Request for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Castilla y León (Spain) lodged on 27 February 2018 — Violeta Villar Láiz v Instituto Nacional de la Seguridad Social (INSS), Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social (TGSS)
(Case C-161/18)
Language of the case: Spanish
Referring court
Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Castilla y León
Parties to the main proceedings
Appellant: Violeta Villar Láiz
Respondent: Instituto Nacional de la Seguridad Social (INSS), Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social (TGSS)
Questions referred
Under Spanish law, in order to calculate a retirement pension, a percentage based on the number of years for which contributions have been paid throughout the person’s entire working life must be applied to the reference basis, which is calculated on the basis of earnings in the most recent years. Must a rule of national law, such as that in Article 247(a) and Article 248(3) of the Ley General de la Seguridad Social (General Law on Social Security), which reduces the number of qualifying years for the purpose of applying the percentage in the case of periods of part-time working, be considered contrary to Article 4(1) of Council Directive 79/7/EEC of 19 December 1978 on the progressive implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security? 1 Does Article 4(1) of Directive 79/7/EEC require that the number of years of contributions that are taken into account in order to determine the percentage to be applied in calculating the retirement pension be determined in the same way for full-time workers and part-time workers?
Must a rule of national law such as that in dispute in the present proceedings be interpreted as also being contrary to Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, thus requiring the national court to give full effect to the Charter and to refrain from applying the disputed provisions of national law, without requesting or awaiting the prior setting aside of the provisions by legislative or other constitutional means?
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1 OJ 1979 L 6, p. 24.