WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2325/96 by Cristiana MUSCARDINI to the Commission. Pensions and equal opportunities
Date: 1996-08-27
Institutions: European Parliament, MUSCARDINI
Subjects: Italy, cumulative pension entitlement, equal treatment, married person, pension scheme, petition, retirement conditions, social security, social-security contribution, unmarried person













EUR-Lex - 91996E2325 - EN






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91996E2325

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2325/96 by Cristiana MUSCARDINI to the Commission. Pensions and equal opportunities  


Official Journal C 060 , 26/02/1997 P. 0141 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-2325/96 by Susan Waddington (PSE) to the Commission (27 August 1996)Subject: Pensions and equal opportunitiesFollowing the submission to the European Parliament of Petition No 221/94 by a group of Italian women affected by Law No 503/95 (Article 4) which introduced the principle of the joint calculation of payments to husbands and wives, the EP's Committee on Petitions told the petitioners that it had several times requested information from the Italian Government about this issue, which is having an adverse effect on the progress so far achieved with regard to equality of opportunities and had asked the Italian Government, in its last letter of 4 May 1995, to answer the questions asked repeatedly within a month of receiving the letter.Since a reply has still not been received, can the Commission take whatever steps it deems most appropriate to persuade the Italian Government to fulfil its obligations?Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission (15 October 1996)In response to the petition mentioned by the Honourable Member, submitted by six Italian women and alleging discrimination within the meaning of Directive 79/7/EEC ((OJ L 6, 10.1.1979. )) on the progressive implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security, the Commission asked the Italian Government for detailed information. The latter sent its reply, together with the relevant statutory texts, on 15 June 1995.From the reply it emerges that Legislative Decree No 503 of 30 December 1992 - the subject of the petition - changed the existing pension system in Italy, notably by introducing more stringent requirements in regard to contributions. Article (2)(a), in particular, progressively extends the contribution period necessary for entitlement to the old-age pension. This principle applies to all insured persons, without discrimination by sex. However, the progressive raising of the retirement age, which the petitioners do not contest, retains the gap of five years between men and women which already existed in the previous system. This is consonant with the provisions of the Directive, which allows Member States to exclude the age of retirement from its scope.From the dossier which the Italian workers have sent to the Parliament, it emerges that what they are complaining about specifically is discrimination between unmarried women and married women as regards entitlement to the minimum pension. In point of fact, Article 4 of the aforementioned Legislative Decree No 503/92 lays down new income thresholds for entitlement to the minimum pension, the spouse's income also being taken into consideration. Hence in the Commission's opinion these measures do not appear to infringe the principles laid down by Directive 79/7/EEC in that they are measures designed to rationalise the pension system that apply to all insured persons.