What changed

PA_NonLeg

Follow up to the European Parliament non-legislative resolution on the implementation of Treaty provisions on EU citizenship

SUGGESTIONS

Rapporteur: Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA (Renew / ES)

The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs calls on the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its motion for a resolution:

Reference numbers: 2023/2085 (INI) / A9-0436/2023 / P9_TA(2024)0024

1. Recalls that EU citizenship is closely linked to and dependent on the citizenship of a Member State, which is an exclusive competence of every Member State; firmly believes that there can be no other way to obtain EU citizenship than by obtaining the citizenship of a Member State, in accordance with its national requirements established in line with constitutional principles, traditions and values;

Date of adoption of the resolution: 17 January 2024

2. Calls on the Member States to inform non-national Union citizens upon registration in their Member State of residence about their electoral rights and the electoral procedures regarding European and municipal elections, and to offer them the possibility to immediately register as a voter;

Competent Parliamentary Committee: Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO)

3. Calls on the Member States to implement appropriate arrangements tailored to their national voting procedures to facilitate voting by citizens with disabilities, such as the possibility to choose polling stations and the use of assistive technologies, formats and techniques; calls on the Member States, furthermore, to allow for persons with disabilities, at their request, to receive assistance in voting from a person of their choice and to endeavour to provide for the possibility of postal voting, and possibly advance physical voting, proxy voting and electronic and online voting;

Brief analysis/ assessment of the resolution and requests made in it:

4. Urges the Council and the Commission to resume negotiations on the revision of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 with the aim of ensuring that EU citizens are able to fully exercise their right to access documents and scrutinise the EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies.

The resolution reiterates certain concerns of the Parliament in the context of European citizenship and sets out proposals in this field. The concerns are related to, among others, political rights and difficulties for mobile EU citizens to exercise their right to vote; disenfranchisement; practical limitations to the right to free movement or consular protection; or differences related to the acquisition and loss of EU citizenship, or to the rainbow families’ freedom of movement rights. The lack of public consultation for the 2023 EU Citizenship Report is also regretted. The Parliament’s proposals reiterate, for example, the call for the creation of an EU Citizenship Statute and a European Charter of Digital Rights; more awareness campaigns on EU citizenship rights and enhancing the European dimension of citizenship education; improving citizens’ and young people’s consultation and participation. The resolution suggests that citizens should have a range of rights including the right to digital tools.

In particular, the resolution calls on the Commission to adopt a new communication clarifying certain key concepts contained in Directive 2004/38/EC on the rights of EU citizens and their families to move and reside freely within the EU. It also calls on the Commission to take any necessary action on “golden visa” programmes and investor schemes. In addition, it calls on the Commission to develop public consultations tailored to all EU citizens, further improve the Have Your Say portal and increase its efforts in communicating these participatory instruments to the public. It calls on the Commission to enhance the involvement of young people and people with disabilities in the democratic process, also by increasing the use of social media and digital tools. It calls on the Commission to bolster the promotion and democratic participation by increasing its dialogue with citizens and raising awareness about the impact of the EU on their daily lives. Similarly, it calls on the Commission to run targeted awareness raising campaigns around rights and civic duties deriving from EU citizenship and to dedicate more resources to EU citizenship. Finally, it urges the Council and Commission to resume negotiations on the revision of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 with the aim of ensuring that EU citizens are able to fully exercise their right to access documents and scrutinise the EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies.

Response to the requests in the resolution and overview of the action taken, or intended to be taken, by the Commission:

Reinforcing European democracy and improving the exercise of EU citizenship rights is essential for the Commission. This also reflects the commitments made in the Commission President’s guidelines for the 2019-2024 Commission, in particular the commitment to “strive for more in nurturing, protecting and strengthening our democracy”. The 30th anniversary of EU citizenship was a reminder of the importance of the rights it entails. The Commission therefore presented a Citizenship Package on 6 December 2023, to further advance EU citizenship rights and to make them more tangible for EU citizens.

