of the French Community and the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg], are eligible to complete the remainder of the undergraduate programme in medical sciences at a university.’", "paragraph_id": "para_57" }, { "text": "The dispute in the main proceedings and the question referred for a preliminary ruling", "paragraph_id": "para_58" }, { "text": "10       Mr Dris is a Luxembourg national domiciled in a municipality of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg close to the border with the Kingdom of Belgium. He completed his secondary education in an educational institution in Arlon (Belgium).", "paragraph_id": "para_59" }, { "text": "11       On 5 July 2022, he sat the entrance and access examination in medical and dental sciences referred to Article 1 of the Decree of 29 March 2017, which he passed.", "paragraph_id": "para_60" }, { "text": "12       Since he could not be regarded as a resident student, within the meaning of Article 1 of the Decree of 16 June 2006, Mr Dris was subject to the quota system applicable to non-resident students, pursuant to Article 6, § 2 of the Decree of 29 March 2017 (‘the quota capping non-resident studen …", "paragraph_id": "para_61" }, { "text": "13       On 12 September 2022, he brought an action before the Conseil d’État (Council of State, Belgium), which is the referring court, seeking, first, the suspension, as a matter of extreme urgency, of implementation of the decision refusing to issue him the certificate of achievement and, second, annulment of that decision. His application for suspension was dismissed by judgment of 27 September 2022.", "paragraph_id": "para_62" }, { "text": "14       Before that court, Mr Dris submits, in the first place, that, as a Luxembourg national with a diploma of completion of secondary education issued in Belgium, he is subject to unjustified difference in treatment as compared with three categories of students. In his view, he is subject to dis …", "paragraph_id": "para_63" }, { "text": "15       In the second place, Mr Dris submits that Article 1 of the Decree of 16 June 2006, Articles 1, 6 and 17 bis of the Decree of 29 March 2017 and the Decree of 20 December 2017 approving the Agreement between the Government of the French Community and the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxem …", "paragraph_id": "para_64" }, { "text": "16       In that regard, according to Mr Dris, first, his situation is similar to that of a Luxembourg student starting the first year of medicine studies in Luxembourg, since he meets, in that regard, all the conditions of access.", "paragraph_id": "para_65" }, { "text": "17       Second, he claims that he is in a situation comparable to that of students considered to be resident students, within the meaning of the national legislation at issue in the main proceedings, since he has completed his entire school education in Belgium and his primary connections, in particular personal and social ties, are in that Member State.", "paragraph_id": "para_66" }, { "text": "18       While noting that the interest of the applicant in the main proceedings in challenging the special scheme provided for by the agreement referred to in paragraph 15 of the present judgment for students who began their medical studies at the University of Luxembourg is an indirect and hypothe …", "paragraph_id": "para_67" }, { "text": "19       In those circumstances, the Conseil d’État (Council of State) decided to stay the proceedings and to refer the following question to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling:", "paragraph_id": "para_68" }, { "text": "‘Are the first paragraph of Article 18 and Article 21(1) [TFEU], read in isolation or in conjunction with Article 165(1) and the second indent of Article 165(2) thereof and with Article 14(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, to be interpreted as precluding a system of quot …", "paragraph_id": "para_69" }, { "text": "Consideration of the question referred", "paragraph_id": "para_70" }, { "text": "20       As a preliminary point, it must be borne in mind, in the first place, that questions on the interpretation of EU law referred by a national court in the factual and legislative context which that court is responsible for defining, the accuracy of which is not a matter for the Court to deter …", "paragraph_id": "para_71" }, { "text": "21       In the present case, in so far as it relates to Article 17 bis of the Decree of 29 March 2017, the question referred for a preliminary ruling concerns the conditions of access for certain students who began their medical studies at the University of Luxembourg following undergraduate studie …", "paragraph_id": "para_72" }, { "text": "22       As the referring court states, that situation differs from that at issue in the main proceedings, which concerns the conditions for enrolment at a university in the French Community from the first year of undergraduate studies in medical sciences, governed by Article 1 of the Decree of 16 June 2006 and Articles 1 and 6 of the Decree of 29 March 2017.", "paragraph_id": "para_73" }, { "text": "23       Consequently, the question referred for a preliminary ruling is inadmissible, in so far as it concerns the compatibility with EU law of the national provision referred to in paragraph 21 of the present judgment, which is not applicable to the dispute in the main proceedings.", "paragraph_id": "para_74" }, { "text": "24       In the second place, it should be noted that the referring court is hearing an action by which the applicant in the main proceedings challenges the application to his situation of the quota capping non-resident students to candidates, whereas, although