EUROPEAN CITZENSHIP & ACTIVE PARTICIAPTION TWO CORNERSTONES OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

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1 EUROPEAN CITZENSHIP & ACTIVE PARTICIAPTION TWO CORNERSTONES OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION WORK SHOP WITH ÅSA GUNVEN (EUROPEAN YOUTH FORUM POOL OF TRAINERS) Active European citizenship HOW? We listened when we came in to music written by Belarusian dissidents that want to contribute to more democracy and participation using music there are many ways to participate actively. On the screen we looked at young people in Macedonia using their right to demonstrate. It is a traditional way of showing the public your opinion that is more and more taken over by new technology and other means to express the opinion. WHO? These Macedonian and Belarusian youngsters are active European citizens outside the EU. Poses the question who are we talking about when discussing European citizenship: EU or Europe? WHAT ISSUES? In the picture we see a demonstration for visa free travel in Europe. The issue is hence it self a European citizenship matter if we can not travel freely how can we talk of European citizenship or of European integration? European Youth Forum and others are campaigning for removing the Visa fee, and

2 in the case of Macedonia this was also done shortly after this demonstration that gathered 2000 youngsters. Belarusians still have to pay 60EUR to travel to the EU, severally endangering the democratic development of the country as well as the European integration process. At the same time European active citizenship and participation is not only about European or political issues. Just the fact that we work with common themes and projects across the borders of Europe is a fundament both for active citizenship and for European integration be it theatre, environmental issues or youth empowerment. EU citizenship EU citizens are the nationals of Member states as clearly stated in Maastricht Treaty. This is of importance when we speak of the formal EU citizenship. Even if this is easier to define then the (pan) European citizenship it still poses some challenges as each member state decides who is their national citizens and this may vary. For example the status of children of immigrants vary and particularly Germany is one of the few states not giving the citizenship to children of immigrants born in Germany hence also excluding them from the EU citizenship. Do we need common EU rules for national citizenship? Multilayer citizenship 'Citizenship of the Union shall be additional to national citizenship and shall not replace it' Article 8, Lisbon Treaty An EU citizenship is complementary and not a threat to national citizenship. This is a good legal analogy to the European identity that should also be constructed as part of a multilayer identity as opposed to replacing the national and regional identity. This is often rejected by euro skeptics, but indeed any other identify building would go against the European idea of United in Diversity which is the motto of the EU.

3 What defines the EU Citizenship? 1. EU citizenship as rights Freedom of movement Maastricht defines 4 freedoms as the fundament of the European integration and the European citizenship: the right to move, reside and work within EU territory; the right to vote and stand for elections at the local and European level in any member state; the right to protection from the diplomatic authorities of any member state when traveling outside the EU, and the right to petition the EP Question: If the freedom of movement is a fundament of the European citizenship and European integration, how should we perceive the restriction of the freedom of movement for the EU citizens of the new member states after the enlargements 2004 and 2007? Question: If local and European voting rights are fundamental for the European citizens, why should the right to vote in national elections for long time EU citizens residence be refused? Is this discrimination?

4 Other rights that define the European citizenship a right not to be discriminated against on grounds of nationality within the scope of application of the Treaty (Article 18) the right to access all documents from the EP, Council and Commission (Article 15) the right to complain to the Ombudsman EU health protection the right to apply to the EU institutions in one of the official languages and to receive a reply in that same language (Article 24) in order to bring to his attention any cases of poor administration by the EU institutions and bodies, with the exception of the legal bodies (Article 24) Judicial activism ECJ has always been a strong motor both for defining European citizenship as well as for European integration in general. It is also a feature of the European citizenship to be able to appeal to the European Court of Justice after having exhausted all national remedies. The right to European Citizen Initiative The European citizens Initiative was introduced in the Lisbon Treaty and is a completely new tool to bring EU closer to the citizens and to increase the direct democracy elements of the EU. It is a right for EU citizens to propose new EU legislation trough an EU wide petition. If the signatures are collected the Commission is obliged to consider to initiate a law, but it is worth noticing that they are not obliged to initiate the law. Still, this is a stronger right then for example the European Parliament has that does not have the right to initiate legislation. Requirements: For a successful Citizens Initiative at least 1 million signatures have to be collected. The signatures have to come from at least ¼ of the member states in order to guarantee the European dimension. 2. European Citizenship as Identity Identity is the sense of belonging to a community, the sharing of a common identity and the anticipation of a future common endeavor. Percy B. Lehning A common identity is a fundament in order to protect the rights we have as European citizens as well as to support measures of solidarity such as the structural funds, social policies, or why not the bail out of Greece. It is also a fundament in order to promote an active and meaningful European participation. As this it is also a fundament for the European integration and it is not by chance most European programs such as youth, culture or citizenship, have a clear objective of building a European identity.

