Rusu Ana-Maria SSL II

European citizenship: not just words, but also concrete rights!

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ContentsIntroduction......................................................................................................................................................3

Introducing Citizenship of the Union................................................................................................................4

Obstacles to Exercising EU Citizens’ rights........................................................................................................5

Role of Local and Regional Authorities.............................................................................................................7

Information campaigns and information-related events..............................................................................8

European citizenship: not just words, but also concrete rights!.......................................................................9

Project life cycle..........................................................................................................................................10

General and specific objectives of the European Citizenship Campaign.....................................................11

Priorities of the campaign...........................................................................................................................11

Specificities of the campaign actions.........................................................................................................12

Town Twinning Citizens’ Meetings.........................................................................................................12

Citizens' projects.....................................................................................................................................13

Bibliography...................................................................................................................................................16

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Introduction

The issue of European citizenship usually turns around a conception of individuals as

citizens of states which are themselves members of the European Union. The term 'European

citizenship' is perceived as a condition by which people from different nations should have similar

rights to be asserted vis-à-vis the European public courts and public officials. In fact, this

conception of citizenship has by and large been accomplished within the European Union and this is

a major achievement which should not be belittled.

What is, however, more vigorously contested is a conception of citizenship in which

individuals are seen as immediate bearers of EU citizenship, as sharing a common identity, a

common responsibility and "the excitement and anticipation of future common endeavour"1. This

envisages a conception of European citizenship in which the core elements of citizenship, rights

and identity, are not attached to citizens as members of separate member states that together form

the European Union, but to citizens as citizens of the European Union, perceived as a democratic

political union. In this perspective European identity is the disposition of different nationals to

consider themselves, their compatriots and their foreign fellow-Europeans as equal members of the

European community: it refers to equal concern and respect.

If a central premise of legitimate political rule is, that those who are affected by political

decisions, should be able to participate in legitimating activities of their common affairs, the idea of

European citizenship should entail, or so I argue, accountability, not to the separate peoples of

Europe, but accountability to the people of Europe as a whole. In the following this idea of

European citizenship will be developed from a political theoretical perspective. I will inquire into

its empirical impediments, and will argue that a first necessity for a democratic political European

Union is the institutionalization of this conception of European citizenship, to prevent a decline in

legitimacy with regard to the EU by the citizens of the member states.

1 http://seejps.lumina.org/index.php/97-the-european-citizenship-republican-multicultural-or-hybrid .3

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Introducing Citizenship of the Union

Citizenship of the EU was introduced by the Treaty on European Union (TEU), which

entered into force in 1993. In the Preamble to that Treaty, the heads of state recorded that they were

resolved ‘to establish a citizenship common to nationals of their countries’. The Treaty accordingly

inserted a new part in the EC Treaty: Part Two, entitled „Citizenship of the Union”, comprised six

Articles, numbered 8–8e and re-numbered 17–22 in the Amsterdam Treaty, signed in Amsterdam

on 2 October 1997. The first Article, which became Article 8 (now Article 17) of the EC Treaty,

provided as follows:

1. Citizenship of the Union is hereby established. Every person holding the

nationality of a Member State shall be a citizen of the Union.

2. Citizens of the Union shall enjoy the rights conferred by this Treaty and shall

be subject to the duties imposed thereby.2

Treaty of Maastricht stipulated that EU citizenship does not replace national citizenship but

provides all EU citizens with an additional set of rights that are guaranteed by EU treaties. EU

citizenship confers a number of rights: right to vote and stand as a candidate in European Parliament

and municipal elections; right to free movement and residence throughout the EU Member States;

right to complain to the EU Ombudsmen and right to petition to the European Parliament.

The adoption of the Lisbon Treaty at the end of 2009 led to a number of important changes

with regard to the concept of European citizenship. Both the Treaty on European Union and the

Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union enshrine the democratic principles of the EU,

stipulate the rights of Union citizens and outline the key methods of involving citizens and their

associations in shaping the European political agenda. The expression of citizens' needs and the

necessary deliverables to meet them, the openness of the democratic system for civic participation

and the rights of people including the knowledge about these rights are closely interlinked.