This Package included the 2023 EU Citizenship Report, which highlighted the progress made in enhancing and promoting citizenship rights and democratic participation since the last Report in 2020. When it comes to the lack of public consultation for the 2023 Report, the Commission refers to its written reply to parliamentary question E-2608/23. The 2023 Report was prepared on the basis of updated data, including citizens’ queries and complaints and the results of a specific Eurobarometer on citizenship and democracy.

When it comes to the different requests related to increasing the involvement of young people in the democratic process and raising awareness of the impact of the EU on daily lives and rights and duties deriving from EU citizenship, the Commission would like to highlight that the Citizenship Package contains a Guide to EU citizenship. Indeed, in follow-up to the request in the Conference on the Future of Europe for more information about EU citizenship rights, and the request by the Parliament for an EU Citizenship Statute, the Commission had committed to ‘making European citizenship more tangible to citizens, including by reinforcing the rights attached to it and by providing reliable and easily accessible information about it’. The Guide to EU citizenship helps familiarize young and new EU citizens in an attractive and easy-to-understand way with the history, values, rights and responsibilities that underpin their status as EU citizens. It also illustrates the benefits of EU citizenship and the opportunities it offers for democratic engagement. In this way it should encourage active citizenship. The Commission is carrying out a broad dissemination strategy to ensure that best use can be made of this new tool, which can shape the groundwork for reflections on further work on EU citizenship. In addition, the Citizenship Package has been complemented by a broader communication campaign celebrating the 30th anniversary of EU citizenship, to further raise awareness and understanding among EU citizens of the rights they have. The Commission is also raising citizens' awareness about their right to use the European Citizens' Initiative via the 'EU Take The Initiative' communication campaign, which includes multiple activities for young people including a toolkit and a video competition for secondary schools. On 13 December 2023, as part of the Defence of Democracy Package, the Commission also adopted a recommendation on inclusive and resilient elections, which includes measures supporting young citizens in the exercise of their electoral rights, both as voters and candidates, such as organising election simulations in schools, knowledge tests or art competitions on elections, youth-friendly communication campaigns, election guides to familiarise children and teenagers with the registration and voting process, encouraging students to become election observers and peer-to-peer programmes where young voters can share their experiences with each other (paragraphs 31 and 37). It also recommends the involvement of citizen observers in electoral processes and that their observations form part of the national reports submitted to the European Parliament no later than 6 months after the European elections. The second recommendation in the package on citizens and civil society organisations to policy-making underpins further our determination to build democratic resilience from within and to give citizens of all generations a voice in their democracy.

When it comes to the involvement of people with disabilities in the democratic process, the Commission underlines that the Citizenship Package includes a Guide of good electoral practices in Member States addressing participation of citizens with disabilities in the electoral process, as also announced in the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030. Prepared in close cooperation with Member States and by consulting different stakeholders active in the field of rights for persons with disabilities, it reflects the various measures taken by Member States to address the obstacles faced by citizens with disabilities when interacting with the electoral environment and to ensure the effectiveness of their electoral rights. It also highlights the emergence of common references on delivering accessible elections. In addition, as part of the measures announced in the European Democracy Action Plan, the Commission has also developed a Compendium of e-voting and other Information and communication technology practices in cooperation with Member States and the Council of Europe. The Compendium also seeks to address the needs of persons with disabilities, fostering election accessibility. Among others, the recommendation on inclusive and resilient elections complements the foregoing guide and encourages Member States to support the electoral participation of persons with disabilities, both as voters and candidates, and prevent and remove the barriers they encounter when participating in elections, including the blanket removal of electoral rights of persons with intellectual and psycho-social disabilities without individual assessment and possibility of judicial review (paragraph 31).

