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Abstract:

The loss of income that millions of Europeans are or will experience as a result of the pandemic has attracted interest to income guarantee schemes. For instance, Spain just adopted a minimal income scheme. However, differences among member states prevail as to their ability to finance these measures. In this context, a European Citizens Initiative is seeking to gather one million signatures to ask the EU Commission to launch a European basic income. We address this debate from the sustainability perspective: what social and fiscal measures will be required to support efforts by European societies and economies to reduce CO2 emmissions at a pace similar to the one experienced during the pandemic?