by Andre Coelho | Jun 3, 2019 | News
Just before the latest European Parliament (EP) elections, held on the 23-26th of May 2019, the Unconditional Basic Income Europe (UBIE) activist group sent out a questionnaire to be answered by candidates, on the subject of basic income. The questions asked for their position on the European social policies, whether they would support European Union (EU) basic income experiments, and if they would vote in favour of a Eurodividend. That questionnaire was inserted in an introductory letter, to be sent to all EP candidates, written by Daniel Kruse.
Only a fraction of EP candidates actually responded, but those that did can find their answers posted here. These views, reflecting the opinions of these candidates from Belgium, Germany, Greece and Ireland, are mostly in favour of experimenting and implementing an EU-wide basic income, with a few variations. For instance, Olivier De Schutter argues that basic income should start for the youngsters, namely those between 18 and 25 years-old, fixed at 60% of the median income of their country. On the other hand, however, Olivier Maingain points out that paying a monthly basic dividend to all EU citizens is not within EU’s powers, at the moment.
Willie O’Dea, from the Fianna Fáil party in Ireland (which had also setup a candidate for the EP elections, Brendan Smith), had written, not long before these EP elections, an opinion article expressing his views on basic income, within a European perspective. In that article, O’Dea also takes the opportunity to clarify a few important aspects about the Finnish (basic income) experiment, linking its design features to its published results until now. According to him, these results are not surprising, given the way the experiment was setup, but are still encouraging, since he considers the social well-being of people to be “real and measurable tangible benefits”.
More information at:
Willie O’Dea, “Universal income pilot could point to a fairer future”, Independent.IE, April 7th 2019
by Andre Coelho | May 24, 2018 | News
Next week – 1 through the 3rd of June – Universal Basic Income Europe (UBIE) activists will be at the EYE2018 event, in Strasbourg. This event is an annual gathering of young Europeans at the European Parliament premises. There, they “come up with ideas for the future of Europe”, “discuss with European decision makers”, and join/meet other interested young people around Europe.
In an attempt to fuel the debate around basic income, UBIE aims at having 20 participants from 10 nationalities, at the EYE2018. There will be activities centered around equality/inequality (named “rich and poor”) and basic income will be discussed, at least, at a roundtable named “Basic Income: Return of Robin Hood?”. This roundtable, happening on Friday, at 11h am, will be organized by the European Parliament and will feature Harro Boven (Economist, Young Democrats (The Netherlands)), Aurèlei Hampel (UBIE), Ilkka Kaukoranta and Daniel Zamora, moderated by Petra Prešeren (RTV Slovenija).
Other event themes are:
- Young and old: keeping up with the digital revolution
- Apart and together: working out for a stronger Europe
- Safe and Dangerous: Staying alive in turbulent times
- Local and Global: protecting our planet
The event’s full programme can be found here.
More information at:
UBIE website
European Parliament, European Youth Event website
by Kate McFarland | Feb 25, 2017 | News
In a February 2017 vote on recommendations to address the effects of automation, the European Parliament rejected a proposal to recommend consideration of basic income.
As previously reported in Basic Income News, the Committee on Legal Affairs of the European Parliament prepared a draft report with recommendations concerning the regulation of artificial intelligence and robotics as well as their economic and societal effects.
Among numerous other recommendations to the European Commission, the draft stated that “in the light of the possible effects on the labour market of robotics and AI a general basic income should be seriously considered” and that it invited all Member States of the European Union to do so. Maddy Delvaux, the Socialist Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Luxembourg who authored the report, has stated that she personally supports a universal basic income. The report, however, merely proposed to raise the idea for consideration without endorsing it.
The European Parliament voted on the Committee on Legal Affairs’ report on February 16, 2017. This vote determined the recommendations that would be delivered to the European Commission with respect to technology policy.
The recommendation to “seriously consider” basic income was rejected for inclusion in the final report, with 328 MEPs voting against the recommendation, 286 MEPs voting in favor, and eight abstaining from the vote.
Daniel Feher, Vice-Chair of Unconditional Basic Income Europe (UBIE), was disappointed by the result, but sees a silver lining:
It’s a shame that the conservative and liberal parties seem to be afraid of an open-minded debate on basic income. On the positive side, we’re thankful MEP Mady Delvaux raised the issue, and provoked the first serious discussion of basic income at the European Parliament. The EP’s Legal Affairs Committee, in charge of this report, also supported universal basic income in the draft text. Since the vote was taken by roll call, we know who supported the proposal, and this gives us a much stronger basis for lobbying in the future. We will keep pushing the basic income debate for sure!
Other controversial recommendations put up for consideration included a tax on work performed by robots, which was also voted down (302 to 288, with 22 abstentions).
According to EurActiv.com, “A majority of MEPs preferred to focus at this stage on the issue of liability, one of the main elements included in the report, instead of discussing the introduction of controversial taxes. Instead of the universal basic income, legislators spoke in favour of support programmes to facilitate the transition to new jobs.”