More generally, when it comes to the call to improve citizens’ participation and participatory instruments, the Commission agrees, as also mentioned in its Communication in follow-up to the Conference on the Future of Europe, that citizens must be put at the heart of European democracy. Building on the momentum created by the Conference on the Future of Europe, the Commission is actively improving its toolbox on citizens’ engagement. This includes the launch of a new generation of Citizens’ Panels and a revamped ‘Have Your Say’ portal as a one-stop-shop single entry point for online citizens’ engagement. These initiatives, together with other smaller formats of citizens’ engagement, are part of a new comprehensive approach of involving citizens in policy-making, which responds to the proposals made during the Conference calling for ensuring that citizens’ voice is heard between elections through effective participation. In its first report on the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2019/788, adopted on 6 December 2023, the Commission announced several actions to further improve the functioning of the European citizens' initiative (ECI), including to further enhance ECI awareness and visibility. On 13 December 2023, the Commission also adopted a recommendation on promoting the engagement and effective participation of citizens and civil society organisations in public policymaking processes, as part of the Defence of Democracy Package. The Recommendation aims to promote the participation of citizens and civil society with a view to strengthen the quality and resilience of our democracies as well as the effective accountability of policy-making processes. In encouraging the direct involvement of citizens in policy-making, the Recommendation builds on the Conference on the Future of Europe. It prompts the set-up of deliberative citizens panels, following the approach of the European Citizen Panels (paragraphs 26 and 27).

When it comes to voting and electoral rights, the Commission also highlights that its proposals to recast the Directives on the right to vote and stand as candidates in elections to the European Parliament and municipal elections by EU citizens residing in a different Member State from their state of origin, are currently discussed in the Council. The Commission is also working together with the European Parliament on a communication campaign to increase the number of mobile EU citizens voting in the 2024 elections. Finally, in the 2023 EU Citizenship Report the Commission reiterated its call on Member States to abolish rules which deprive their own nationals of the rights to vote in national elections if they permanently reside in other countries.

When it comes to the need for a new communication on free movement, the Commission highlights that the Citizenship Package also included an update to the 2009 Communication on guidance for better transposition and application of Directive 2004/38/EC (‘Free Movement Directive’). With this review, the Commission aims to facilitate the correct and uniform application of the free movement rules across the EU by integrating the relevant case law of the Court handed down since 2009 and providing clarifications on specific issues faced by citizens and national administrations. The updated guidance takes into account the diversity of families and therefore helps all members (including children) of all families (including rainbow families) to exercise their right to free movement in practice, in line with the case law of the Court (paragraph 20).

When it comes to consular protection, the Commission welcomes the fact that the Resolution includes a reference to the Commission proposal to amend the Consular Protection Directive. Indeed, this proposal, which also formed part of the Citizenship Package, intends to facilitate the right of EU citizens to consular protection, especially in crisis situations. At the same time, the Commission underlines that it needs to do so in respect of the limits of Union competence in this area.

When it comes to investor citizenship schemes and the call to take necessary action on this, the Commission fully shares the European Parliament’s objective to end such schemes in the Member States. To this end, the Commission recalls that it launched infringement procedures against two Member States regarding their investor citizenship schemes on 20 October 2020. Since then, one Member State has suspended its scheme. As the other Member State did not satisfactorily address the concerns raised by the Commission, the Commission referred this Member State to the Court of Justice of the European Union for its investor citizenship scheme on 21 March 2023. The case (C-181/23) is currently pending before the Court of Justice (paragraph 23).

When it comes to digital rights, the Digital Decade Decision as well as the Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles present the EU’s commitment to a secure, safe and sustainable digital transformation that puts people at the centre, in line with EU core values and fundamental rights. The Commission therefore refers to its 2023 Report on the state of the Digital Decade, adopted on 27 September 2023, as the first report that takes stock of the EU’s progress towards a successful digital transformation as set out in the Digital Decade Policy Programme 2030.

Finally, when it comes to the call to resume negotiations on Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 on access to documents, the Commission recalls that it submitted two proposals for revision of the Regulation 1049/2001 on public access to documents: the 2008 proposal for a recast of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 (COM (2008)229 final); and the 2011 proposal (COM (2011)137 final), aiming at extending the application of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 by extending the right of public access to documents of all institutions, bodies, offices and agencies to align the regulation with the new Article 15(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The Commission proposed to withdraw these two proposals due to the lack of any significant progress and foreseeable agreement in the 2020 Commission Work Programme. Following the negative opinion of the European Parliament, it decided not to withdraw the proposals. Consequently, both proposals are still pending and remain the basis for any further legislative and political discussions. The Commission stands ready to support any further debates (paragraph 33).