Governance and citizenship

The European Commission has launched an online consultation, available until 9 September 2012, in order to examine the rights European citizens benefit from and wish to benefit in the framework of the EU treaties.

Have you ever encountered difficulties moving to another EU country?  What does European citizenship mean to you?  In what kind of Union would you like to live in the year 2020?  These are among the questions included in the consultation questionnaire.

The survey is open to all EU citizens and organisations.  Its conclusions will allow the European Commission to draft a report on EU citizenship in 2013.  In 2010, the European Commission published a first report on citizenship in order to inform EU citizens of their rights. It listed 25 concrete examples of possible measures to make the lives of citizens easier.

The new report will be published at the occasion of the 2013 European Year of Citizens and of the 20th anniversary of the Maastricht Treaty, which established the principle of EU citizenship.

The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) thus encourages citizens to voice their opinions by completing the survey.  Moreover, the consultation will allow for a number of local debates to be organised on European citizenship, while contributing to twinning-related discussions and to a joint reflection on democratic life in Europe.