The European Commission has initiated an infringement procedure against Italy on Citizenship Income and Single Allowance. In fact, an official letter of notification came from Brussels due to the criteria required to take two support measures that are considered to be incompatible with EU law on free movement of workers, civil rights, long-term rights, residents and international rights. protection.
Why Citizenship Income is “discriminatory”
The European Commission initiated the infringement procedure against Italy because it considered one of the criteria for receiving the Citizenship Income to be contrary to Community law. One of the conditions for accessing the subsidy is to have resided in Italy for 10 years, two in a row, before requesting it.
According to European law, social assistance benefits such as Citizenship Income must be fully accessible to working, self-employed or unemployed European Union citizens, regardless of their residence status. In addition, EU citizens not working for other reasons should be able to benefit from the subsidy only if they have legally resided in Italy for more than three months.
Another EU directive ensures that long-term non-EU residents can also access Citizenship Income. As a result, the Commission considers that the 10-year residency requirement qualifies as “indirect discrimination” because “non-Italian citizens are more likely to not meet this criterion”, reads the reasons for the violation procedure.
Thus, the subsidy discriminates against beneficiaries of international protection who cannot apply for the subsidy, while the residency requirement may prevent them from moving outside Italy to work.
Notes on commission and single allowance
The European Commission has also initiated an infringement procedure for a single check. In this case, too, the problem is with the criteria for obtaining it: Only those who have resided in Italy for at least two years and only if they live in the same family as their children can apply for the allowance alone.
According to the Commission, these criteria violate EU law as they do not give EU citizens the same rights. Moreover, the European regulation on social security coordination prohibits any residency requirement to receive social security benefits such as family benefits. Italy has two months to respond to comments put forward by the Commission. Otherwise, the Commission may decide to send a reasoned opinion.
Source: Today IT
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
