lonelyplanetmum
The EU is essentially a trading bloc.It has limited powers mostly to do with food standards, environment, health and safety and some workers' rights.This is misunderstood by many people.The EU can't dictate to any country how it distributes wealth between citizens.
Although on Reuters this week (26th March);
The EU has sent Austria a “letter of formal notice” - which could be a first step towards legal action against Vienna - ^regarding its decision to cut benefits payments for some children living abroad;
uk.reuters.com/article/uk-austria-politics-childbenefits/austria-rejects-eu-criticism-of-cuts-to-child-benefits-abroad-idUKKCN1R70VV
A nasty right-wing policy no doubt - but the EU clearly do have powers to intervene.
The government said it had written to the EU formally defending the policy.Conservative family minister Juliane Bogner-Strauss told ORF radio that other states has different living costs “so we have different situations”.
Austria borders eight countries, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia, where wages are significantly lower.
Also - the EU Commission can impose austerity policies on its member states;
2016: The European Union’s executive Commission has the power to impose fines and to suspend EU funds for countries that run deficits above 3 percent of their gross domestic product and do not take measures to correct their excessive gaps.
Spain and Portugal were found in breach of EU fiscal rules last year, but the Commission has concluded there is no need to sanction them as they have taken sufficient measures to correct their imbalances, Commission vice president Valdis Dombrovskis told a news conference.
“The event that required a proposal by the Commission to suspend parts of the European Structural and Investment Funds is no longer present and there will be no such proposal,” the EU executive said in a note, adding that the sanction procedure will be “held in abeyance”.
uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-deficits-spain-portugal-idUKKBN13B1MW