European attack on Flemish social welfare state

“The new European Social security Social security is currently managed at the Federal level in Belgium. The most important pillars of Belgian social security are: sickness and invalidity insurance (NIDHI), pensions, unemployment insurance and child allowances. In addition, occupational illness, occupational accidents and annual holidays are dealt with at this level. Some Flemish parties have been campaigning for years for (large parts of) social security to be transferred to the Regions and Communities. social security law flings the door wide open to welfare tourism.” MEP Helga Stevens calls the new law unacceptable. “The biggest stumbling block is that every EU citizen can make use of our Belgian unemployment benefit after having worked just one day in Belgium. This will cost our social security a huge amount of money and is a thorn in the side of everyone who does pay taxes,” says Helga Stevens.

Breeding ground for populism

At the insistence of the N-VA, under the current Belgian legislation EU citizens must have worked for at least three months before they are eligible to receive unemployment benefit. That system is now coming under pressure from Europe. “Europe is clearly turning a deaf ear to the concern of many European citizens that an unlimited access to social rights threatens to bring down our social protection completely,” says MEP Helga Stevens, who also fears that the new rules will further fuel the breeding ground for populist answers in Europe. “This concern lay earlier at the basis of the unholy path that was introduced after Brexit, but regrettably enough the EU does not learn from its mistakes.”

Exporting unemployment benefit

In addition, the European Parliament decided that European citizens can export their unemployment benefit payments to a different member state for a period of six months. A Romanian who has worked for a single day in Belgium can go back to Romania as the beneficiary of a Belgian unemployment benefit. According to MEP Helga Stevens, this will lead to welfare tourism. “Belgium is the only member state with an unemployment benefit that is unlimited in time. The force of attraction for social security tourism is therefore extraordinarily strong. Yet another reason to limit the unemployment benefit in time at last, something the N-VA has long urged.”

Social inspection

The European Committee on Employment also voted in favour of setting up a European Labour Authority. For Helga Stevens, this is the first step towards a European social inspection. “With this, a Trojan horse is being created that can erode the social powers of the member states ever further. In this way, initiatives such as a European unemployment insurance no longer remain unthinkable,” Helga Stevens regrets.

The MEP hopes that the European Parliament will still succeed in turning the tide at its plenary meeting. If that doesn’t happen, then the focus will move to the negotiations with the Council.