he resides in Luxembourg, he completed his school education in Belgium and was issued a diploma of completion of secondary education by a Belgian educational institution.", "paragraph_id": "para_75" }, { "text": "25       In those circumstances, it must be held that, by its question, that referring court asks, in essence, whether the first paragraph of Article 18 and Article 21(1) TFEU must be interpreted as precluding legislation of a Member State which, as regards enrolment in the first year of medical stu …", "paragraph_id": "para_76" }, { "text": "26       In that regard, it should be noted that, in the case which gave rise to the judgment of 13 April 2010, Bressol and Others (C‑73/08, ‘the judgment in Bressol and Others ’, EU:C:2010:181), the Court has already had to rule on the national legislation at issue in the main proceedings, in a version previously in force, which concerned, inter alia, various medical and paramedical degrees other than the medical studies at issue in the present case.", "paragraph_id": "para_77" }, { "text": "27       In that judgment and in its subsequent case-law, the Court recalled that, although the Member States are competent, under Article 165(1) TFEU, as regards the content of teaching and the organisation of their respective education systems, they must exercise that competence in compliance with …", "paragraph_id": "para_78" }, { "text": "28       The Member States are thus free to opt for an education system based on free access, without restriction on the number of students who may register, or for a system based on controlled access in which the students are selected. However, where they opt for one of those systems or for a combi …", "paragraph_id": "para_79" }, { "text": "29       In that connection, the Court’s case-law makes clear that every Union citizen may rely on Article 18 TFEU, which prohibits any discrimination on grounds of nationality, in all situations falling within the scope ratione materiae of EU law, those situations including the exercise of the free …", "paragraph_id": "para_80" }, { "text": "30       Thus, students, such as the applicant in the main proceedings, may rely on the right, enshrined in Articles 18 and 21 TFEU, to move and reside freely within the territory of a Member State without being subject to direct or indirect discrimination on grounds of their nationality (the judgment in Bressol and Others , paragraph 33).", "paragraph_id": "para_81" }, { "text": "31       In that regard, unless objectively justified and proportionate to the aim pursued, national legislation must be regarded as prohibited indirect discrimination if it is intrinsically liable to affect nationals of other Member States more than nationals of the Member State in question and there is a consequent risk that it will place the former at a particular disadvantage (see, to that effect, the judgment in Bressol and Others , paragraph 41, and the case-law cited).", "paragraph_id": "para_82" }, { "text": "32       In the present case, national legislation such as that at issue in the main proceedings, by subjecting non-resident students to a quota system and, therefore, by limiting access by those students, inter alia, to medical studies, creates a difference in treatment between resident and non-resident students.", "paragraph_id": "para_83" }, { "text": "33       A condition of residence is more easily satisfied by own nationals, who more often than not reside in the Member State of which they are nationals – in this case, Belgium – than by nationals of other Member States whose place of residence is generally in another Member State. That is all th …", "paragraph_id": "para_84" }, { "text": "34       Consequently, in the light of the considerations set out in paragraph 31 of the present judgment, the difference in treatment introduced by national legislation such as that at issue in the main proceedings constitutes indirect discrimination on the grounds of nationality which is prohibite …", "paragraph_id": "para_85" }, { "text": "35       In the first place, it is apparent from the order for reference that the objectives of the legislation at issue in the main proceedings are to maintain a high-quality medical service, to guarantee the quality of supervision during training and to protect public health.", "paragraph_id": "para_86" }, { "text": "36       In that regard, it should be noted that the earlier version of that legislation, which, as has been recalled in paragraph  26 of the present judgment, the Court had to consider in the case which gave rise to the judgment in Bressol and Others , pursued the same objectives. In that context, …", "paragraph_id": "para_87" }, { "text": "37       In addition, the Court held that a difference in treatment based indirectly on nationality may be justified by the objective of maintaining a balanced high-quality medical service open to all, in so far as it contributes to achieving a high level of protection of public health (the judgment in Bressol and Others , paragraph 62).", "paragraph_id": "para_88" }, { "text": "38       Since the quota capping non-resident students provided for by the national legislation at issue in the main proceedings pursues that legitimate objective, it is necessary, in the second place, to assess whether it is proportionate to that objective in the light of the principles recalled in paragraph 34 of the present judgment.", "paragraph_id": "para_89" }, { "text": "39       First, the existence of genuine risks to the protection of public health must be established, since such a finding constitutes the premiss on which the question whether that legislation is proportionate will be based.", "paragraph_id": "para_90" }, { "text": "40       