(ANSA) - BELGRADE, DEC 14 - A quarter of EU member states, including Bulgaria, Croatia and Hungary, provided "little or no income support for self-employed or precarious workers during the Covid crisis - despite the EU making funds available for such support," the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) said today. ETUC recalled that income and job support measures, delivered also thanks to the EU's €100 million SURE scheme, helped around 42 million workers in the EU in spring However, many member states left non-standard workers without sufficient support.

Among those, Bulgaria and Croatia did not include support for self-employed in application for SURE funds, while Hungary provided allowances only for self-employed in the restaurant and tourism sector, ETUC said.

"These gaps in support have contributed to EU unemployment increasing by 2 million in the past year, with young people and women the worst affected," ETUC General Secretary Luca Visentini said. (ANSA).