Social benefits and cross-border mobility
This Tribune by Frank Vandenbroucke, social affairs adviser at the Jacques Delors Institute, deals with the main elements of the debate on social benefits paid to non-nationals and of posted workers in the EU.
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This Tribune by Frank Vandenbroucke, social affairs adviser at the Jacques Delors Institute, deals with the main elements of the debate on social benefits paid to non-nationals and of posted workers in the EU.
Issues that are relatively unimportant in quantitative terms often weigh heavily in the political debate : the political capital invested in the question of social benefits paid to non-nationals is a salient example of this paradox. However, principles can be important in politics.
Franck Vandenbroucke makes a link with the longstanding debate on posting of workers in the EU. These two debates have been separated. He argues that EU Member States should approach these two debaters from a single, principled perspective. The argument is not about principles for the sake of principles: sticking to consistent principles may ultimately yield better results for everybody.
This Tribune reflects a theme developed in the Inaugural Lecture of Frank Vandenbroucke on 1 June 2016, at the occasion of his appointment as University Professor at the University of Amsterdam.
Issues that are relatively unimportant in quantitative terms often weigh heavily in the political debate : the political capital invested in the question of social benefits paid to non-nationals is a salient example of this paradox. However, principles can be important in politics.
Franck Vandenbroucke makes a link with the longstanding debate on posting of workers in the EU. These two debates have been separated. He argues that EU Member States should approach these two debaters from a single, principled perspective. The argument is not about principles for the sake of principles: sticking to consistent principles may ultimately yield better results for everybody.
This Tribune reflects a theme developed in the Inaugural Lecture of Frank Vandenbroucke on 1 June 2016, at the occasion of his appointment as University Professor at the University of Amsterdam.
