Opinion of Mr Advocate General Mancini

Mr President,

Members of the Court,

1. In the three references for a preliminary ruling now before the Court, the tribunal du travail, Brussels, and the Belgian Hof van Cassatie request the Court to interpret the provisions of the EEC Treaty relating to the free movement of persons and the freedom to provide services.

2. Let me begin with a few words about the national legislation whose compatibility with Community law is at issue. Article 3 (1) of Royal Decree No 38 of 27 July 1967, which established the social security scheme for self-employed persons, provides that any natural person carrying on in Belgium an occupational activity in respect of which he is not bound by a contract of employment or fixed conditions of employment must pay contributions to the social security scheme. Under Article 2 of the Royal Decree of 19 December 1967, which gave effect to this scheme, the holding of a remunerated directorship in a commercial company is deemed to be such an occupational activity.

3. Stressing that Community coordinating rules were only introduced in this field by Regulation No 1390/81 of 12 May 1981 (Official Journal 1981, L 143, p. 1), Inasti observes that the legislation described above sought to ensure adequate social protection for any person carrying on an occupational activity in Belgian territory without giving any importance, even indirectly, to that person's nationality. Furthermore, employment pursued by way of principal occupation in another Member State is governed by the scheme specific to that State and cannot therefore have any effect on the application of Belgian social legislation. In the final analysis, in order to give entitlement to exemption from contributions the employment must be governed by a Belgian social security scheme or — and this is the only exception — it must be in the service of an international organization of which Belgium is a member.

4. In the light of the foregoing considerations, I suggest that the Court should reply as follows to the questions referred by the tribunal du travail, Brussels, and the Belgian Hof van Cassatie by judgment of 30 April and 4 May 1987 repectively:

1 Translated from the Italian.