Text tabled : A7-0271/2012

  Emer Costello (S&D). – Madam President, the concept of EU citizenship became a reality 20 years ago with the adoption of the Maastricht Treaty, yet public awareness of EU citizenship is still very low. The 2010 Eurobarometer survey showed that only 43 % of respondents were actually familiar with the term ‘Citizen of the European Union’, and even fewer knew what it meant – although the Irish figure at that stage was 58 %.

The purpose of the European Year of Citizens must be to raise awareness about the rights and responsibilities of EU citizens, the role citizens play in exercising the right to free movement and the importance of civic and democratic participation, including participation in European and local elections. No doubt many of the planned initiatives for next year will be carried out through programmes such as the Lifelong Learning Programme in our schools and institutions, and this will pave the way for a more concerted longer-term effort to raise awareness about EU citizenship. I am concerned about the reduction in the budget from a proposed 5 million to just 1 million, but I also want to welcome the fact that the European Year of the Citizen coincides with the start of the Irish Presidency, and I know that the Irish Government is committed to holding events to promote the European Year throughout its presidency.