European Union – Social security. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling deciding that art 5(a) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 should be interpreted as meaning that, in circumstances such as those at issue in the main proceedings, old-age benefits provided under an occupational pension scheme of one member state and those provided under a statutory pension scheme of another member state - both schemes being within the scope of that regulation - were equivalent benefits within the meaning of that provision, where both categories of benefits had the same aim of ensuring that their recipients maintained a standard of living commensurate with that which they had enjoyed prior to retirement.