2 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2008:115:0013:0045:en:PDF .4

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Developing a lasting sense of ownership for and belonging to the European Union requires that all

three aspects are addressed equally and with the appropriate instruments.

For its part, the Committee of the Regions has undertaken various initiatives in relation to

EU citizenship and citizens’ rights: In the Committee of the Regions’ CIVEX Commission’s 2012

work programme, an emphasis is put on the role of Local and Regional Authorities in mobilising

citizens and fostering active citizenship at the European, national, regional and local levels.

Likewise, the Resolution on the Priorities of the Committee of the Regions for 2013 in view of the

Work Programme of the European Commission underlines the need to focus on the local and

regional dimension of initiatives to strengthen citizens' rights. The Committee of the Regions has

also prepared an own-initiative opinion on Strengthening EU citizenship: Promotion of EU citizens'

electoral rights. This opinion seeks to contribute to the promotion of EU citizenship and citizens’

rights, in particular by focusing on the right enshrined in the Lisbon Treaty for EU citizens to vote

and stand as candidates in municipal elections and in elections to the European Parliament

The European Court of Justice has also included the concept of EU citizenship in a number

of its rulings. In the case C-184/99 Grzelczyk , the Court stated that EU citizenship is the

fundamental status of nationals of the Member States, which enables those who find themselves in

the same situation to enjoy within the scope of the Treaty the same treatment in law irrespective of

their nationality. Accordingly, EU citizenship has enhanced individual rights significantly.

Furthermore, in cases C-413/99 Baumbast and R and C-200/02 Zhu and Chen the Court has

underlined the right to free movement and residence in another Member State of EU citizens,

therefore recognising EU citizenship as a source of free movement rights.

Obstacles to Exercising EU Citizens’ rights

The Citizenship Report 2010 and the accompanying reports on progress towards EU

citizenship, and the evaluation of the 2009 European Parliament elections, showed there are still a

number of obstacles to fully exercising EU citizens’ rights. More particularly, the Report noted that

a gap still remains between the applicable legal rules and the reality confronting citizens in their

daily lives, particularly in cross-border situations. Grouped into four categories, the Report

identified 25 different obstacles faced by citizens as private individuals, as consumers, as residents,

students and professionals, and as political actors. An important conclusion in the Citizenship

Report 2010 is that in many areas the lack of EU legislation is not the main reason why citizens are 5

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facing obstacles in the exercise of their rights. It identifies instead the need for actions to ensure

legislation is properly implemented, and to raise citizens’ awareness of their rights, as being

necessary to eliminate these obstacles: guaranteeing that citizens’ rights are fully enforced on the

ground by the Member States (e.g. properly transposing EU directives into national law); easing

citizens’ daily life by making the exercise of individual rights simpler(e.g. recommending good

practices to reduce costs and administrative burdens); raising citizens’ awareness about their rights

through targeted information dissemination and other activities.

The Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the EU Citizenship Report 2010

highlights the importance of Local and Regional Authorities in helping to overcome obstacles and

in promoting EU citizenship. It notes the potential for European citizenship to help build European

democracy and declares itself in favour of initiatives capable of increasing citizens’ participation in

the democratic process of the Union and contributing significantly to eliminating the EU’s

democratic deficit. In May 2012, a public online consultation on EU citizenship was launched to

ask citizens and organisations about obstacles they encounter in their daily lives when seeking to

exercise their EU citizens’ rights. A survey was also carried out by CSES for the Committee of the

Regions to obtain Local and Regional Authorities’ views on EU citizens’ rights while another

survey, carried out by Eurobarometer, focused on the perceptions of individual citizens.

