Citizens are at the heart of the European Union. They form the foundation upon which the European community is built and constitute the focus of everyday policymaking.
Well-informed citizens will be able to make full use of the rights they have- David Casa
Acknowledging the central role of citizens in this community of nations, the European Parliament recently cast its vote in favour of designating the upcoming year, 2013, as the European Year of Citizens.
The corresponding report was adopted at the last plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg and the rapporteur, Antigoni Papadopoulou, said that “at times of economic, political and social crisis, only 20 months before the next European elections, putting Union citizenship and participatory democracy at the centre of the political agenda is absolutely essential”.
In 2013, the EU will be celebrating 20 years of EU citizenship, a concept that was established by the so-called Maastricht Treaty, which was signed in February 1992 and came into force the following year.
This treaty, which is also known as the Treaty on European Union (TEU), went beyond its initial objective of establishing a common European market and came to incorporate provisions that paved the way towards integration at political level.
Since its entry into force, the Treaty of Maastricht has undergone various amendments, through a series of subsequent treaties. Despite these alterations, however, it still constitutes a solid foundation for citizenship rights that the EU grants to all the 500 million nationals in its member states.
So what are the rights that EU citizenship confers upon Europeans across the continent?
EU citizenship gives individuals a number of rights in addition to the national rights they hold in their countries of origin.
Being a citizen of the EU means that individuals across the community have the freedom to live or work in any other member state of the Union and to vote and stand as candidates for European or local elections in the member state that they reside in.
The treaty further enables European citizens who travel to non-EU countries to receive diplomatic or consular protection from any EU member state should their country of origin not be represented in that particular state.
Citizens are further granted a wide range of rights, ranging from consumer rights to employment and social protection.
They can equally petition the European Parliament or submit complaints to the Ombudsman.
The primary goal of the Year of Citizens is to raise awareness about the rights granted to nationals of EU member states.
This is important because only well-informed citizens will be able to make full use of the rights they have.
As a 2010 Flash Eurobarometer survey pointed out, there still is lack of awareness among Europeans when it comes to understanding EU citizenship and the rights that come along with it.
The survey highlighted that while 79 per cent of respondents are familiar with the term “EU citizenship”, only 43 per cent actually understand what it refers to.
The same survey also revealed that 67 per cent of respondents do not feel that they are sufficiently informed about the rights granted to them as citizens of the EU.
These figures point to the need to raise awareness about EU citizenship and to deliver a true meaning and understanding of European identity to individuals across member states.
However, the scope of the European Year of Citizens is expected to reach beyond the aim of raising awareness. The initiative will provide for a series of events held at all levels throughout the year 2013. This will provide the EU with the opportunity to encourage Europeans to practise active citizenship by participating in EU policymaking.
Furthermore, the European Year of Citizens will focus specifically on the right to freedom of movement in the EU. As a 2011 survey pointed out, an average of 48 per cent of respondents across member states stated that this right was most important to them as European citizens. The European Year of Citizens will hence encourage a debate around this concept and its potential to stimulate exchange between nationals from different member states and, ultimately, bring them closer together.
With an estimated budget of €750,000 spent on preparatory actions in 2012, and €1 million allocated to the European Year of Citizens in 2013, the EU is taking ambitious steps towards increasing the participation of its citizens in the democratic life of the community.
By informing Europeans about their rights, we give them the opportunity to reap the full benefits of what the EU has to offer.
This will hopefully enable us to encourage more citizens to actively participate in the everyday happenings within the EU and to embrace their European identity. In doing so, we are working towards eliminating frontiers between European citizens, ultimately creating a more unified Europe.
David Casa is a Nationalist MEP.