Tietoa lausunnosta 

To comment on the European Commission proposals for the strengthening to EU citizenship;
To reiterate the CoR positions on EU citizens' electoral rights;
To propose ways in which local and regional authorities can help and assist citizens in the exercise of the rights stemming from EU citizenship and to contribute to their strengthening.

This is one of the opinions elaborated in the course of 2013 and seen in the context of the CoR contribution to the 2013 as the European Year of Citizens. Along with the other opinions elaborated as part of the same work-stream (see immediately above) this opinion succeeded to raise awareness about the role of local and regional authorities in safeguarding and strengthening the rights of EU citizens.

It provided strong support to the free movement of EU citizens in the wake of the debate between the European Commission and certain Member States in the Council.

The opinion was referred to extensively in the context of the Joint Mayors' Conference on Free Movement, co-organised by the CoR and DG JUST in Brussels on 11 February 2014.

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS



- underlines that free movement is a cornerstone for the EU's further economic and political development, opens professional and learning opportunities for EU citizens and creates closer bonds between Europeans and thus is a central element of Union citizenship;

- observes that EU citizenship separates the concept of citizenship from the national state and shifts the emphasis from individual membership of a political community to residence, to equal protection of individual, political and social rights, and to free movement as a European citizen;

- emphasises the importance of creating a real area of freedom, security and justice to serve citizens, in a world where people are more mobile, and notes that ensuring the smooth exercise by EU citizens of their right to free movement and residence is crucial, because it is the EU Treaty right which citizens value the most and see as the most important achievement of EU integration;

- notes that the difficulties faced by EU citizens in exercising their rights are not so much due to a legislative deficit at European level as to issues of transposing and implementing legislation at national level and points out that regional and local authorities will be asked to play a key role in the participatory processes to be put in place, so as to implement a real bottom-up approach in which citizens can make a substantial contribution to defining EU policies that give positive effect to their rights;

- commends the European Commission's proposal to use an e-training tool for local authorities to address the lack of knowledge of European citizens' rights at local and regional level and would like to work actively with the European Commission on designing and promoting this tool in the Member States;

- calls on every single Member State to make it easier for their citizens to exercise the right to vote and right to stand as candidates in national elections, irrespective of whether they reside or are staying in the country in question and believes that the time is ripe to begin or continue dialogue on extending EU citizens' right to vote to include regional and national elections of the country of residence.