Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2010:449
Date: 2010-07-29
Language of the case: Dutch
Court formation: Fourth Chamber
Subject matter: Social Policy
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Belgium

Summary of the Judgment 1. Social policy – Equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security – Directive 79/7 (Council Directive 79/7, Art. 4(1)) 2. Preliminary rulings – Interpretation – Temporal effects of judgments by way of interpretation (Art. 234 EC) 1. Article 4(1) of Directive 79/7 on the progressive implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security precludes national legislation under which, for the years 1984 to 1994, the calculation of old-age and retirement pensions for female frontier workers, concerning equal work or work of equal value, was based on notional and/or flat-rate daily wages lower than those for male frontier workers. (see para. 31, operative part) 2. The Court may, exceptionally, taking account of the serious difficulties which its judgment may create as regards events in the past, be moved to restrict the opportunity for all persons concerned of relying on the interpretation the Court gives to a provision of European Union law in response to a reference for a preliminary ruling. However, the financial consequences that might ensue for a Member State from a preliminary ruling do not in themselves justify limiting the temporal effects of the ruling. (see paras 33-34)