European regulations dictate that students, regardless of where they study, have the right to the same benefits and allowances as local students. Loans and cost of living such as basic and supplementary grants are excluded from this stipulation.

The Committee warned the Netherlands twice before already, in 2010 and 2012. Since the country hasn’t changed anything since then, the Committee decided today to take the matter to court. The fact the government intends to cut back on the student transport pass shouldn’t matter; from 2016, foreign students should still be allowed to benefit from the new ‘public transport package’.

The European Committee seems to have a solid case. In 2012, the European Court of Justice ruled that foreign students in Austria should pay the same reduced public-transport rates as their native peers.