Executive summary

• Author: Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers (European Commission), EY
• Pages: 1-6

EVALUATION ON THE APPLICATION OF DIRECTIVE 79/7/EEC ON THE PROGRESSIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF

THE PRINCIPLE OF EQUAL TREATMENT FOR MEN AND WOMEN IN MATTERS OF SOCIAL SECURITY

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This report provides the results of the external evaluation, undertaken on behalf of DG Justice

and Consumers, on the appli cation of Directive 79/7/EEC on the progressive imp lementation of

the principle of equal treatment f or men and women in matters of social security (hereinafter

also: "the Directive"). The eval uation is performed in the context of the Regulatory Fitness and

Performance Programme (REFIT) and follows the European Com mission approach to evaluation

studies, addressing the following evaluation criteria: effectiveness , efficiency, coherence,

relevance, sustainabili ty, and EU added value. Based on the results of the analysis, the study

provides policy recommendations on the interventions that could be encouraged with a view to

a possible modernisation of the Directive.

CONTEXT AND INTERVENTION LOGIC

EU action in the area of gender equality has significantly evolved and developed with a number

of non-discrimination directives since the introduction of the equal pay pr ovisions in the 1957

Treaty of Rome. Directive79/7/EEC aimed to implem ent the princ iple of equal treatment

between men and women in social security matters , assuring equal treatment in selected

statutory social security sch emes (i .e. thos e providi ng protection against sickness, invalidity,

old age, accidents at w ork, occupational diseases and unemploym ent) and in social assistance,

where it either supplements or replaces those schemes. The principle of equal treatment

enshrined in the Di rective is pursued through prohibiting any form of discrimination, either

direct or indirect, on the ground s of sex and especially by reference to marital or family status.

However, certain exclusions are laid down, notably in relation to maternity, survivors’ and

family benefits. The Directive also provides for some derogations allowing Member States to

maintain discriminatory practices in certain areas. These l imitations to the Directive’s scope

seem to serve a dual purpose. On the one h and, they grant Member States the possibility to

exclude the application of t he equal tre atment principle from certain areas where the

financial implications of equal treatment are relevant. On the other hand, they afford the

possibility to maintain gender-specific adv antages to women in certain areas to better

fulfil the ov erarching purpose of effective gender equality. The Di rective also requires Member

States to moni tor and report on the i mplementation of the principle of equal treatment or any

derogations to it (Articles 7(2), 8 and 9) and to introduce legal measures enabling people to

defend their rights accordingly (Article 6).

KEY LESSONS FROM CASE LAW

The fi rst finding of the stud y regards the pivotal role of the Court of Justice of the European

Union (CJEU) in clarifying key concepts of the Directive such as:

 Indirect discrimination, which may be p resumed if an apparently neutral measure in

practice disproportionately affects workers of one sex, irrespective of the intent to

discriminate. Further specifying the concept, the CJEU clarified th at indirect discrimin ation

may be objecti vely justified where the examined provision corresponds to a legitimate

objective of social policy and it is suitable and requisite for attainin g that aim.

 Personal scope, which covers persons available to the labour market, or who have

ceased to do so owing to the materialisation of one of the risks specified in the Directive,

including workers in minor employment, also when the social risk occurred to a third

party, as long as th ere is a clear economic link between the social benefit and the person

who has suffered from that risk.