Mr President,

Members of the Court,

The representative of the Commission has already stated that he sees no need tosubmit detailed observations in this case in view of the clear and simple facts, the clarity of the legal question at issue and the fact that the submissions of the plaintiff in the main proceedings, of the Commission and of the Netherlands Government are in agreement.

Like the representative of the Commission, I consider the submissions of the Netherlands Government to be of great importance because, at first sight, its interests should in fact have led the Netherlands Government to support the defendant. The fact that it has not done so is a further indication of the clarity of the legal position.

This case concerns the claims which a Netherlands national, who now resides in the Netherlands and who was last in employment in the Netherlands, is making against a Netherlands social security institution.

All the parties appearing before the court correctly concluded that Section 2 of Chapter 6 of Title III of Regulation No 1408/71, and in particular Article 69 thereof, is not applicable in this case.

For the aforementioned reasons I therefore join with the Commission in proposing that the Court should declare that Section 2 of Chapter 6 of Title III of Regulation No 1408/71, and in particular Article 69 thereof, is not applicable to a wholly unemployed frontier worker who, on the termination of his last employment, settles in the territory of the competent Member State, that is to say the State in which he was last employed.