Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2001:593
Date: 2001-11-06
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Social Policy
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Netherlands

SUMMARY — CASE C-476/99 
Summary of the Judgment 
Social policy — Men and women — Access to employment and working conditions — 
Equal treatment •—• Derogations — Measures to promote equality of opportunity 
between men and women — Scheme set up by a Minister giving subsidised nursery 
places only to female officials — Whether permissible — Conditions 
(Council Directive 76/207, Arts 2(1) and 4) 
Article 2(1) and (4) of Council Directive 
76/207 on the implementation of the prin­
ciple of equal treatment for men and 
women as regards access to employment, 
vocational training and promotion, and 
working conditions does not preclude a 
scheme set up by a Minister to tackle 
extensive under-representation of women 
within his Ministry under which, in a 
context characterised by a proven insuffi­
ciency of proper, affordable care facilities, 
a limited number of subsidised nursery 
places made available by the Ministry to 
its staff is reserved for female officials alone 
whilst male officials may have access to 
them only in cases of emergency, to be 
determined by the employer. That is so, 
however, only in so far, in particular, as the 
said exception in favour of male officials is 
construed as allowing those of them who 
take care of their children by themselves to 
have access to that nursery places scheme 
on the same conditions as female officials. 
(see para. 50, operative part) 
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