by Yannick Vanderborght | Oct 31, 2013 | News
[Aynur Bashirova]
European citizens’ initiative petition on basic income was launched earlier this year. Basic income initiative believes in distributing minimum income to all the citizens without conditionality and regardless of the employment. The petition can be signed online by any EU citizen based on universal suffrage. If the initiative manages to collect 1 million signatures from at least seven EU countries, the initiative will be looked upon by the European Parliament.
For more information go to: European Commission. (14 January 2013). Unconditional Basic Income (UBI) – Exploring a pathway towards emancipatory welfare conditions in the EU. European Citizens’ Initiative.
by Karl Widerquist | Sep 22, 2013 | News
Basic Income European Citizens' Initiative
The European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) for Basic Income (BI) has so far collected more than 77,000 signatures from all 28 member countries of the European Union (EU). The ECI is a petition to encourage cooperation between the Member States aiming to explore BI as a tool to improve their respective social security systems. If one million EU citizens, who are nationals of at least one quarter of the Member States, sign the petition the European Commission to propose a legislation to promote BI within the member states. The initiative is a long way from its goal of one million signatures, but so far, neither has any other initiative since the treating creating the possibility went into affect. The initiative has made great strides in raising awareness of the issue across the EU.
A major push for the initiative is happening this week during the International Week of the Basic Income, which is taking place worldwide from 16 to 22 September 2013.
The Initiative’s website is: https://basicincome2013.eu/
If you are an EU citizen who would like to support the initiative (sign the petition) go to: https://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative/REQ-ECI-2012-000028/public/index.do
For information on the International Week of the Basic Income go to: https://basicincome2013.eu/ubi/ai1ec_event/6th-international-week-of-the-basic-income?instance_id=97
by Karl Widerquist | Sep 8, 2013 | News
The Sixth International Week of the Basic Income will take place 16 to 22 September 2013. For its 6th edition, the week of basic income will focus on raising awareness on the European Citizens Initiative for an Unconditional Basic Income. Proponents of Unconditional Basic Income in 22 Member States of the European Union have joined their forces to make this week of basic income a major event.
Web sites organizing a Week of the Basic Income are:
Germany, Switzerland, Austria (German language)
www.woche-des-grundeinkommens.eu
Netherlands, Belgium (Dutch language)
week-van-het-basisinkomen.nl
France, Belgium, Switzerland (French):
semaine.revenudebase.info
by Yannick Vanderborght | Aug 6, 2013 | News
A Swiss petition drive has collected more than the 100,000 signatures necessary to trigger a referendum on introducing Basic Income in Switzerland. If the government certifies 100,000 of the signatures as valid, a referendum will be held within two years. The proposal does not specify the amount of the basic income, but it would enshrine the principle in Switzerland’s constitution. The proposal is controversial. Even some unions and left organizations have dismissed basic income as a “bonus for laziness.” This proposal is one of several petition drives for basic income in Europe this year, some have been waged nationally and some at level of the European Union as a whole.
For more information see:
Jourdan, Stanislas, “Will the basic income revolution come from Switzerland?” Boiling Frogs, Alternatives, June 3, 2013
Vogele, Wolfgang G., “Swiss parliament may soon debate unconditional basic income,” NNA: News with a difference, 30 Apr 2013
Geiser, Urs “Basic income for all. Old utopian revived on Swiss streets,” swissinfo.ch, June 13, 2013
The Swiss initiative in print
by Yannick Vanderborght | Jul 21, 2013 | News
Wolfgang Müller – BI News
Malta has joined the campaign for an unconditional basic income in the European Union. This campaign now takes place in 22 countries. It’s aim is to get enough signatures on a petition to force the European Commission to examine basic income and a hearing on basic income at the European Parliament.
European Initiative for Basic Income
For more on Malta joining the initiative, go to see the following story in Malta News, June 18, 2013, “Malta joins campaign for right to unconditional basic income”
More information about the initiative (including info about how to support it) is online at: https://basicincome2013.eu/
