Since the beginning of the seventies the question of the equal opportunities of genders has become of primary importance in the European Community and the social aspect of the question has come into limelight. In 1976 the judgment of the Court in the case of Defrenne v Sabena first interpreted Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome in a broader sense opposing the previous argumentation of the Belgian government according to which Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome served only economic goals.
According to the Court of Justice, in its judgment of 8 April 1976, in Case 43/75, Defrenne/Sabena, articles of the treaty which are mandatory apply not only to the action of public authorities but also extend to independent agreements concluded privately or in the sphere of industrial relations, such as individual contracts and collective labour agreements.