Fourth Report on Citizenship of the Union - Main contents

The European Commission issued today the fourth report on citizenship of the European Union. It examines the way the rights attached to EU citizenship were applied and developed from 1 May 2001 to 30 April 2004.

Union citizenship has developed into a source of real and concrete rights, concludes the report, which also highlights the improvement that has occurred in the area of freedom of movement and residence. Union citizenship has also been strengthened by developments in the field of fundamental rights. On the whole, the provisions of Part Two of the European Community Treaty concerning the rights of Union citizens are applied correctly and without serious problems.

"Union citizenship is at the heart of the activities of the European Union", stated Commissioner Antonio Vitorino i. "Information and communication on the rights conferred by Union citizenship is very important. Citizens are entitled to be aware of these rights, which need to be enforced effectively. Citizens will feel that the EU is closer to them if continuous action is taken to improve their general awareness of their rights, to provide them with easy access to reliable information about their rights and to feed back their experience".

Background

Citizenship of the Union was established by Maastricht Treaty in 1992. It confers to nationals of the Member States genuine rights, like

• a personal right to free movement and residence subject to limitations and conditions laid down in the Treaty and in the secondary legislation;
• electoral rights of Union citizens in European parliamentary and municipal elections in the Member State of residence even if they are not nationals of that State, which can be seen in the framework of universal suffrage guaranteed;
• protection by diplomatic and consular authorities of any Member State in a third country where the citizen's own Member State is not represented ; and
• Access to non-judicial means of redress, through access to the Ombudsman and a right to petition the European Parliament.

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