Principle of equivalence

Although it has evolved significantly in the ECJ case law, especially during the 1990s, in the context of EU law the principle of equivalence is still based on the fundamental idea – put forward in the Rewe decision of 1976 – that the protection within a national legal system of EU-law-based rights must not be less favourable than in the case of individual rights based on national law. The principle of equivalence is closely related to the general principle of equal treatment and the prohibition of discrimination from which it is derived. It is also a well-known international law principle which, together with the principle of mutual recognition, serves as cooperation-promoting instrument.