2016年-CEPS欧洲政策研究中心_The_Legal_and_Operational_Feasibility_of_a_European_Unemployment_Benefits_Scheme_at_the_National_Level_99页_1mb

Summary of the Legal and Operational Feasibility of a European Unemployment Benefits Scheme at the National Level

Core Content

This report investigates the legal and operational feasibility of introducing a European Unemployment Benefits Scheme (EUBS) at the national level, with a focus on the "genuine" EUBS as a form of supranational automatic stabiliser. It is part of a broader project commissioned by the European Commission to assess the feasibility and added value of an EUBS, particularly in terms of macroeconomic stabilisation and social outcomes during economic shocks.

The report explores two main forms of EUBS: equivalent and genuine. The equivalent EUBS involves financial transfers between a supranational fund and member states, while the genuine EUBS entails direct transfers to unemployed individuals, making it more complex and supranational in nature.

Main Views and Key Information

1. Legal and Operational Barriers

• Legal Complexity: The introduction of a genuine EUBS would require substantial legal reforms at the national level, as it would involve changes to constitutional law, legislative frameworks, and administrative systems.
• Diversity of National Systems: The diversity and complexity of national unemployment benefit regulations pose significant operational and legal challenges.
• Constitutional Compatibility: Most member states do not foresee constitutional conflicts with an equivalent EUBS, provided it is established under EU law (TEU or TFEU) and incorporated into national legal orders.
• Fiscal Rules: The equivalent EUBS must comply with EU fiscal rules and national budget planning rules, which could limit its scope or require amendments.
• Administrative Effort: A genuine EUBS would require additional administrative effort, as it would operate in conjunction with national unemployment benefit systems (NUBS) and involve supranational oversight.

2. Dimensions of the EUBS

The report outlines eight key dimensions that define the EUBS, which are used to distinguish between different EUBS options:

1. Duration of payments
2. Replacement rate
3. Qualifying period
4. Capping
5. Cyclical variability
6. Experience rating
7. Claw-back
8. Debt-issuing possibility

These dimensions are further divided into basic and top-up EUBS types. The basic EUBS provides a common provision for all eligible unemployed persons, while the top-up EUBS ensures a minimum level of benefits and allows member states to top up with their own provisions.

3. Operational Challenges

• Trigger Mechanism: The equivalent EUBS is activated based on short-term unemployment rates, which are compared to national averages over the past decade.
• Interaction with NUBS: The genuine EUBS may replace or supplement national unemployment benefits depending on the level of generosity of the latter.
• Supranational Funding: The genuine EUBS is assumed to be funded equally by employers and workers, with experience rating influencing contribution levels.
• Debt Issuance: Some versions of the equivalent EUBS allow for debt issuance to finance unemployment benefits, which could raise constitutional and fiscal concerns.
• Interrelation with Social Protection: The EUBS may interact with other social security branches, such as social assistance, and could have cross-cutting implications.

4. Methodology and Structure

• Methodology: The report draws on expert input from social security specialists in all 28 EU member states, collected via a standardised questionnaire.
• Structure: The report is structured into:
  • Chapter 2: Feasibility of the equivalent EUBS, focusing on constitutional law and fiscal rules.
  • Chapter 3: Feasibility of the genuine EUBS, examining legal and operational barriers across the eight dimensions.
  • Chapter 4: Analysis of the EUBS in the context of international and European social security instruments.
  • Chapter 5: Summary of legal and operational barriers from the perspective of countries and EUBS types.
  • Chapter 6: Concluding remarks and general conclusions.

5. International and European Instruments

• The EUBS must be compatible with EU treaties, international agreements, and social security instruments such as the European Code of Social Security (ECSS) and the European Social Charter (ESC).
• The EU coordination rules for social security are also relevant, particularly in terms of aggregation, export, and cross-border implications for unemployed persons.

Conclusion

The report concludes that the genuine EUBS would require significant legal and administrative reforms in most member states. While it could serve as an effective shock absorber, its feasibility depends on the definition of parameters and the compatibility with national legal and fiscal frameworks. The equivalent EUBS, by contrast, is more feasible in terms of constitutional and fiscal compliance, but still faces operational challenges.

The findings will feed into a roadmap for implementation, highlighting necessary actions, responsible actors, and timeframes for different EUBS options. The economic, legal, and operational impacts of each EUBS type are also summarised in an overview table.