The European Commission said Thursday
that it has referred Italy to the EU Court of Justice over
restrictions on access to the 'assegno unico' child-allowance
benefit for foreign workers.
Introduced in 2022, the benefit gives parents a monthly sum
ranging from a minimum of 54 euros per household per child aged
up to the age of 21 to a maximum of 189 euros per child, with
low-earning families getting more.
It is part of efforts to help families and encourage people to
have children in Italy, where the birth rate has been declining
for many years.
The Commission said the fact workers who have not resided for at
least two years in Italy and those whose children do not reside
in Italy are not eligible amounts to discrimination against
mobile workers and breaches EU law on social security
coordination.
Premier Giorgia Meloni has said that it is "surreal" that Italy
faces an infringement procedure over the 'assegno unico',
arguing it would become unaffordable if it had to be given to
workers whose children are not in Italy and would lead to a high
number of fraudulent claims.
She has vowed to wage a battle over this issue.
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