Child benefit (not yet) for all children

In 2005, in Belgium, Michael was removed from his family and came to live with Paul and Sylvie (names changed by the editors) for a few weeks, by court order. He eventually spent 16 years there, and has retained strong ties with his foster family – "he called me for Father's Day a few days ago", Paul smiles. Until 2016, Sylvie and Paul, who both work in Luxembourg, received child benefit for Michael and their own children. But in February 2017, they received a letter from the Caisse pour l'avenir des enfants (CAE) informing them that they were no longer entitled to child benefit for Michael, backdated to the first of August 2016. This is because the reform led by the then Minister of Family, Corinne Cahen (DP), changed the rules for allocating the allowances: only the own children of frontier workers can receive them, the others are not considered "family members" and are therefore no longer entitled to them.

"From one day to the next, we found ourselves without child benefit", explains Paul, who has worked in the property sector in Luxembourg for 33 years, while his wife has worked in the hospital sector for 31 years. "What revolted me was that I could afford it, I had a comfortable salary, but I put myself in the shoes of other foster carers who weren't in the same situation." The father wrote to the CAE. "I explained that Michael had been placed with us and that we received nothing from our country of residence. We were refused." The couple did not take any steps to claim compensation from the Belgian authorities. "We could have, it's true, but we were both working in Luxembourg, and we thought it was normal that the benefits should come from Luxembourg. After all, that's where we pay our taxes and add value!"