Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Belgium.
Date: 1991-05-07
13 It should be recalled at the outset that in accordance with settled case-law, Article 4(1) of Directive 79/7 precludes less favourable treatment from being accorded to a social group when it is shown to be made up of a much greater number of persons of one or the other sex, unless the provision in question is "based on objectively justified factors unrelated to any discrimination on grounds of sex" (judgment in Case C-33/89 Kowalska [1990] ECR I-2591, paragraph 16).
14 It should also be pointed out that the Court has specifically held that a system of benefits providing for supplements not directly based on the sex of the beneficiaries but taking account of their marital status or family situation, in respect of which it emerges that a considerably smaller proportion of women than of men are entitled to such supplements, is contrary to Article 4(1) of the directive if that system of benefits cannot be justified by reasons which exclude discrimination on grounds of sex (judgment in Case 30/85, Teuling v Bedrijfivereniging voor de Chemische Industrie [1987] ECR 2497, paragraph 13).
19 On the other hand, if the Kingdom of Belgium can show that the means chosen meet a necessary aim of its social policy and that they are suitable and requisite for attaining that aim, the mere fact that the system of allowances favours a much greater number of male workers cannot be regarded as an infringement of the principle of equal treatment (judgment in Case 171/88 Rinner-Kuehn [1989] ECR 2743, paragraph 14).
22 The aim of the Belgian legislation is to take into consideration the existence of different needs. On the one hand, it recognizes the greater burdens resulting from unemployment for households with only one income and, on the other hand, it takes into account the financial aid which the spouse' s income represents for the unemployed person. Moreover, it seeks to encourage the persons concerned to adapt themselves to their new financial situation by avoiding too sudden a drop in their income during the first year, whilst enabling the unemployed person with dependants to bear the expenses of a household beyond a period of 18 months. Those principles and objectives form part of a social policy which in the current state of Community law is a matter for the Member States which enjoy a reasonable margin of discretion as regards both the nature of the protective measures and the detailed arrangements for their implementation (judgment in Hofmann v Barmer Ersatzkasse [1984] ECR 3047, paragraph 27).
24 With regard to a guaranteed minimum subsistence level, the Court has already held that Community law does not preclude a Member State, in controlling its social expenditure, from taking into account the relatively greater needs of beneficiaries who have a dependent spouse or a dependent child or receive only a very small income, in relation to the needs of single persons. In fact, the Court held that Directive 79/7 did not preclude legislation under which the guarantee previously applicable to all workers suffering from an incapacity for work whose income was approximately equal to the statutory minimum wage that their (net) benefits would be at least equal to the (net) statutory minimum wage is restricted to persons having a dependent spouse or child or whose spouse has a very small income (judgment in Teuling cited above, paragraphs 22 and 23).
26 It follows from all the foregoing considerations that the Belgian Government has shown that its system of unemployment and invalidity benefits corresponds to a legitimate objective of social policy, involving increases suitable and requisite for attaining that aim; it is therefore justified by reasons unrelated to discrimination on grounds of sex.