Italy blames financial woes in family benefits dispute with Brussels

Rome is facing legal action by the European Commission for allegedly discriminating against EU citizens who reside in the Mediterranean country.

Transcript

00:00Italy's Prime Minister Giorgio Maloney has described the motivations behind the EU's

00:06infringement procedure against Italy as, quote, surreal.

00:10Last Thursday, the European Commission announced it is taking legal action against Italy, accusing

00:15the country of discriminating against EU migrants who are not eligible for family benefits.

00:20Under the law passed in 2022, workers who have not lived in Italy for at least two years

00:25or whose children did not reside in the country could not benefit from the measure.

00:55The current government has increased resources by 3 billion euros to sustain the family benefits

01:06system.

01:09Prime Minister Maloney has said Italy could not afford to do any more.

01:16The measurement is at the heart of the government's efforts to boost Italy's falling birth rate.

01:22The case has not been referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

01:30The Commission said that one of the fundamental principles of the EU is that people are treated

01:35equally without any distinction of nationality.

01:38The case could trigger a heated debate between Rome and the European Commission shortly after

01:43Maloney's complaint about the rule of law report's remarks on media freedom in Italy.

01:49Giorgio Arlandi for Euronews in Rome.

01:52Euronews.co.uk