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Verbatim report of proceedings
Wednesday, 1 July 1998 - Brussels OJ edition

10. Citizenship of the Union

  President . – The next item is the report (A4‐0205/98) by Mr De Clercq, on behalf of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Citizens' Rights, on the second report from the Commission on citizenship of the Union (COM(97)0230 – C4‐0291/97).

  De Clercq (ELDR), rapporteur. – (NL) Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, what is the state of the citizenship of the European Union? This is the question concerning us in this debate. A number of rights to which European citizens can lay claim have been incorporated into the Maastricht Treaty under Article 8. Union citizens comprise all those possessing the nationality of one of the Member States. Fortunately, the Amsterdam Treaty specifies that Union citizenship is complementary to national citizenship.

The implementation of rights associated with European citizenship has accomplished much, though there is still room for improvement. Allow me to put forward some key points.

As far as the right of persons to move and reside freely in the whole of the European Union is concerned, we are certainly dealing with a right which is possibly the most concrete for citizens. It is, therefore, unfortunate that these same citizens still experience so many difficulties. The main cause lies in the fact that this right is regulated through different clauses, depending on the category of citizens. We would, therefore, call on the Commission to convert all existing legislative instruments to an easy and generally effective instrument.

Free movement and residence in the Union will not come about until the last barriers are lifted, including: the abolition of all border controls and the comprehensive acceptance of the Schengen acquis; education systems which are geared to each other, aimed at the mobility of employees with children of school‐age; a simplified recognition of all diplomas and professional qualifications, in particular for young people; the tracking down of unfair administration practices which are practised by national governments to hinder the policy right; and the protection of rights relating to supplementary pensions. There is much to be done. Another important point is the direct functioning of Article 8a. This would mean that each citizen would be able to petition their right to free residence and movement in front of any national judge in the Union.

As far as the active and passive right to vote in local elections is concerned, I will be brief and to the point. This means that the right to vote in local elections should be introduced for all EU citizens by all Member States, including Belgium. France has done so already. In terms of the active and passive right to vote in the European elections, the implementation of the directive by all Member States should be simpler and more uniform. EU citizens often are not aware of how they can exercise this right in the Member State in which they reside. Better information is, therefore, required.

As far as consular and diplomatic protection is concerned, we are only just at the initial stage. A common definition must urgently be sought, so that the European citizens realize that this produces added value outside the Union as well.

As far as the right to petition and the right to apply to the ombudsman is concerned, the first annual report by our European ombudsman shows how these rights are useful and necessary, even if their exact scope is still unknown. Here, too, better information is required.

In conclusion, I would say that the Amsterdam Treaty has added something, namely, the right to apply to any European institution in one of the official languages of the Union and the right to reply in this language. However, this has not yet been implemented and can, therefore, not be evaluated today.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the introduction of European citizenship underlines that European integration is also a political project. The rights associated with this must certainly make an essential contribution to a greater European awareness in the same way the plans relating to jobs, and recently the euro, have undoubtedly brought Europe closer to the citizen

Our task is to make this permanent and to show the citizens that Europe offers added value, and is there for them. This is not only done by legislating for a number of citizenship rights through a Treaty. It is just as important for these rights to become known and for them to have sufficient content and not least their practical implementation is of fundamental importance.

Free movement, the right to free residence, the right to vote, the right to apply to an ombudsman belong, of course, not just to the European Union. They belong to any self‐respecting democratic constitutional state. Whatever its importance, it is not sufficient to involve the citizen closer in Europe. More attention paid to European symbols or to our shared history will certainly help us, but we are in urgent need of restoring the confidence of the citizen in Europe. This requires a change of mentality amongst not only the citizens, but first and foremost among the European decision‐makers, the administration and the media.

The Europe of the citizen begins with those who are concerned every day with European matters. They must prove their solidarity with Europe. The European Parliament has a large role to play in this. Parliament is one of the main players and we help to determine the strategy. As European representatives we must ensure that the citizen is involved as much as possible in this game, that the game is an attractive one and, in particular, that we ourselves adhere strictly to the rules. In short, we must set a good example in Europe. Good examples always come from the top.

  Ullmann (V), draftsman of the opinion of the Committee on Petitions. – (DE) Madam President, Commissioner, anyone who has ever worked on the European Parliament's Committee on Petitions knows how much trust citizens' petitions express in the institutions of the Union. For that reason, citizenship of the Union has to be strengthened, developed and made a separate issue if we want to reduce the present democratic deficit in the Union. The Commission's report formed a good basis for Parliament's opinion, because it openly addressed the evident shortcomings and weaknesses in the current legal position and practice. I do not need to repeat the details, so I shall restrict myself to those areas where we need to go beyond the Commission's observations.

