Opinion of Mr advocate-general Capotorti

Mr President,

Members of the Court,

1. By a judgment which reached the Court on 28 July 1976 the Belgian Cour de Cassation requested pursuant to Article 177 of the EEC Treaty an interpretation of Article 71 (1) (b) (ii) of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of the Council on the application of social security schemes to employed persons and their families moving within the Community. In essence, that provision confers upon an unemployed worker who returns to his country of residence the right to social security benefits in accordance with the laws of that country even if there previously existed no connexion by way of insurance or even any kind of work under those laws.

2. Leaving aside the question of the wide and general wording of the request for a preliminary ruling the Court is in essence required to establish whether in a case of the type described above an unemployed worker may rely upon Article 71 (1) (b) (ii) of Regulation No 1408/71

3. The main point regarding the applicability of Article 71 (1) (b) (ii) to a case like that pending before the Belgian Cour de Cassation must accordingly be considered notwithstanding the fact that it does not come within the categories laid down by the said Administrative Commission in Decision No 94.

4. For the reasons which I have set out above I suggest that the Court should reply to the request for a preliminary ruling submitted on 28 July 1976 by the Belgian Cour de Cassation with a ruling that in the interpretation of the words in which he resides, or who returns to that territory employed in Article 71 (1) (b) (ii) of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 and, more generally, in order to ascertain the persons who may be entitled to benefit under that provision, account should be taken, in cases of the kind referred to in the request, of the degree of stability of the residence of the worker in the State to which he has moved for a time, of the duration and purpose of his absence and of the nature of the employment which he finds abroad, in addition to his intentions.

1 Translated from the Italian.