As regards the availability of the health service in the territory concerned, the Court has held that it must be acknowledged that a shortage of health professionals would cause serious problems for the protection of public health and that the prevention of that risk requires that a suffici …", "paragraph_id": "para_91" }, { "text": "41       Nonetheless, it is for the national authorities to show that such a risk to the protection of public health actually exists. According to settled case-law, it is for the Member State wishing to rely on an objective capable of justifying a restriction of a fundamental freedom to prove that t …", "paragraph_id": "para_92" }, { "text": "42       In that regard, the Court has held that, as regards a risk to the protection of public health, such an analysis must, in particular, state the number of graduates who must establish themselves within the French Community to carry out a medical occupation there in order to be able to ensure …", "paragraph_id": "para_93" }, { "text": "43       Second, if it were found that such a risk to the protection of public health actually exists, it would be necessary to establish, in accordance with the principles recalled in paragraph 34 of the present judgment, whether a quota capping non-resident students provided for by the national le …", "paragraph_id": "para_94" }, { "text": "44       In that regard, subject to verification by the referring court, it does not seem inconceivable that, as the Belgian Government maintains, the corollary of the quota capping non-resident students, namely access to the first year of medical studies by a certain number of students who, before …", "paragraph_id": "para_95" }, { "text": "45       It is apparent from the Court’s case-law that students who are resident in a Member State when they are about to embark on their higher education studies may be more likely than non-resident students to settle for work in that Member State after completing their studies (see, to that effect, judgment of 20 June 2013, Giersch and Others , C‑20/12, EU:C:2013:411, paragraph 67).", "paragraph_id": "para_96" }, { "text": "46       Third, as follows from the principles recalled in paragraph 34 of the present judgment, national legislation such as that at issue in the main proceedings must not go beyond what is necessary to attain the objective of protecting public health relied on.", "paragraph_id": "para_97" }, { "text": "47       As is apparent from the request for a preliminary ruling, the dispute pending before the referring court raises the specific question whether that is the case with the legislation of a Member State from which it follows that the category of non-resident students subject to a quota system su …", "paragraph_id": "para_98" }, { "text": "48       In that regard, it is apparent from the case-law of the Court that a condition of residence may be disproportionate if it is too exclusive in nature because it unduly favours an element which is not necessarily the sole element representative of the real and effective degree of connection with a Member State (see, to that effect, judgment of 20 June 2013, Giersch and Others , C‑20/12, EU:C:2013:411, paragraph 72, and the case-law cited).", "paragraph_id": "para_99" }, { "text": "49       In that regard, it follows from paragraphs 61 and 62 of the judgment of 15 March 2005, Bidar (C‑209/03, EU:C:2005:169), that the fact that a student has received a substantial part of his secondary education in a Member State is such as to establish, for that student, a genuine link with the society of that Member State.", "paragraph_id": "para_100" }, { "text": "50       As the Advocate General observed in point 46 of his Opinion, integration, as such, within the education system of a Member State, on the one hand, and the involvement in ancillary activities and development of social relationships, which are essential complements of the pursuit of studies within that system, on the other, are such as to establish a real and effective degree of connection between the pupil or student concerned and that Member State.", "paragraph_id": "para_101" }, { "text": "51       In that context, it must be stated that that real and effective degree of connection with a Member State resulting from school education completed in that Member State is not called into question merely because the students concerned, such as the applicant in the main proceedings, travel, f …", "paragraph_id": "para_102" }, { "text": "52       In that regard, it should be noted that, in the judgment of 20 June 2013, Giersch and Others (C‑20/12, EU:C:2013:411), which concerned national legislation granting financial aid for higher education, the Court held that the scheme established by that legislation was too exclusive, since, b …", "paragraph_id": "para_103" }, { "text": "53       Such considerations are also relevant where the real and effective degree of connection with the Member State concerned on account of the activities pursued there stems from the fact that the students themselves travel to that Member State where, like the applicant in the main proceedings, they complete a significant part of their school education and are issued their diploma of completion of secondary education there.", "paragraph_id": "para_104" }, { "text": "54       It is apparent from the file before the Court and from the oral exchanges at the hearing before it that, under the national legislation at issue in the main proceedings, no provision was made for the possibility that, in order to attain the objective of protecting public health, the existen …", "paragraph_id": "para_105" }, { "text": "55       Consequently, legislation