IT
PRESS RELEASE
INAPP-UNIVERSITA’ CATTOLICA: “POSITIVE RESULTS FROM THE EU ‘SURE’ PROGRAMME, IN SUPPORT OF POOR WORKERS AND THE SELF-EMPLOYED”.
INAPP-UNIVERSITA’ CATTOLICA present joint report “European Union and Member States propose measures to fight unemployment caused by emergencies’’
Rome, 14 November 2023 – The pandemic, the climate emergency, the rising cost of gas and electricity due to the war in Ukraine, and the shortage of raw materials, are all emergencies that have heavily affected the economy and employment rates in the EU.
Today, INAPP and CECAP (Centre for Change in Public Administrations of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart) presented a first joint report on ‘’European Union and Member States propose measures to fight unemployment caused by emergencies’’. The study was carried out by a group of scholars and researchers from four European countries (France, Germany, Spain and Italy) and covered a period of three years (2020-2023).
The report notes that these emergencies brought to the surface the fragility of welfare systems, which led the EU and Member States to rapidly adopt new measures and tools providing additional layers of protection. This was mainly through the adoption or development of public Short-Time Work Arrangement (STWA) schemes, also supported by the resources made available by the EU SURE (Support to Mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency) fund. The pandemic and other global challenges, however, have confronted the European Union with the urgent need to more clearly define a coordinating and supporting role towards the passive policies pursued by Member States, also from an economic point of view. For this purpose, the EU set up the SURE programme aimed at mitigating the risks of unemployment resulting from the emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Commission allocated a budget of EUR 8.2 billion for this programme, which, in 2020, supported around 31.5 million employees and self-employed workers and over 2.5 million businesses. Italy benefitted from a total of EUR 3.7 billion in funding. Nevertheless, the recurring nature of recent crises shed light on the need to make structural changes to welfare systems, including extending protection measures to all sectors (for instance, the self-employed and the working poor).
Prof. Sebastiano Fadda, president of the INAPP, and Prof. Pier Antonio Varesi, professor of Labour Law at the Catholic University state that ‘’based on a thorough analysis of regulatory frameworks at EU and Member State levels, and the positive results brought by the SURE programme, it is clear that there is a need to expand welfare and social protection mechanisms across the EU.’’
The Director of the Research Centre at Università Cattolica, Elena Zuffada highlights that ‘’for several years, CeCAP has been carrying out theoretical and applied research projects on the subject of active labour policies and ways to combat unemployment’. She stresses that this is an area of absolute strategic importance for a public administration that intends to contribute effectively and innovatively to the growth of the socio-economic system and the sustainable development of the country.
For further information:
GIANCARLO SALEMI journalist cell: 347 6312823
Attachemnts
Download the press release