Brussels, 18/02/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 15 February, the European Commission adopted its 5th report on citizenship of the EU. This report assesses the application of rights granted to the citizens of the Union by the Treaty instituting the European Community over the period 1 May 2004 - 30 June 2007 inclusive. “The Commission places the citizen at the heart of its policies and is determined to strengthen and improve the way citizens are informed of their rights, and to ensure that they largely benefit from such freedoms across the Union”, said Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs Franco Frattini, in a press release.
On 1 January 2006, some 8.2 million citizens of the EU were exercising their right to reside in another member state. According to a survey on citizenship of the Union, which was published in a Flash Eurobarometer of 2007, a majority of the citizens of the EU (78%) state that the expression “a citizen of the European Union” is familiar to them and most of them (90%) were aware that they were both citizens of the Union and nationals of a member state. However, less than a third (31%) of respondents across the 27 countries of the EU felt that they were “well-informed” of their rights as citizens of the EU. More specifically, the report raises questions regarding the right to move and reside freely within the EU, voting and eligibility rights in municipal and European elections in the member state of residence, the right to diplomatic and consular protection in third countries, the right to petition before the European Parliament and the right to bring matters before the Ombudsman.
Citizenship of the EU. Although the Commission is not competent for matters concerning the acquisition or loss of nationality, it has received numerous complaints relating to such issues. It states that matters have been brought to it concerning members of the Russian-speaking minorities in Estonia and Latvia, who are considered “non-citizens”, and the situation of “erased persons” in Slovenia.
Freedom of movement and residence. More than 30 infringement proceedings have been launched against member states for failing to observe the 2004 directive on the right of citizens of the Union and members of their families freely to move and reside within the territory of the member states. Family members who are third-country nationals continue to encounter problems, not only in receiving authorisation to enter the country, but also in having their residence permits issued. Many complaints have been made concerning obstacles to free movement encountered by citizens of the Union travelling to another member state, due to the documents required by the border authorities and air transport operators. The Commission also recommends that much attention be paid to the question of whether restrictions on free movement of workers should be kept in place, depending on the situation on their own employment market. As of May 2007, nine member states - Spain, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and the United Kingdom and Sweden - had opened up their employment markets to nationals of the member states which joined the Union on 1 May 2004, and 10 member states - Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden - had opened up their employment markets to Romanian and Bulgarian nationals.
Electoral rights: the Commission states that it is currently examining the legislation of the member states whose national law does not authorise non-national citizens of the Union to become members of a political party and/or to create a political party. The Commission calls upon the member states to look into the possibility for non-national citizens of the Union to take part in regional or national elections in their country of residence. To consult the report: http: //eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM: 2008: 0085: FIN: FR: PDF (B.C.)