Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-09-04-Speech-3-275"
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"en.20020904.8.3-275"2
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".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to have the opportunity today to discuss the issue of citizenship of the Union with you, precisely at a time when we are celebrating the tenth anniversary of its creation. I believe that the objectives, which in 1992 ensured that European citizenship was included in the Treaty of the Union, have not lost any of their relevance. Citizenship of the Union is, of course, a source of legitimacy for the process of European integration and strives to increase the participation of the citizens in the construction of a Community-centred Europe. Furthermore, citizenship is a crucial factor in the establishment, amongst the citizens, of the concept of belonging to the European Union and of having a genuine common European identity. This identity is constructed, however, on respect for diversity, because national diversity is an integral part of the specific European identity. Therefore, it neither replaces nor conflicts with national identity, but rather complements it.
I note, ladies and gentlemen, the suggestion that the Members of the future Convention should decide on the statute of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Given that I am one of the representatives of the Commission in the Convention, together with my colleague Michel Barnier, I shall not fail to express my support for the Charter having the strong statute that you wish to see.
I shall take this opportunity to express my thanks for the report that has been presented today on the Third Commission Report on Citizenship of the Union and I should like, in particular, to congratulate the rapporteur, Carlos Coelho, not only on the quality of his report, but also on the way in which he structured the issue and on the clarity of the political objectives that he has attached to it.
I fully agree that the concept of European citizenship must be implemented in all its dimensions, be they political, administrative, judicial, social or economic. We have reached a position in which citizens’ rights are, in the Member States of the Union, broadly respected, but in which there are still some legal discrepancies and practical obstacles to the full expression of European citizenship. We must further strive to resolve these discrepancies and obstacles, which prevent the citizens from enjoying their rights as European citizens.
One of the aspects highlighted in the report is the lack of information, one result of which is the low level of awareness of European citizenship. What is required is for European Union policy in the field of information and communication to be strengthened by all available means. This observation made by the rapporteur is shared by the Commission, whose report repeatedly highlights the need to better inform the citizens on the rights to which they are entitled. I believe it is common knowledge that the Commission adopted, last July, a new approach to information and communication policy and I believe that this approach is necessary to counter the lack of knowledge and the apathy of European citizens about the debate on Europe’s future.
Nevertheless, the European institutions clearly cannot, on their own, communicate with the 370 million people who make up the Union, or, if you wish, with the around 500 million following enlargement. The Member States must share responsibility for the provision of information, for dialogue with the citizens and for their recognition because European integration concerns them above all. And, as I understand it, there are now signs that the Member States have the political will to work together, thereby proving that there is no incompatibility between the feeling of national belonging and the feeling of participation in the European project.
It could, therefore, be considered that the 'Europe Direct' service, created by the Commission, is a success. Since 1998 this service has provided information on a whole range of matters concerning the European Union, thereby contributing to people knowing their rights and opportunities as citizens of the Union and knowing how to take advantage of them. Small steps are often, in practice, the most important ones. Such as, for example, the creation of the universal green number for 'Europe Direct', which enables citizens anywhere in the fifteen Member States to access an operator who speaks their national language and who can answer any question they wish to ask about the European Union.
With regard to information, I should further like to add that the Commission will shortly be studying how to raise citizens’ awareness of citizenship of the Union and of connected rights through a specific Eurobarometer survey. The survey will be launched with the title 'Ten Years of European Citizenship' and the results will be used as the basis for future information and communication measures in the field of citizenship.
The Commission wanted to include a framework for the structure of fundamental rights in its third report, specifically the proclamation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in December 2000. This caused – I admit – some delay in meeting the initial deadline for submitting the third report, but I think that the importance of the Charter fully justified this. Carlos Coelho’s report states that the Charter places European citizenship at the heart of the Union’s activities. I fully agree. I also agree with the report’s call for the Convention on the future of Europe to define the binding legal status that the Charter of Fundamental Rights should be given. I believe that the most important debate to take place in the Convention, capable of producing real results to bring the citizens and the European institutions closer together, is not so much the debate on the institutions, but will perhaps be the debate on the Charter of Fundamental Rights, on its inclusion in the Treaties and on its legally binding nature.
The citizens might remain distant when institutional questions are discussed, such as power-sharing between the bodies of the Union and legislative procedures, but are decidedly interested when it comes to knowing what rights they have and how the Union can meet their expectations. I also hope that the Council is able to approve the Commission proposal on reorganising the right to freedom of movement. This is the correct test to show that a freedom that is at the very heart of European citizenship has the same status of effectiveness and of political dignity as the freedom of movement of goods, capital or services."@en1
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