WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3704/98 by Hiltrud BREYER to the Commission. Health insurance and discrimination against women
28. 6. 1999 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 182/121 This prompts me to ask the Council: 1. On what grounds were the ministers referred to above not present? 2. Is it usual for not all the relevant ministers to attend informal meetings? 3. Does the Council have records showing which ministers have not attended informal and formal meetings in the past two years and how often they have failed to attend? Reply (8 February 1999) The Council does not keep a register of the presence or absence of Ministers at informal meetings organised by the Member State holding the Presidency of the Council, which take place without the Council framework. Ministers & or the senior officials who replace them & are not obliged to give reasons for their absence. (1999/C 182/164) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3704/98 by Hiltrud Breyer (V) to the Commission (7 December 1998) Subject: Health insurance and discrimination against women 1. 2. Is the Commission aware that women pay higher health insurance contributions? Does it see this as contravening the principle of equality? 3. What measures is it planning to take to put a stop to this discriminatory practice? Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission (8 February 1999) The legal situation regarding differences in contribution levels for sickness insurance as between women and men varies according to the type of sickness insurance scheme. As regards statutory schemes providing protection against sickness, Council Directive 79/7/EEC of 19 December 1978 on the progressive imple- mentation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security (1) precludes any discrimination whatsoever on grounds of sex, including in the calculation of contributions. For occupational schemes of sickness insurance, the relevant legislation is Directive 86/378/EEC as amended by Directive 96/97/EC of 20 December 1996 on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women in occupational social security schemes (2), interpreting the provisions of Article 119 of the EC Treaty. This Directive provides that it is contrary to equal treatment to set different contribution levels as between men and women workers, but allows Member States to defer compulsory application of the principle until 1 January 1999, if the difference results from different actuarial calculations. There are no Community rules requiring private sickness insurance schemes to apply the principle of equal treatment to the calculation of members’ contributions. The Commission is not aware at present of any sickness insurance schemes which contravene the relevant provisions of Community equality law. (1) OJ L 6, 10. 1. 1979. (2) OJ L 46, 17. 2. 1997