TEPSA would like to draw your attention to the following open consultation.
An open consultation has been voiced by the Directorate-General for Informatics (DIGIT) on “the 2013 EU Citizenship Report “EU citizens – Your rights, your future”. This public consultation by the European Commission is aimed at all EU citizens and organisations. It wants to know about any obstacles EU citizens and organisations might be facing in their daily life as a European Citizen living, studying, working, shopping or simply travelling within the EU. The Commission would also like to hear ideas about how to remove these obstacles and further develop EU citizenship.
Being a national of an EU country gives access to the European citizenship. There are a number of rights listed in EU Treaties since 1993 and agreed by all 27 EU countries:
- to travel and live anywhere in the EU
- not to be discriminated against on the basis of the nationality
- to vote and stand as a candidate in municipal and European Parliament elections wherever the EU citizens lives in the EU
- if the EU citizen’s country is not represented, to be assisted by another EU country’s embassy or consulate outside the EU, under the same conditions as a citizen of that country
- to petition the European Parliament and to bring a case to the European Ombudsman
- to initiate, together with other EU citizens, a citizens’ initiative to call for new EU legislation.
These rights apply not only if an EU citizens decides to live in another EU country but also when travelling or staying for a short period elsewhere in the EU (as a tourist, student, trainee, frontier worker, weekly commuter, patient, for business, etc.), or even when he is shopping online. Please find more background information here.
In 2010, the European Commission published EU Citizenship Report to inform people about their rights as EU citizens. This Report identified the main obstacles that prevent citizens from fully enjoying their rights and set out 25 actions to address them. The Report was strongly supported by the European Parliament. Since then, considerable progress has been made to facilitate citizens’ lives. For example, on the initiative of the European Commission, the EU has adopted new laws to make citizens’ rights more effective in practice. Some of the Commission’s proposals are still under discussion in the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers. Please see how we are doing in each area.
In 2013, EU citizenship will celebrate its 20th birthday since its introduction with the entry into force of the Treaty of Maastricht. The European Commission wants to mark this occasion by further developing and strengthening the Citizens’ Agenda and making sure you can enjoy your EU rights in your daily life. The European Commission will present a new EU Citizenship Report in 2013 with further measures responding to issues raised by EU citizens. The Commission has also proposed to make 2013 the European Year of Citizens and intends to take a series of initiatives, putting the citizen at the heart of its action.
In this sense, the Commission would like to hear from citizens’ views about issues that concern them as it considers their contribution to the 2013 Citizenship Report is paramount. The period of consultation will last from 9 May until 9 September 2012. The Commission will prepare a consolidated and anonymous analysis of all responses to the questionnaire and publish it online. More information on how to submit your contribution can be found here