Brussels, 08/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - Controversy rages over the determination shown by four member states to combat abuse in their disfavour linked to the free movement of European nationals. On Wednesday 8 May, in the EU Citizenship Report, European Commissioner on Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Viviane Reding set out 12 concrete ways to help Europeans make better use of their EU rights, from looking for a job in another EU country to eliminating barriers to cross-border shopping. The initiatives contained in the report on EU citizenship rights, introduced by the Maastricht Treaty, aim to answer all concrete concerns of EU nationals, including social concerns. The Commission proposes, for example, that member states should extend beyond the compulsory three months the right of job seekers to receive unemployment benefits from their country of origin during the time they seek employment in another member state, in order to increase worker mobility. The Commission also wants to strengthen participation in the democratic life of the Union, the idea being to allow citizens of the EU to keep their voting rights in national elections in their countries of origin. The Commission writes: “The practice in some member states of depriving their citizens of their right to vote once they move to another EU country effectively is tantamount to punishing citizens for having exercised their right to free movement”.
Among the other initiatives, the Commission continues to advocate reducing the administrative burden by facilitating the acceptance of identity cards and residence via uniform and optional European documents that citizens could produce in all EU countries. Another practical proposal would facilitate the recognition of technical inspection certificates issued for cars. For cross-border shopping, the Commission also wants to improve dispute settlement procedures when small amounts of money are involved and finalise an online tool which makes the acquisition of digital products more transparent, allowing citizens to compare offers in several countries.
Reding says “EU citizenship is the crown jewel of European integration. It is to Political Union what the euro is to our Economic and Monetary Union”. The commissioner, who is from Luxembourg, also took advantage of the report to tackle the four member states - Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom - which have complained to the Commission about “social benefit tourism” on their soil. The right to free movement is not negotiable, either today or tomorrow, Reding said, asserting that she cannot see why this fundamental right should be affected. The commissioner pointed out that no member state has provided any evidence to support such accusations of abuse.
In parallel with the new key actions, the Commission has also published its report on application by the member states of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights 2012. It comes as no surprise that this report returns to the situation in Hungary, which is today under threat of new infringement proceedings following its constitutional amendments that are deemed to run counter to European values. The Commission, however, also points out the problems that exist in other countries, such as France, where controversy arose in summer 2012 over Roma camps, or the Maltese provisions that are discriminatory against same-sex couples. (SP/transl.jl)