5 Is it possible in Europe? As described above trough the multilayer citizenship, also a European identity should and must be seen as part of a multilayer identity, as opposed to something replacing a national or regional identity. 3. European Citizenship as Symbols As a step to create a European identity, and so reinforce active participation and citizenship, the EU has several symbols. Interesting enough these symbols were removed inside the Lisbon treaty but they are still used by the EU. Formal EU symbols: Flag (1985) Pass (1988) EU Anthem, Ode of Joy But also symbols include things such as the Euro or the Bull. 4. Europe citizenship as civic participation Voting One of the rights as a European as outlined above is the right to vote in European elections. This is a cornerstone in the civic life of a participatory democracy. At the same time we have seen a constantly decreasing election turnout since the first election to the European Parliament that was held the voting turnout, in a European Parliament that had considerably less powers today, hence providing less motivation to go and vote, was 69%. 2010, at the last elections of the European Parliament as few as 43% decided to vote. The election turnout is considerably low among young Europeans as well as in the newer member states. A big question is how to increase the voting turnout. To increase the power of the European Parliament has not proved to have an impact as this has been done with every treaty change and still the voting turnout has decreased in every election. One way would be to increase the visibility of the outcomes of the elections by connecting the election of the European Parliament with the election of the President of the Commission. If the socialists won the elections of the European Parliament, their candidate for the position of the President of the Commission would then be selected and the voters would see a face to their vote and a clear political change as a result. European consultations and co-decision structures Participation must not stop by the ballot boxes and it is important that the EU provides as many opportunities as possible for the European citizens to state their opinions and influence the outcomes. Only like this EU can be brought closer to the citizens and a European demos be created. And indeed the EU has several structures in which it asks for the opinions of especially the European civil society trough consultations. Forums, round tables, questioners with feedback, consultation conferences etc are all used to prepare EU policy. On the youth level this can be seen clearly in the so called Structured dialogue. Here, during each presidency, youth organizations across Europe are involved in contributing to the European youth policy in circles of 6 months following the EU presidencies. Both national consultations, involving youth organizations inside each member state, as well as a final European Youth Conference where the results are prioritized and developed in

6 a joint work with DGs and youth representatives are used as input to issues ranging from employment to youth work. As far as the Council of Europe, where a codecision structure is set up, where youth representatives have a formal co-decision power, has not yet been achieved. It is a strong focus on consultation as opposed to direct influence when it comes to involvement of the European civil society in European decision making, and the presence of the non-organized citizens is minimal, possibly due to the lack of a European media and physical distance to the decision makers. Open questions Finally some questions to consider European citizenship as well as active participation in Europe. These questions were discussed and reflected upon throughout the workshop at Fachforum Europa. How you are an active European locally? Travel is one of the most effective ways to create active Europeans. How can we promote also youth travel to Europe outside European mobility programs? Technology creates new ways for active participation, not the least by including new groups actively. What are the best internet tools to increase active participation in Europe? Not least the EU programs can sometimes be perceived as elitist as they reach a quite small number of people. What groups are often excluded from active civic

7 participation in Europe? How can we include marginalized youth groups as active European citizens? Less then 50% voted in the last European Parliament elections. What are good ways to increase the voting turn out in the European Parliament elections? The European Citizens Initiative is an entirely new tool to promote active participation in Europe. What potential other concrete political tools for more active European citizenship can we think of? How concretely does the society benefit by providing for active youth participation? Schools have an important role to play in raising young active Europeans. Or? What needs to be learned in schools to promote active European Citizenship? European programs often focus on building a European identity as well as to promote the EU. Is it important to be pro-european to be an active European citizen? Is European citizenship only about rights? Are the European mobility programs the most important tool in order to increase participation in Europe? Is participation increasing or decreasing in Europe? In Germany? The strictly legal EU citizenship only includes nationals of member states. Is European citizenship only for Europeans? How, and where, could we collect signatures for a European Citizens Initiative?

8 PROGRAM WORK SHOP EUREOPAN CITIZENSHIP Intro *Intro round of participants *Introduction of the program Method: by introducing the one next to you to the group the information is summarized in a good way and you get to know more people closer Get to know each other * Examples of when I have been an active citizen of Europe! Write down 2 truth, one lie interview each other and guess the lies. Method: use the get to know each other for the topic you tackle. Move around to speak more. Barometer Mapping and discussing the opinions and understanding of European citizenship and participation Method: barometer to get a visual overview of what experience, opinions we have in the room. To get all to participate. Efficient to get the different arguments. Don t sit still. Is Citizenship really a national concept Citizenship encourage people to move around Input: What is European Citizenship? From the formal understanding of EU citizenship to the softer participatory understanding of a European citizenship. Method: Power point presentation of expert (trainer) with semi interaction to clarify definitions and to get everyone to the same level. Important; not at the beginning of WS and break afterwards in order not to influence discussions too much. Power brainstorm Short 1.5 minute individual brainstorming on each question without talking. 8 topics tackled in 20 minutes. Method: all take active part and start thinking processes. Music in background to clear the mind and to get everyone to throw out every thought on the paper as opposed to analyze too much. Brainstorming topics Topics to tackle problems correlated to active participatory European citizenship as well as finding creative solutions to them. Marketplace Everyone walk around and read the entire outcomes of the brainstorming. Pick the 3 best ideas for each topic in order for us to find the most important ideas from the group. Method: Voting makes you read carefully all the outcomes. Quick way to find the common agreement/most preferred solutions in an anonymous way.

9 Small working groups: How can we increase the ACTIVE European citizenship? EU, MSs, Civil Society and Educational systems 5 groups to discuss freely the challenge of increasing participation. Presentation of each group and final discussion. Method: a more free discussion in small group to make sure everyone could tackle what they found important in more intimate groups with space for everyone to discuss. Possibility to develop what came out from the brainstorming.