Abstract

This paper deals with the main issues related to the implementation of a European Unemployment Benefit Scheme (EUBS). The main purpose is to show that, in spite of the practical difficulties, advantages are more significant than disadvantages. The concerns of moral hazard and fiscal responsibility are critically and constructively discussed, and responded to, with a particular focus on the feasibility in Italy. Moreover, this paper wishes to contribute to the debate around such a scheme through the illustration of a "pilot project", which would be applied only to the category of "European workers". In times of crisis and Euroscepticism, this would represent a remarkable effort towards political European integration.