Case C-147/03, Commission of the European Communities V. Republic of Austria, Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) 7 July 2005

Abstract

This case note studies the judgment of the ECJ regarding the Austrian university admission criteria for EU citizens. It will be argued that the Court’s finding of breaches of Art. 12, 149, 150 EC are in line with the previous case law and Treaty obligations. Emphasis will also be put on Austria’s reaction to the judgment and the current legal situation which will be in effect from the coming study year onwards. Austria introduced a quota-system which reserves 95 per cent of the study places for EU citizens, but 75 per cent thereof are allotted to holders of an Austrian diploma. It will be argued that this quota system will again establish indirect discrimination. Finally, the question of “educational free-riders” will be addressed as well as whether different tuition fees could solve the problem, by making comparisons to the situation in the US.

Keywords: education, discrimination, Austria