CELEX: C1997/074/16
Language: en
Date: 1997-03-08 00:00:00
Title: JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Fifth Chamber) of 30 January 1997 in Case C-139/95 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Pretura Circondariale di Genova): Livia Balestra v. Istituto Nazionale della Previdenza Sociale (INPS) (Directives 76/207/EEC and 79/7/EEC - Equal treatment for men and women - Calculation of credit for supplemental retirement contributions)

8 . 3 . 97            ran                   Official Journal of the European Communities                                    No C 74/9
               JUDGMENT OF THE COURT                                                   JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                           (Fifth Chamber)                                                      (Fifth Chamber)
                         of 30 January 1997                                                   of 30 January 1997
in Joined Cases C-4/95 and C-5/95 (references for                      in Case C-139/95 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
preliminary rulings from the Landessozialgericht Nord­                 the Pretura Circondariale di Genova ): Livia Balestra v.
rhein-Westfalen): Fritz Stober ( C-4/95 ) and Jose Manuel                   Istituto Nazionale della Previdenza Sociale (INPS ) ( ] )
     Piosa Pereira ( C-5/95 ) v. Bundesanstalt fur Arbeit (')
                                                                       (Directives 76/207/EEC and 79/7/EEC — Equal treatment
(Social security — Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71                 for men       and    women     —   Calculation   of credit for
                         — Persons covered)                                         supplemental retirement contributions)
                             ( 97/C 74/15 )                                                       ( 97/C 74/16 )
                (Language of the case: German)                                           (Language of the case: Italian)
   (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be
                                                                          (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be
           published in the European Court Reports)
                                                                                   published in the European Court Reports)
In Joined Cases C-4/95 and C-5/95 : two references to the
                                                                       In Case C- 13 9/95 : reference to the Court under Article 177
Court under Article 177 of the EC Treaty from the
Landessozialgericht Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine­                  of the EC Treaty from the Pretura Circondariale di Geno­
Westphalia Higher Social Court) ( Germany ) for a                      va ( District Magistrate's Court, Genoa ) ( Italy) for a
preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that              preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that
                                                                       court between Livia Balestra and Istituto Nazionale della
court between Fritz Stober ( C-4/95 ) and Jose Manuel
Piosa Pereira ( C-5/95 ) and Bundesanstalt fur Arbeit — on             Previdenza Sociale ( INPS ) — on the interpretation of
the interpretation of Council Regulation ( EEC ) No 1408/               Council Directive 76/207/EEC of 9 February 1976 on the
 71 of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security               implementation of the principle of equal treatment for
 schemes to employed persons, to self-employed persons                  men and women as regards access to employment,
 and to members of their families moving within the                     vocational training and promotion, and working
 Community, as amended and updated by Council                           conditions ( OJ No L 39 , 14 . 2 . 1976, p. 40 ) and of
                                                                        Council Directive 79/7/EEC of 19 December 1978 on the
 Regulation ( EEC) No 2001/83 of 2 June 1983 ( OJ No
 L 230, 22. 8 . 1983 , p. 6 ), as amended by Council                    progresssive implementation of the principle of equal
 Regulation ( EEC ) No 3427/89 of 30 October 1989 ( OJ                  treatment for men and women in matters of social security
 No L 331 , 16 . 11 . 1989, p. 1 ) — the Court ( Fifth                  ( OJ No L 6, 10 . 1 . 1979, p. 24 ) — the Court ( Fifth
 Chamber), composed of: J. C. Moitinho de Almeida                       Chamber ), composed of: L. Sevon, President of the First
 ( Rapporteur), President of the Chamber, C. Gulmann,                   Chamber, acting as President of the Fifth Chamber,
 D. A. O. Edward, J.-P. Puissochet and P. Jann, Judges; A.              D. A. O. Edward, J. -P. Puissochet, P. Jann and M.
 La Pergola, Advocate-General; H. A. Riihl, Principal                   Wathelet ( Rapporteur ), Judges; M. B. Elmer, Advocate­
 Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment on              General; L. Hewlett, Administrator, for the Registrar, has
 30 January 1997, in which it has ruled:                                given a judgment on 30 January 1997, in which it has
                                                                        ruled as follows :
 For the purposes of the payment of family benefits under
 German legislation, Article 73 of Council Regulation                    Where, pursuant to Article 7 (1 ) (a) of Council Directive
 (EEC) No 1408/71 of 14 June 1971 on the application of                  79/7/EEC of 19 December 1978 on the progressive
 social security schemes to employed persons, to self­                  implementation of the principle of equal treatment for
 employed persons and to members of their families                      men and women in matters of social security, a Member
 moving within the Community, as amended and updated                    State has set pensionable ages which differ according to
 by Council Regulation (EEC) No 2001 /83 of 2 June 1983,                sex, that provision also allows it to provide that
 as amended by Council Regulation (EEC) No 3427/89 of                    employees of an undertaking declared to be in critical
 30 October 1989, must be interpreted as covering only                   difficulty may be credited with a maximum of five years '
 self-employed persons complying with the definition                    supplemental retirement contributions starting from their
 provided by the combined provisions of Article 1 (a) (ii)               entry into early retirement until the date on which they
 and point I (C) (b) of Annex I of that Regulation.                      reach the age at which they are entitled to a retirement
 However, national rules which cause the taking of a self­               pension, that is to say 55 years in the case of women and
 employed person 's children into account when calculating               60 years in the case of men, since the difference relating to
 family allowances to be dependent upon their residing in                sex in the method of calculating early-retirement benefits
  that Member State are contrary to Article 52 of the EC                 is objectively and necessarily linked to the setting of
  Treaty.                                                                pensionable ages which differ for men and women.
  (') OJ No C 54, 4 . 3 . 1995 .                                         C ) OJ No C 174, 8 . 7. 1995 .