European unemployment benefit scheme to face social exclusion: a real perspective or just a political shangri-la?

The article analyses the possible introduction of an unemployment subsidy at European level. The first section describes the constitutional background at three different levels: first, the role played by social rights; second, how the Italian Constitution outlines protection against unemployment; third, the tricky relation among national and supranational law sources. The analysis goes further considering some thorny aspects of the European Unemployment Benefit Scheme (EUBS) through the labour law lenses: its link with social safety nets; the risk that the new European insurance might ensure low protection standards; and above all the inevitable link of EUBS with the minimum wage issue. The final remarks regard the risk that EUBS could produce positive effects for people only following greater integration at political and economic level.