Short-term Posting of Third-country Nationals within the EU

The European Court of Justice's Danieli ruling has indeed given a new spin to the short-term posting of third-country nationals within the EU. Its relevance is especially pertinent today, as Europe grapples with significant blue-collar labor shortages and some member states continue to resist the well-established Van der Elst regime.

Danieli Ruling (C-18/17)

In its November 18, 2018, judgment (Case C-18/17), the ECJ ruled that third-country nationals holding residence permits in one EU member state (e.g., Croatia or Italy) can be temporarily posted to another (e.g., Austria) without needing a new national work permit, provided it involves short-term services. This upholds freedom to provide services under Article 56 TFEU, including intra-group temporary agency work. Austrian authorities had blocked postings of Croatian, Russian, and Belarusian workers, a practice the ECJ deemed contrary to EU law.

​Vander Elst Regime

The foundational Vander Elst ruling (C-43/93, 1994) prohibits EU states from imposing…