According to the Eurobarometer findings, although the majority (79%) of EU citizens

claim familiarity with the term “citizen of the European Union”, only 43% say they know its

meaning and less than one-third (32%) of respondents from the 27 EU Member States consider

themselves well informed about their rights as citizens of the European Union. Interestingly, from

the perspective of Local and Regional Authorities, the CSES survey indicated that awareness of EU

Citizenship and citizens’ rights tends to be higher amongst non-national EU citizens in comparison

to national EU citizens within a particular community. Whereas 30% of the former group are seen

as having ‘quite’ or ‘very’ high levels of awareness of their rights, this was only just over 14% in

the case of the latter group. The manner in which legislation is implemented often acts as the

catalyst for the rise of many obstacles. There is a need for Local and Regional Authorities to cut red

tape in order to ensure efficient implementation of EU citizens’ rights.

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Role of Local and Regional AuthoritiesLocal and Regional Authorities are the closest public body to citizens and therefore have a

particularly important role to play in the promotion of EU citizenship and citizens’ rights. Local and

Regional Authorities promote the EU citizens’ electoral rights though a range of interventions

including educational initiatives and information campaigns. The EUfocused educational and

interactive events for pupils promote EU electoral rights by engaging pupils and their parents in

events, as well as creating a high level of awareness of voting rights in relation to the European

Parliament and local elections. These measures are particularly successful in promoting electoral

rights as they attract considerable interest from media organisations, schools, pupils, parents and

NGOs.

EU citizens' right Role of Local and Regional Authorities

Right to vote and stand as a candidate in

European Parliament elections in the

Member State of residence

Registration of EU citizens would occur normally at municipal level

Mobilising foreign residents, raising awareness about possibility for inscription in electoral roles and promotion of participation in European elections

Right to vote and stand as a candidate in

municipal elections

Registration and mobilising foreign residents, raising awareness of possibility of inscription in electoral roles and promotion of participation in municipal elections.

Forging a sense of local belonging through other measures

Right of good administration: right to be

heard; right to have access to the file;

right/obligation of administration to give

reasons; right to ask for damages if EU

action has caused damages; right to

receive response in official EU language

Right applies directly to EU institutions and Member State authorities in the context of Art. 41 of Charter.

However similar obligations of good administration apply to Local and Regional Authorities by virtue of national law

Right of access to documents Right applies directly to EU institutions and Member State authorities in the

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context of Art. 42 of the Charter.

However similar obligations apply to Local and Regional Authorities by virtue of national law

Right to complain to Ombudsman Provide information to citizens about possibility to complain to the Ombudsman;

Possibility that local/regional Ombudsman exist is linked to right to good administration

Right to petition the European ParliamentProvide information to citizens about the existence of the righ

Freedom of movement and residence in

the EU

Key to EU citizenship but also to

functioning of the Internal Market

Local and Regional Authorities can have

an important role in raising awareness and

in facilitating the exercise of these rights.

Right to diplomatic and consular protection

Information and awareness raising

Information campaigns and information-related events

Wider information campaigns and information-related events are also crucial to the

promotion of EU citizens’ electoral rights. The most effective measures through which Local and

Regional Authorities can successfully inform local and regional citizens about their electoral rights

include those which engage citizens in an active dialogue with Local and Regional Authorities (for

example, through conferences, workshops and brainstorming meetings). Information campaigns

usually aim at much bigger target groups than more focused interventions such as events in schools.

Such measures could have a potentially big impact in increasing the number of registered voters in

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local and European elections. However, the measures are mainly implemented just before elections

which leave long periods of time when little or no effort is made to promote awareness of EU

electoral rights.

European citizenship: not just words, but also concrete rights!

Considering the European citizenship as an important element in strengthening and

safeguarding the process of European integration, the European Commission continues encouraging

the engagement of European citizens in all aspects of the life of their community, thus enabling

them to participate in the construction of an ever closer Europe. By Decision 1904/2006/EC of 12

December 2006 the European Parliament and the Council adopted the "Europe for Citizens"

Programme for the period 2007-2013, which put into place the legal framework to support a wide

range of activities and organisations promoting ‘active European citizenship' and therefore the

involvement of citizens and Civil Society Organizations (hereafter CSOs) in the process of

European integration.

