Judgment_paragraph 34 · Ioannis Christodoulou and Others v Elliniko Dimosio (C-116/12)

34According to settled case‑law of the Court of Justice, the need for uniform application of European Union law and the principle of equality require that the terms of a provision of European Union law which makes no express reference to the law of the Member States for the purpose of determining its meaning and scope must normally be given an autonomous and uniform interpretation throughout the European Union; that interpretation must take into account the context of the provision and the purpose of the legislation in question (see, inter alia, Case C-287/98 Linster and Others [2000] ECR I-6917, paragraph 43, and Case C-40/01 Ansul [2003] ECR I-2439, paragraph 26).