Today, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled against the European Commission. The Commission did not feel it was fair for a British Erasmus scholarship student to not receive an OV travel card back in 2009 and took the Netherlands to court, claiming that the costs for schooling should be equal for all EU nationals.

The Netherlands contested this and claimed that the OV travel card is part of the performance grant for students, and is therefore a type of temporary loan; those who do not obtain a degree have to reimburse the State for all of the travel costs incurred on their card. As Erasmus students and other foreign students are not entitled to student financing, they are also not entitled to an OV travel card.

It first became apparent back in January that the Netherlands had a strong case. The Advocate General of the European Court of Justice rejected the European Commission’s plea and the Court took his advice, doing the same. In today’s ruling, the Court states that the travel benefits for Dutch students are in fact a type of scholarship or loan, and therefore, the Netherlands is not obligated to make the OV travel card available to foreign students as well.

HOP, Hein Cuppen