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Under the banner „European citizenship is not just words, but also concrete rights”, the

European Commission announces the launch of a new campaign to inform EU citizens about their

rights. „We have decided to launch this campaign again with the purpose to encourage all citizens

residing in the European Union to better know their rights. Indeed, if you are aware of your rights,

you are also in a better position to have them respected. The purpose of this campaign, ultimately, is

truly to enhance protection, promotion and respect of citizens' rights. And we believe that sending

the Commission to meet our fellow EU citizens where they are is an excellent way to give them this

vital information”3.

Project life cycle

General and specific objectives of the European Citizenship Campaign

3 http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-08-1388_en.htm?locale=en 10

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General objectives were to contribute to giving citizens the opportunity to interact and

participate in constructing an ever closer Europe, which is democratic and world-oriented, united in

and enriched through its cultural diversity, thus developing citizenship of the European Union,

developing a sense of European identity, based on common values, history and culture, fostering a

sense of ownership of the European Union among its citizens and enhancing tolerance and mutual

understanding between European citizens respecting and promoting cultural and linguistic diversity,

while contributing to intercultural dialogue.

Specific objectives had been pursued on a transnational basis: bringing together people

from local communities across Europe to share and exchange experiences, opinions and values, to

learn from history and to build for the future, fostering action, debate and reflection related to

European citizenship and democracy, shared values, common history and culture through

cooperation within civil society organisations at European level, bringing Europe closer to its

citizens by promoting Europe’s values and achievements, while preserving the memory of its past,

encouraging interaction between citizens and civil society organisations from all participating

countries, contributing to intercultural dialogue and bringing to the fore both Europe’s diversity and

unity, with particular attention to activities aimed at developing closer ties between citizens from

Member States of the European Union.

Priorities of the campaign

Under this campaign, priority was given to certain themes of particular relevance for

the development of an active European citizenship. The focus on such themes encourages synergies

between projects working on the same issue and will ensure visibility and impact of the supported

activities and of the Programme in general. In addressing these themes, applicants were invited to

go beyond a national vision, and to tackle an issue from a European perspective, and/or by

comparing different national points of view. This transnational dimension had been accompanied

by a strong local dimension.

Specificities of the campaign actions

Town Twinning Citizens’ Meetings

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Town Twinning Citizens’ Meetings consist in bringing together a wide range of citizens

from twinned towns, taking benefit of the partnership between the municipalities for strengthening

mutual knowledge and understanding between citizens and between cultures. This action

experienced an active civic participation at local level based on structured cooperation with civil

society. This has been achieved through involving the local community in the planning and

implementation of the project, fostering civic participation though volunteering as well as giving

participants an active role during the event. It also encouraged citizens to become more involved at

European level, thus contributing to the development of an active European citizenship. This has

been achieved through learning about participation of European citizens in the democratic life of

the EU, discussing the equal opportunities in political life. More than this, action reinforced the

participants’ commitment to European integration. This has been achieved through exchanging

points of view and experiences in relation to the priorities of the Campaign.

Projects : Europe en Scène

Europe en Scene is a common project built by eight towns with the goal of sharing their

cultural heritage and forging a link between European citizens from different backgrounds.

Wicklow Town, Montigny le Brettoneux (France), Tirgu Mures (Romania), Kierspe (Germany),

Denton (United Kingdom), Marostica (Italy), San Fernando (Spain) and Eichenzell (Germany) set

out to show that regardless of one’s birth place, all people share similar ideals, values, problems and

purposes. Under the smiling gaze of the July sun, Wicklow welcomed a lively crowd of youngsters

eager to participate in the manifestations. Local people of all ages were invited to join in and

numerous families hosted the participants in their own homes, turning the event into a warm and

personal experience. Many of the townsfolk volunteered to offer sightseeing tours and excursions, 12

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and local musicians, artists and sportspeople engaged in entertaining demonstrations of their talents.

