EU Court again strikes down citizens’ income scheme: “It discriminates against asylum seekers”

Brussels – A ten-year residency requirement within the country cannot be imposed for the purpose of granting an income support allowance, as this “constitutes indirect discrimination against beneficiaries of international protection”. This was ruled by the Court of Justice of the EU, which, in its judgment, rejected the Italian system, and specifically the citizens’ income scheme introduced by the Conte I government to combat poverty. The measure, a flagship policy of the Five Star Movement, is no longer in force, but the Luxembourg judges nonetheless ruled against it.

Specifically, the challenge relates to Article 2 of Decree Law No. 4 dated January 28, 2019, which stipulates, in paragraph 1, subparagraph A, point 2, that to be eligible for the benefit, a person must have been “resident in Italy for at least 10 years, the last two of which […] must have been continuous.” However, the Court of Justice of the EU clarifies that citizens’ income “is both an access to employment measure, which is subject to the
principle of equality between beneficiaries of international protection and nationals.” Despite its name, therefore, the income support and labour market inclusion measure also applies to non-Italians.

However, when defining its rules, it is precisely the ten-year residence requirement that “primarily affects non-nationals and constitutes indirect discrimination
against them, which is, in principle, prohibited,” in accordance with the 2011 European Directive on international protection for non-EU citizens and stateless persons. 

According to the EU Court of Justice, the argument regarding the costs and administrative burdens for the Italian State does not hold either. The judges in Luxembourg consider that the 10-year residence requirement “is not objectively justified” by the fact that the grant of ‘citizens’ income’
entails, according to the Italian Government, a significant administrative and financial cost, which justifies limiting a grant
of that benefit solely to persons who are well integrated into the national community. On the contrary, the EU Court notes that the granting of social benefits to a person “entails the same costs for the institution
concerned regardless of whether that person is a beneficiary of international protection or a national of the Member State
concerned.” 

Today’s ruling (7 May) echoes the Court’s 2024 views and the European Commission’s critical stance, which led to the launch of infringement proceedings for the same reasons. In short, the measure introduced by the first Conte government, conceived as a revolutionary intervention, has proved to be a legal failure.