Follow-up question: legality of the exclusion of frontier workers from the application of the temporary bridging scheme for self-employed persons (Tozo scheme)

Priority question for written answer  P-000009/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Jeroen Lenaers (PPE)

Following on from my written questions of 8 July 2020 on the applicability of the temporary bridging scheme to self-employed frontier workers (Tozo scheme) and the Commission’s answer of 17 August 2020, I would like to ask the following follow-up questions.

From the Commission’s answer of 17 August 2020, it would appear that it considers that the Tozo subsistence scheme fuses together social security and social assistance elements and, as a result, can be regarded as a special non-contributory benefit.

However, it is apparent from the letter of 18 November 2020 from the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs to the Dutch Senate that the Commission, following arguments put forward by the Ministry, is now of the opinion that the Tozo scheme does not constitute a social security benefit within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, but a social assistance benefit.

• 1.Can you indicate why the Commission has changed its opinion on the nature of the Tozo scheme?
• 2.Can you indicate whether the Commission is carrying out any further investigations as to whether there are any obstacles in terms of freedom of establishment to making the Tozo scheme applicable to frontier workers?
• 3.If so, can you indicate when the Commission intends to reach a conclusion on this matter?