References:
Jorge Valero, “Parliament plenary rejects universal basic income,” EurActiv.com; Feb 16, 2017 (updated Feb 22, 2017).
Reviewed by Genevieve Shanahan
Photo: European Parliament Plenary Chamber, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 diamond geezer
by Stanislas Jourdan | Jan 16, 2017 | News
The European Parliament will vote on a report calling on the European Commission and all EU member states to “seriously consider” basic income in order to address the economic consequences of automation and artificial intelligence.
On Thursday 12 January, European Parliament’s committee on Legal affairs (JURI) adopted a report on “Civil law rules on robotics” which considers the legal and economic consequences of the rise of robots and artificial intelligence devices.
According to the report, since “robots, bots, androids and other manifestations of artificial intelligence (“AI”) seem poised to unleash a new industrial revolution, which is likely to leave no stratum of society untouched, it is vitally important for the legislature to consider all its implications. There are many tools claiming to be the best tool for machine learning and if these keep developing can artificial intelligence become a real threat to human job roles?
It reads further: “the development of robotics and AI may result in a large part of the work now done by humans being taken over by robots, so raising concerns about the future of employment and the viability of social security systems if the current basis of taxation is maintained, creating the potential for increased inequality in the distribution of wealth and influence”
To cope with those consequences, the report makes a strong call for basic income. “A general basic income should be seriously considered, and (the European Parliament) invites all Member States to do so.”
The resolution is based on a report prepared by the Working Group on Legal Questions Related to the Development of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, established in January 2015.
This legislative initiative is however not legally binding. If adopted in February by the European Parliament’s full house, the EU Commission would be invited to present a legislative proposal but it can also refuse to do so.
The Commission is not entirely unaware about basic income. Last year, Social Affairs Commissioner Marianne Thyssen said she would follow with great interest the outcomes of the basic income experiments currently underway in Finland.
The rapporteur of the report, Socialist MEP Mady Delvaux, said she was satisfied that basic income was included by the JURI Committee at this stage.
However she expressed doubt that the idea would survive the plenary vote. In a statement published on the website of the Socialist and Democrats group at the European Parliament, the MEP explained:
“As social democrats, it is urgent that we look at new models to manage society in a world where robots do more and more of the work. One idea adopted in this report is to look at a universal basic income – where everyone would receive a wage from the government whether they are in work or not.”
Mady Delvaux MEP
Barb Jacobson, Chair of Unconditional Basic Income Europe said, “We are very pleased Mme Delvaux mentioned basic income in this report, and we hope that Parliament and the Commission will give it serious consideration along with rules about the use of robots. The benefits of automation should be enjoyed by all members of society, not just those companies which directly benefit from it.”
UBI-Europe urges European basic income supporters to get in touch with their MEPs to make sure this aspect of the report reaches the Commission.”
“Whether automation ends up destroying a larger proportion of jobs or not, however, incomes are already increasingly insecure, and in most parts of Europe wages have stagnated or fallen. While many member states are starting to take basic income seriously, the need is urgent. The EU could help lead the way with its own Eurodividend,” added Nicole Teke, Secretary of UBI-Europe.
The European Parliament is expected to vote on the final report on the week of February 13.
Pictures CC European Parliament
by Sandro Gobetti | Nov 21, 2015 | News
The first meeting of a European working group on minimum income was held on October 20, 2015 at the European Parliament. While the event was advertised at the pan-European level with the label “minimum income”, many of its participants are in favor of an unconditional basic income. The discussion developed around the synergies and differences between campaigns for a guaranteed minimum income and universal basic income advocacy.
The meeting was organized by the Confederal Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL). It was an important opportunity for in-depth discussions between Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), key experts, and various political and activist organizations like Basic Income Network Italy, BIEN’s Italian chapter.
You can listen to the audio of the event (in Italian) here.
The objectives of the first meeting were:
– to hold an initial exchange of views on the state of minimum income and basic income at the pan-European and individual member states’ level;
– to discuss the possibility of submitting a parliamentary inquiry;
– to discuss a plan of action for 2016.
CHAIRS:
Eleonora Forenza (MEP GUE/NGL); Paloma López Bermejo (MEP GUE/NGL)
INVITED PARTICIPANTS:
Francisco Soriano (European Economic & Social Committee); Anne van Lancker (European Minimum Income Network); Fintan Farrell (European Minimum Income Network); Miguel Laparra; Izquierda Unida; Sandro Gobetti (Basic Income Network Italy); Rachel Serino (Basic Income Network Italy); Philippe Van Parijs (Université de Louvain; Chair of BIEN International Advisory Board); Gabriella Stramaccioni (Libera Contro La Mafia); Roberta Fantozzi (Rifondazione Comunista); Elena Monticelli (ACT!); Cristina Morini (writer and Journalist); Teresa Di Martino (Femministe Nove); Maria Pia Pizzolante (TILT).
The original announcement from the website of the Basic Income Network Italy is available here.
