Citizens’ initiative for universal basic income to launch on Sept 25

A European citizens’ initiative will be launched on Sept. 25, calling for the introduction of universal basic income in all European Union member states, a Párbeszéd lawmaker said on Tuesday.

Bence Tordai, the party’s deputy group leader, noted at a press conference that one million signatures must be gathered before for the European Commission to table the proposal.

Party co-leader Tímea Szabó said

nearly half of Hungarian livelihoods had been endangered by the coronavirus epidemic.

The pandemic had shown that people and governments alike can be caught off guard by unexpected events, Szabó said.

During the first wave, hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs or a proportion of their salaries, she said.

“We can already see that the second wave is likely to be a lot worse,” she added.

Universal basic income is the only long-term solution to mitigating such events, she said.

Tordai noted that the current week is International Basic Income Week. Round-table discussions will be held throughout the week, he noted, followed by a “March for Basic Income” on Saturday, “if the pandemic situation allows”.