Istituto Nazionale della Previdenza Sociale (Prestations familiales pour les residents de longue duree) (Rights of third-country nationals who hold single permits - regard to social security - Opinion)

(Request for a preliminary ruling from the Corte suprema di cassazione (Supreme Court of Cassation, Italy))

(Reference for a preliminary ruling — Directive 2003/109/EC — Rights of third-country nationals who are long-term residents — Article 11 — Right to equal treatment with regard to social security, social assistance and social protection — Derogation — National legislation which excludes the non-resident family members of third-country nationals for the purposes of determining entitlement to a family benefit)

By its request for a preliminary ruling, the Corte suprema di cassazione (Supreme Court of Cassation, Italy) seeks guidance from the Court of Justice on the interpretation of Article 11(1)(d) of Council Directive 2003/109/EC of 25 November 2003 concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents. ( 2 )

Consequently, the present case provides the Court with the opportunity to develop its case-law on the right to equal treatment for long-term residents under Article 11 of Directive 2003/109, in light of the judgment of 24 April 2012, Kamberaj (C‑571/10, EU:C:2012:233 ).

Fundamentally, these two cases raise novel issues relating to the application of equal treatment for third-country nationals under EU law and the interaction between Directives 2003/109 and 2011/98 in that regard. The similarity of the issues arising in these two cases will therefore allow me to refer, on certain points, to the arguments set out in my Opinion in that parallel case in order to avoid repetition.