Two rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe are calling to “act in a concerted manner now in order to beat both the virus and the crisis” and urging “a strong political response which stabilises economies, while protecting the vulnerable”, says a statement issued on Thursday 7 May.
For this, say Geórgios Katroúgalos (GUE/NGL, Greece), rapporteur on the OECD, and Turkish Socialist Selin Sayek Böke, rapporteur on economic inequality, decision-makers can draw on the OECD's “valuable data and analysis”.
The rapporteurs identify a series of priority recommendations: - improving social benefits, particularly for low-income households and the self-employed and precarious workers; - extension of coverage and duration of social safety nets; - tax relief for health care and emergency-related workers; - lower taxes on essential consumer goods and services; - implementation of ambitious recovery programmes with increased support for SMEs and green investments; - better use of rapid reaction policies; - suspension of social security contributions and taxes on the salaries of employers and self-employed persons; - support for teleworking. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)