(Finance) – The Commission European decided to start one infringement procedure against Italy because the Basic income “is not in line with EU law on free movement of workers, citizens’ rights, residents and international protection”. This is what we read in a note from the Commission. In particular, the request for 10 years of residence in the country – of which two consecutive – in order to access the measure, it would discriminate in an “indirect” way EU citizens, as “it is more probable that non-Italian citizens do not meet this criterion”.
Pursuant to Regulation 2011/492 and Directive 2004/38/EC, the performance of social care such as the “Citizenship Income” – specifies the Commission – “should be fully accessible to EU citizens who are employed, self-employed or who have lost their job, regardless of their history of residence. Furthermore, they should be able to benefit from the subsidy citizens community who do not work for other reasons, with the sole condition that they have legally resided in Italy for more than three months”. According to Directive 2003/109/EC, long-term residents outside the EU should also have access to this benefit .
The Citizenship Income, continues the note, “directly discriminates against the beneficiaries of international protection, who are not eligible for this benefit, in breach of Directive 2011/95/EU. Finally, the residency requirement could prevent Italians from moving outside the country for work, as they would not be entitled to the minimum income upon returning to Italy”.
Italy now has two months to respond to the concerns raised by the Commission. Otherwise, the Commission may decide to send a opinion motivated.
(Photo: Lukasz Kobus – © European Union)