3The first and second recitals of Directive 79/7 state:‘Whereas Article 1(2) of Council Directive 76/207/EEC of 9 February 1976 on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion, and working conditions [(OJ 1976 L 39, p. 40)] provides that, with a view to ensuring the progressive implementation of the principle of equal treatment in matters of social security, the Council [of the European Communities], acting on a proposal from the Commission [of the European Communities], will adopt provisions defining its substance, its scope and the arrangements for its application; whereas the [EEC] Treaty does not confer the specific powers required for this purpose;Whereas the principle of equal treatment in matters of social security should be implemented in the first place in the statutory schemes which provide protection against the risks of sickness, invalidity, old age, accidents at work, occupational diseases and unemployment, and in social assistance in so far as it is intended to supplement or replace the abovementioned schemes[.]’
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