The latest bar brawl of summer politics concerned the fate of theuniversal single check (AUU) after the Brussels's remarks. The Commission he considered are not compatible EU law two conditions for the provision of the family and birth support measure: the place of residence in Italy for two years and the convivenza of children in Italy. According to the Commission, these requirements constitute discrimination against mobile workers from the EU. One of the fundamental principles of the EU is that of equal treatment of persons, without distinctions based on nationality. According to this basic principle, mobile EU workers who contribute equally to the social security system and pay the same taxes as local workers are entitled to the same social security benefits. According to the principle of equal treatment, mobile EU workers who work in Italy but are not resident in Italy, those who have only recently moved to Italy or those whose children reside in another Member State should benefit from the same family benefits as other workers in Italy. Furthermore, the principle of exportability of benefits provided for in the Regulation on the coordination of social security systems prohibits any residence requirement for the purposes of receiving social security benefits such as family benefits.
Brussels refers Italy: controversy over the Single Allowance
The Commission has therefore sent a letter of formal notice to Italy in February 2023, which was then followed by a reasoned opinion in November 2023. Since Italy's response did not sufficiently take into account the Commission's concerns, the latter decided to refer the case to the Court of Justiceof the European Union, giving Italy two months to comply.
Evidently, in starting an initial examination of the contents of the budget bill, the sherpas raised the issue of the changes to be made and the coverage to be guaranteed due to the increased costs that compliance with the Brussels objections would entail. An important daily newspaper has found arguments to denounce the government's intention to want delete the AUU, raising the dust of the day and forcing the government to a decisive denial with the direct intervention of Giorgia Meloni. In the evening, the summer version of talk shows (it goes beyond the two-year period considered by INPS) jumped on the news. The opposition representatives, flanked by local journalists, in the face of such a clear denial had no arguments to insist on, except beating around the bush on other issues and questioning the government's good faith ("we'll see, but we don't trust"). The representatives of the majority and the "friendly" guests had an easy time protesting the spread of fake news on a topic that concerns millions of people.
The EU dictates the rules: Italy must adapt, whether we like it or not
In the Upb's evaluation the costThe overall introduction of the AUU for 2023 stood at just over 18 billion, of which approximately 6 million in additional resources compared to those previously allocated, in line with what is indicated in the Technical Report of the measure. According to the Upb, the measure would have affected almost 7,3 million families and 10,8 million children and brought an average benefit per family of just over 1.000 euros (almost 700 per child). In front of these audiences of interested parties, it is easy to imagine the upheaval that a journalistic exaggeration can cause. But the government's supporters have shown a huge guilty conscience, attributing the responsibility for a review of the AUU to the European Commission's objections to its pro-migrant zeal and validating the possible financial unsustainability of an expansion of the audience if the European indications were to be followed. It has not occurred to anyone that the requirements for the AUU are the same as those for all social benefits. Therefore, the indications from Brussels must be complied with. It is not the first time that the government has been caught out either by the Consulta or by the EU on measures taken in terms of different treatment for foreign workers.
