European Citizenship Action/ European Network Against Racism/ European Youth Forum

Demonstrating the extent to which the Convention has changed the terms of the European debate, three European NGOs are joining forces to put European citizenship on the Convention’s agenda. The objective of the hotline, which will run from 1 October-30 November, is to bring the central issues relating to European citizenship to the attention of the Convention, as well as to stimulate public discussion on citizenship issues more broadly.

The hotline is intended to be a help-line, but also a channel for proposals on what European citizenship should become, and is intended to be part of a campaign to stimulate a broader discussion of citizenship issues in the debate on the future of Europe. As Tony Venables, director of ECAS, stated, citizenship must be at the heart of any European Constitution, yet to date the topic has scarcely merited a mention in the Convention’s deliberations. Although the proposal to integrate the Charter of Fundamental Rights is very welcome, he stressed that citizenship is not only about rights, but is also a matter of responsibilities, of participation, and of belonging to a community. Citizenship must be central to the Convention’s final constitutional proposals if these are to have any credibility.

Henrik Söderman, President of the European Youth Forum, stressed that young people’s interest in the concept of citizenship went beyond legal rights and technical details, and included broader questions of participation. Young people were interested in active citizenship, expressed through both formal and non-formal learning, and through participation in civil society at various levels. For this generation of young people, probably the most “European” of all in terms of education, experience, and opportunity, a key task was to ensure that Europe’s institutions and decision-making processes are open to young people, and are capable of representing their interests.

The hotline is supported by the Free Movement Solidarity Fund, which since 2001 has been providing concrete solutions to the barriers and red-tape experienced by Europeans in the exercise of their rights of free movement. This includes issues such as living, working, or retiring to another member state, access to health and pension rights, and recognition of qualifications.

People can call, write, or email the hotline, and the Free Movement Solidarity Fund’s fully qualified legal team will deal with their problems. Information gathered from the hotline will be collected in a report, which will be presented to the Convention and to a European Forum of Citizens’ Advice Services, to be held on 5-6 December, dates when the Convention is also meeting.

For further information, contact:
Hotline on barriers to European Citizenship – ‘Not Just For Us But For Them Too’
Telephone: +32 2 512 59 68
Fax: +32 2 511 90 87
Email: ecas@ecas.org
Write: 57 rue de la Concorde, B-1050 Brussels