Daily workshops based around music, dance and drama became true cultural melting pots. The

individual and collaborative pieces produced incorporated the artistic flavours of all the

participating regions. At the end of the weeklong festival, participants returned to their home towns

with one thought on their minds: that which brings us together is stronger than whatever divides us.

The festival showed that cultural initiatives, coupled with enthusiastic local involvement,

can facilitate dialogue between communities separated by significant geographical distances.

Europe en Scene allowed visitors to learn more about the history, culture and natural surroundings

of the host town and encourages local tourism. It also offered a fresh view of what European

integration really means and has provided a clearer understanding of how the European Union

affects our lives.

Citizens' projects

The action “Citizen’s projects” aims at exploring innovative methodologies and

approaches to encourage citizens’ active participation at European level and to stimulate the

dialogue between European citizens and European institutions. Under this measure a variety of

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projects of a transnational and cross-sectoral dimension, directly involving citizens will be

supported. Priority is given to projects aimed at encouraging local level participation.

Citizens’ projects collected the opinion of citizens on some key European challenges for

the future, explored new methodologies capable of promoting active interaction and discussion

between citizens on matters related to EU policies that affect their daily life, created mechanisms

that allow European citizens to develop civic competences, to formulate their views and opinions on

the European integration process in the form of recommendations for policy makers at European

level, encouraged the dialogue between European citizens and the institutions of the EU,

empowering citizens as regards EU policies and their impact, and ensuring appropriate follow up of

citizens' opinions by the EU institutions.

Projects: Stories of a possible Europe

Stories of a Possible Europe was an initiative whose philosophy is best expressed in the

words of Ira Glass – “Great stories happen to those who can tell them”. Cultural and educational

associations from Italy, Germany, Portugal, United Kingdom, Spain, Slovakia and Slovenia, united

their efforts in bringing to light the thousands of experiences and faces that make up our Europe.

Together they laid the foundation for what was to become a colourful, inspiring and heart-warming

expedition into the various cultures of the old continent.

Men and women of every age and cultural origin were invited to participate in a

cooperative and autobiographical storytelling contest on the theme of intercultural dialogue. Tales

of the past and present, but also dreams, desires and utopian fantasies that can help us imagine and

bring into being another possible Europe. Citizen panels were organized in each of the six countries,

as a form of participation and interaction in “constructing an ever closer Europe” through

storytelling. The stories were produced in the first person by panel participants, through

autobiographical writing workshops, or collected by the same participants in the form of interviews

and life stories. Tales, research articles and studies were also collected through the European

“Another Europe is Possible” competition. The authors were given freedom to use any means of

expression they saw fit, resulting in an eclectic collection of written texts, photo, video and audio

narrations, comic strips, poetry and theatre. The stories offered an image of a vibrant, multifaceted

Europe, recounting experiences of commitment to human rights and democracy, different ways of

working together, new ways of living, and new visions of the world.14

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The stories contribute to the knowledge of the values and representations which are the

basis for building a sense of European identity. The stories were compiled into micro-anthologies,

photo calendars and brochures, ensuring that the gathered experiences can be used to improve

intercultural dialogue in Europe. Through these materials the organisers involved citizens and

institutional representatives, both at local and European level. The online competition allowed for

wide diffusion and participation.

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Bibliography

1. http://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/20619/RSCAS_2012_07.pdf?sequence=1 2. http://www.cesruc.org/uploads/soft/130301/1-1303011Q111.pdf 3. http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/citizenship/programme/who_participate_en.php 4. http://ec.europa.eu/justice/citizen/ 5. http://ec.europa.eu/youth/tools/documents/guide13_en.pdf 6. http://eudo-citizenship.eu/electoral-rights 7. http://eudo-citizenship.eu/indicators 8. http://europa.eu/pol/cit/index_en.htm 9. http://seejps.lumina.org/index.php/97-the-european-citizenship-republican-multicultural-or-hybrid 10. http://spanport.lss.wisc.edu/sites/uw-madison-ces.org/files/lehning.pdf

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