Judgment_paragraph 65 · Edgard Jan De Clercq and Others (C-315/13)

65In this regard, it should be noted that the Court has already held that overriding reasons relating to the public interest capable of justifying a restriction on the freedom to provide services include the protection of workers (judgment in dos Santos Palhota and Others, EU:C:2010:589, paragraph 47 and the case-law cited), the prevention of unfair competition on the part of undertakings which pay their workers at a rate less than the minimum rate of pay, in so far as that objective includes protecting workers by combating social dumping (see, to that effect, judgment in Wolff & Müller, C‑60/03, EU:C:2004:610, paragraphs 35, 36 and 41), and combating fraud, in particular social security fraud, and preventing abuse, in particular combating undeclared work, in so far as that objective can form part of the objective of protecting the financial balance of social security systems (see, to that effect, judgment in Rüffert, C‑346/06, EU:C:2008:189, paragraph 42 and the case-law cited).