Latvia gains lead over Estonia in petition for EU-wide unconditional basic income

TALLINN - Compared with the national threshold, the share of signatories in Latvia to a petition to establish unconditional basic income in the European Union had exceeded the corresponding share in Estonia by Tuesday afternoon, rising to third place in the EU.

The petition garnered 408 signatures in Latvia on Tuesday alone, bringing the total number thereof to 2011 by 4:50 p.m., representatives of the citizens' initiative seeking unconditional universal basic income throughout the EU told BNS. 

The petition garnered five signatures in Estonia on Tuesday, bringing the total to 1,759 by 5 p.m. Estonia now places fourth in the EU in terms of the share of signatures compared with the national threshold.

There are two criteria for a successful European citizen's initiative -- a total of one million signatures and at least seven countries meeting their threshold. The deadline for the campaign of the petition was recently extended until Christmas due to the coronavirus pandemic complicating the campaign process.