Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Year of Citizens (2013)

The overall purpose of the proposed European Year of Citizens is to ensure that all European Union citizens are aware of the rights available to them in a cross-border context by virtue of their EU citizenship status, so as to enable them to make informed decisions about whether to make use of their right to free movement and to facilitate the effective exercise of this right.

The European Year will aim, more specifically, at:

- raising Union citizens' awareness of their right to move and reside freely within the European Union and more generally the rights guaranteed to Union citizens in cross-border situations, including their right to participate in the democratic life of the Union;

- raising Union citizens' awareness of how they can tangibly benefit from EU rights and policies while living in another Member State, and at stimulating their active participation in civic fora on Union policies and issues;

- stimulating a debate about the impact and potential of the right to free movement, as an inalienable aspect of Union citizenship, in particular in terms of strengthening societal cohesion and mutual understanding between Union citizens and the bond between citizens and the Union.

EUR-Lex: COM(2011)489: Follow the progress of this document through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2011:489:FIN

European Commission: SEC(2011)996: Ex-ante evaluation http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=SEC:2011:0996:FIN:EN:PDF

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