Discrimination on grounds of nationality

6.5.2003

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1634/03
by Carlos Coelho (PPE-DE)
to the Council

The European Community's development is no longer confined to the economic sphere. The Community is now made up of 375 million people, who are not merely consumers in a large single market, but also citizens of the European Union who have the right to move freely within the EU and to settle in any part of that Union for personal or professional reasons and who hope they can live without fear of being discriminated against in any way.

 

I have been contacted by a Portuguese national who has opted for an international career with Shell Accounting Service in Glasgow, and has been living and working in the United Kingdom (Scotland) for some two years. He maintains that he has been discriminated against on account of his nationality by the Halifax Bank (a member of the Bank of Scotland group), which has rejected his request for his bank account to be 'upgraded' on the grounds that this is only possible once a person has been resident in the country for three years. As an EU citizen, does he not have the same rights and duties as a UK national?

 

Article 12 of the EC Treaty stipulates that 'within the scope of this Treaty, and without prejudice to any special provisions contained therein, any discrimination on grounds of nationality shall be prohibited'. Does the Council agree that the Halifax Bank's policy may be considered discriminatory in that it is contrary to the very essence of the European Union and constitutes a clear violation of the principle of non-discrimination enshrined in the Treaty?

 

OJ C 51 E, 26/02/2004