The European Parliament's Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) adopted on Tuesday 22 January the draft report by Maite Pagazaurtundúa (ALDE, Spain) on European citizenship, which asks the European Council to declare 9 May - Europe Day - a public holiday in all Member States and no longer just for members and employees of the European institutions.
Celebrations take place each year at the European level on 9 May, which commemorates the declaration of 9 May 1950 by the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Robert Schuman, considered as one of the starting points for European integration.
Making 9 May a public holiday throughout the EU would, according to its promoters, strengthen the feeling of European belonging and create a space for civic movements and activities.
The draft report aims, on one hand, to assess the effectiveness of the concepts relating to citizenship contained in the Treaties and, on the other hand, to make recommendations to the European institutions with a view to improving these concepts.
Among these recommendations, the report: - suggests that the European Commission allow EU citizens to choose to vote in their Member State of nationality or residence in all elections; - calls on Member States to introduce e-democracy tools at the local and national levels and to integrate them properly into the political process; - calls on the Commission to present a proposal strengthening the role of ‘Europe Direct’ offices; - calls on the Commission to develop more robust practices regarding the political and legal monitoring of European Citizens' Initiatives (ECI; see EUROPE 12159).
This draft report will be put to a vote at the next plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg in February. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot - intern)