Saving European Social Security from the Populists
Across Europe, right-wing populist parties are gaining ground by exploiting voters’ concerns about migration and access to the welfare state. It is time for the EU to introduce a single social-security identifier that enables governments to track workers and ensures that welfare benefits are portable across national borders.
https://prosyn.org/sNNmLPS
ROME – Austria’s presidential election has thrown into sharp relief one of Europe’s fundamental challenges. In the first round, held on April 24, Norbert Hofer of the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) won the largest share of the popular vote, having campaigned on the claim that unchecked immigration risked burdening Austria’s welfare state to the point of collapse. He faces off against Alexander Van der Bellen, a member of the Greens, on May 22.