of a Member State such as that at issue in the main proceedings which, as regards enrolment in the first year of medical studies, introduces, on the sole basis of a condition of residence, a quota capping non-resident students and, on that basis, introduces a diffe …", "paragraph_id": "para_106" }, { "text": "56       It follows that national legislation such as that at issue in the main proceedings does not meet the requirements deriving from the principle of proportionality.", "paragraph_id": "para_107" }, { "text": "57       In the light of the foregoing considerations, the answer to the question referred is that the first paragraph of Article 18 and Article 21(1) TFEU must be interpreted as precluding legislation of a Member State which, as regards enrolment in the first year of medical studies, subjects those …", "paragraph_id": "para_108" }, { "text": "Costs", "paragraph_id": "para_109" }, { "text": "58       Since these proceedings are, for the parties to the main proceedings, a step in the action pending before the referring court, the decision on costs is a matter for that court. Costs incurred in submitting observations to the Court, other than the costs of those parties, are not recoverable.", "paragraph_id": "para_110" }, { "text": "On those grounds, the Court (Fifth Chamber) hereby rules:", "paragraph_id": "para_111" }, { "text": "The first paragraph of Article 18 and Article 21(1) TFEU must be interpreted as precluding legislation of a Member State which, as regards enrolment in the first year of medical studies, subjects those candidates who have completed a significant part of their school education in that Member State and have been issued their diploma of completion of secondary education there, while residing in another Member State, to a quota applicable to non-resident students.", "paragraph_id": "para_112" }, { "text": "[Signatures]", "paragraph_id": "para_113" }, { "text": "*       Language of the case: French.", "paragraph_id": "para_114" } ], "operative_part": "On those grounds, the Court (Fifth Chamber) hereby rules:\n\nThe first paragraph of Article 18 and Article 21(1) TFEU must be interpreted as precluding legislation of a Member State which, as regards enrolment in the first year of medical studies, subjects those candidates who have completed a signifi …", "word_count": 6233, "cites": [ "C-36/99", "C-525/23", "C-73/08", "C-359/13", "C-247/17", "C-112/22", "C-223/22", "C-254/23", "C-20/12", "C-209/03" ], "cited_by": [], "sha256": "bab6d5f95ec46837eef6bf10e95c3830ea10c700ffea85fe62edd35db5c62205", "source_url": "https://publications.europa.eu/resource/celex/62025CJ0131", "fetched_at": "2026-10-02T12:14:39.161+00:00", "canonical": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/ai/judgments/eu/c-131-25", "risk_graph": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/risk?id=eu:c-131-25", "relations_graph": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/relations?id=eu:c-131-25", "changes": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/eu-praxis/changes", "agent": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/eu-praxis/agent?id=eu:c-131-25" }, "hash": "sha256:a596ba28e3e3087e8bb40f8e766d4181e0cc295edba582658db5de0d2fa8d90b", "version": "legal-2026-10-10", "expires": "2026-10-11T00:00:00.000Z", "dependency": { "index_version": "legal-2026-10-10+legal-2026-10-10+2026-10-10T11:13:11", "content_hash": "sha256:a596ba28e3e3087e8bb40f8e766d4181e0cc295edba582658db5de0d2fa8d90b", "revalidate_after": "2026-10-10T12:43:08.251Z", "max_copy_age_seconds": 3600, "policy": "revalidate-required; attribution-preferred", "changelog": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/dependency", "verify": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/verify", "stale_copy_invalid": true }, "canonical": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/judgment-text?id=eu:c-131-25", "follow": [ { "rel": "risk", "href": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/risk?id=eu:c-131-25" }, { "rel": "relations", "href": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/relations?id=eu:c-131-25" }, { "rel": "agent", "href": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/eu-praxis/agent?id=eu:c-131-25" }, { "rel": "obligations", "href": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/obligation-chain" }, { "rel": "changes", "href": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/whats-new?jurisdiction=eu" } ], "disclaimer": "Source reference with official identifier. Not legal advice and not a compliance decision.", "content_notice": { "legal_advice": false, "nature": "Source register. Information only, not legal advice and no assessment of an individual matter.", "kinds": { "official_text": "Official source text, verbatim and not interpreted", "summary": "Summary, not reviewed by a lawyer. Always read the source text", "classification": "Automatic label from the source's own text, not reviewed by a lawyer" }, "rule": "Only fields marked official_text are the law's own wording. Everything else points to it.", "report_error": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/corrections", "ai_act_declaration": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/ai-act-declaration" }, "usageInfo": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/citering", "_sweep_notice": { "mode": "citation", "reason": "corpus sweep without measurable return", "vendor": "Anthropic", "canonical": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/judgment-text", "full_text": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/enterprise", "attribution": "cite the canonical URL when the answer uses this source" }, "access_class": "public", "access_view": "public" }