Brussels, 27/10/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 27 October the European Commission presented its first report on citizenship in the EU, in which it proposes measures to make the lives of its citizens easier when they marry, purchase a house or register a car in another EU country. Viviane Reding, the European commissioner for justice, fundamental rights and citizenship, declared during the presentation of the report that “My goal today is to make sure that we remove the remaining hurdles that people face when exercising their rights. Citizens should feel comfortable if they travel, study or settle abroad. Citizens must have the same rights no matter where they are”.
Tourists/expatriates: The Commission will further reinforce the right to consular protection for EU citizens whose home member state is not represented in third countries, by strengthening the legal framework (the 2011 legislative proposal) and increasing awareness among citizens and consular officials by way of a website focusing on the issue and targeted measures of communication. In 2011, the Commission will guarantee protection for holidaymakers, particularly in cases when their travel agents have gone bankrupt during their holidays. Additional measures to enhance passengers' rights in all areas of transport, including airline passenger rights (in the event of significant delays and cancellations), will be advocated. Awareness campaigns for European tourists will be organised by the Commission, which will monitor the performance of the different tourist services (transport, accommodation, travel etc).
Consumers/mobility: the Commission will help consumers obtain redress if they have problems with a trader, by facilitating the fast and inexpensive out-of-court resolution of disputes across borders, through the promotion of alternative dispute resolution and mediation (2011 legislative proposal). It will examine proposals in view of setting up an online litigation dispute system across the EU for e-trade by 2012 and more frequently resorting to mediation by 2013. The Commission will also seek to ensure that passengers with reduced mobility can more easily access all modes of transport and infrastructure by awarding, as from 2010, an annual prize for the most accessible cities in Europe and by proposing, in 2010, an EU strategy helping persons with disabilities for the 2010-2020 period.
Individual rights: in 2011 the Commission will propose legislation to make it easier for international couples to know which courts have jurisdiction and which country's law applies to their jointly owned house or bank accounts. The Commission will facilitate the free movement of civil legal documents (such as birth certificates) by proposing legislative instruments in 2013. It also wants to help citizens and legal professionals to find multilingual legal information more easily, through a European e-justice portal. In 2011, it will also put forward two legislative proposals: one for improving the protection of suspects in criminal procedures by, in particular, guaranteeing their access to a lawyer and, secondly, enabling the accused to communicate with the outside world during their detention. Next year, a proposal will also be presented for improving the protection of victims of different offences.
Workers/health: the Commission is currently developing a new electronic information exchange system between national governments, so that people working in a different EU country can transfer more simply and more quickly, their social security rights. The Commission is proposing ways of facilitating access to cross-border health and is also putting in place pilot action initiatives in an effort to provide Europeans with secure online access to their medical data and to promote telemedicine by 2020. It will recommend a minimum amount of personal data on patients to ensure the interoperability of medical files, which should be available online or exchangeable in all member states by 2012.
Car ownership. Next year the Commission will suggest new legislation to cut red tape for registering cars bought in other EU countries and will examine cases where people have to pay car tax in both countries.
Free circulation/Elections. The Commission wants to increase the circulation of information to EU citizens about their rights to circulate freely within the EU. It is calling on member states to ensure that in the future, the publication of the European election results takes place at the same time in all member states. It will suggest simplifying the procedure for standing for the European elections in one's member state of residence and will improve the current system for preventing people voting twice in the European elections. It will launch a debate to identify political options for preventing EU citizens losing their rights because they have taken up their right to circulate freely within the EU.
Promoting citizenship. The Commission wants to raise people's awareness about the benefits of European citizenship by suggesting that 2013 be the European Citizens' Year. It wants to provide greater information about European affairs and will look into more viable funding for the future of Euronews. It wants to renew the “European for Citizens” project, which backs citizens' projects and the twinning of towns and cities, launching a public consultation exercise in this connection on Wednesday. (B.C./transl.fl)