In the wake of elections in Germany and Austria, “the European Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, László Andor presented [on October 2] proposals to add a “social dimension” to the monetary union”, which include the creation of a European unemployment benefit system, reports Der Standard.
The measures, which have been approved by the Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn and by Commission President José Manuel Barroso, will allow for the creation of fund to enable crisis stricken countries to pay unemployment benefit, explains the daily —
The Commission aims to counter the decline in purchasing power caused by austerity measures, which has resulted in a downward spiral.
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However, the daily remarks that the implementation of such a measure would require modifications to EU treaties and the unanimous support of the European Council, which is why experts believe that the project is unlikely to succeed.
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