The European Year of Citizens and You
The year 2013 will be known as the European Year of Citizens, a year devoted to raising awareness among Union citizens of their rights and giving momentum to the debate on Union citizenship.
The European Year of Citizens will focus on enhancing knowledge of the rights and responsibilities attached to Union citizenship, enabling citizens to fully utilise their right to move and reside freely within the Member States.
The European Year of Citizens must bridge the gap between Brussels and the Member States, encouraging citizens to vote so that the decision-makers hear their voices. The year 2013 is crucial to promoting and strengthening a common European identity based on core values of the Union, a year directly preceding the 2014 Parliamentary elections. The European Year of Citizens will aim at putting active civic and democratic participation of Union citizens at the heart of the European debate.
MEP Mr. Sógor, shadow rapporteur, opines that "despite the present situation of multiple crises, it will uplift Union citizens to take advantage of the rights and possibilities given to them by the European freedom. According to statistics, one third of citizens want to exercise their rights but they still run up against barriers in the labor force, such as administrative difficulties when moving abroad or the absence of proper language skills." The year 2013 will see the Commission release an EU Citizenship Report, setting out the progress made since its 2010 EU Citizenship Report, and will propose further actions for removing barriers to Union citizens’ ability to apply their rights.
"As a shadow rapporteur," continues Mr. Sógor, "I would like to highlight that the requests behind the motto More Europe! were successfully mapped by the Commission and they were able to fulfill citizens' expectations at the EU, Member State, regional and local levels. However, the budget still has to be increased overall, and especially in the case of the operation of popular communication channels or portals. It is welcome news that the entire EPP Group has agreed on this issue."
Citizens will be better informed of their rights through the multilingual Europe Direct information centres and Your Europe web portal, as well as through SOLVIT, a problem-solving tool that allows citizens to make better use of and defend their rights under Union law.
The European Year of Citizens 2013 will take place against the backdrop of the 20th anniversary of Union citizenship as was introduced by the Maastricht Treaty. All initiatives and awareness-raising campaigns will draw attention to what is the real value of citizenship: active participation in the democratic life of the Union, notably in the 2014 Parliamentary elections.
The European Year of Citizens must bridge the gap between Brussels and the Member States, encouraging citizens to vote so that the decision-makers hear their voices. The year 2013 is crucial to promoting and strengthening a common European identity based on core values of the Union, a year directly preceding the 2014 Parliamentary elections. The European Year of Citizens will aim at putting active civic and democratic participation of Union citizens at the heart of the European debate.
MEP Mr. Sógor, shadow rapporteur, opines that "despite the present situation of multiple crises, it will uplift Union citizens to take advantage of the rights and possibilities given to them by the European freedom. According to statistics, one third of citizens want to exercise their rights but they still run up against barriers in the labor force, such as administrative difficulties when moving abroad or the absence of proper language skills." The year 2013 will see the Commission release an EU Citizenship Report, setting out the progress made since its 2010 EU Citizenship Report, and will propose further actions for removing barriers to Union citizens’ ability to apply their rights.
"As a shadow rapporteur," continues Mr. Sógor, "I would like to highlight that the requests behind the motto More Europe! were successfully mapped by the Commission and they were able to fulfill citizens' expectations at the EU, Member State, regional and local levels. However, the budget still has to be increased overall, and especially in the case of the operation of popular communication channels or portals. It is welcome news that the entire EPP Group has agreed on this issue."
Citizens will be better informed of their rights through the multilingual Europe Direct information centres and Your Europe web portal, as well as through SOLVIT, a problem-solving tool that allows citizens to make better use of and defend their rights under Union law.
The European Year of Citizens 2013 will take place against the backdrop of the 20th anniversary of Union citizenship as was introduced by the Maastricht Treaty. All initiatives and awareness-raising campaigns will draw attention to what is the real value of citizenship: active participation in the democratic life of the Union, notably in the 2014 Parliamentary elections.