We need to surmount the limited and sectorally circumscribed applicability of the article on freedom of movement, Article 8a. At the very least, the right to invoke freedom of movement in national courts should be upheld, as called for by the rapporteur. The most effective way of doing this would be for a charter of fundamental rights to be included in the EU Treaty, which would define citizens of the Union as those entitled to the rights contained in it. Access to citizenship of the Union should not depend solely on nationality but should also be open to nationals of third countries after five years' residence in the Union. Moreover, it is a matter of the utmost urgency, in view of the forthcoming elections in 1999, that the obstacles to exercising the right to vote in European Union elections which still exist in some Member States, and which are generally of a simply administrative nature, should be eliminated.

We are delighted that France's National Assembly has just removed an important obstacle. This is exactly the kind of thing that will make citizens of the Union feel that we are not just talking about their rights, but actually doing something about them. My thanks go to everyone involved in this work, to the Commission and, above all, to the rapporteur, who has truly led the way here.

  Gebhardt (PSE).(DE) Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the rapporteur deserves to be congratulated on his thorough and committed work. I offer these congratulations without any reservations, but at the same time I must admit that I am somewhat envious of Mr De Clercq. I envy him the auspicious moment at which he is presenting his important report on citizenship of the Union. The timing could not be better! With the introduction of the euro, we have laid the last foundation stone for Economic and Monetary Union. Now we can concentrate on our citizens, on their wishes and dreams. There is nothing more to stop us going ahead with European political union at full steam. The De Clercq report points in the right direction, and my group will therefore be voting for it.

We have tabled a few amendments, but they are not at odds with the report. They are simply intended to amplify certain areas and make some points even more explicit. I hope that the rapporteur will see it that way, and that he will find this helpful and recommend acceptance of our amendments. The recitals include various references to encouraging citizens' European awareness. What could be more obvious than to demonstrate this awareness with a symbol as delightful as a common European holiday?

But we must not fool ourselves. Our citizens will not be satisfied with symbols and fine declarations alone. They expect citizenship of the Union not just to deliver rights on paper, but also tangible advantages. Our citizens expect political union in Europe to make their everyday lives easier. For instance, let us take the example of the citizen's right to freedom of movement, which we love talking about, but which so far has only progressed in Lilliputian stages. Our citizens cannot see any more than that. Freedom of movement is not just a question of pulling down barriers: first and foremost, it is about dismantling bureaucratic obstacles. The Commission must, therefore, immediately bring forward a legislative proposal to eliminate differences in rights of residence as between Member States and to promote genuine freedom of movement for the Union's citizens. In particular, we need to remove obstacles to mobility for young people and to make it easier for them settle wherever they wish. We therefore need simple, easily comprehensible and unbureaucratic means of recognizing diplomas and professional qualifications, which we have just been talking about.

That means that school‐leaving qualifications, professional qualifications and diplomas should be equally valid in all Member States. If we adopt this approach in all areas, we can transform citizens' rights from pieces of paper to a living European reality. There is a long road ahead of us, and we should never forget one thing: we should be focusing on people and not on profits.

  Palacio Vallelersundi (PPE).(ES) Madam President, it really is reassuring to listen to this report here today. It is reassuring because the conclusions of the Cardiff European Council are still ringing in our ears, and because we can still hear the echoes of recent statements that people want less from Europe, less integration, declarations that even call for certain policies to be placed back in the hands of the national authorities. I therefore think it important that the European Parliament is today flying the flag of citizenship in the splendid presentation we have heard from the Chairman of the Committee on Legal Affairs and rapporteur.

It is a balanced report; balanced between the real world and symbolic values; balanced between practical measures and the poetry, which Mrs Gebhardt mentioned. We too need a little imagination and poetry.

Among those practical measures, Mr De Clercq has emphasized the need for the free circulation of persons and choice of country of residence for European citizens to become a reality. Article 8a must also become a reality that can be directly pleaded in our courts of justice. Publicity must be given to the rights already conferred by this still embryonic European citizenship, such as the right to vote in local elections and the right to vote in European elections. Finally, we must continue to create – and this is where we move from reality to poetry, from reality to the realms of myth – symbols of integration. We need to make Europe exist as a cultural concept.

The European People's Party will not only support Mr De Clercq's report, but also the Socialist group's amendments and some of those tabled by the European People's Party, although we have rejected Amendment No 5.

The fact is, Madam President, that these are bad times for Europe. Against such scepticism, it may be said – and here I agree with Mrs Gebhardt – that our ally, paradoxically enough, is the market. Life is full of paradoxes: the Europe of the markets is going to help us to create a real Europe of the citizens, because if the euro is to succeed, if the single market is really going to work, we shall have to shape free circulation in its fullest sense. We shall have to move on to further integration.

And therefore, Madam President, I believe that here today, at the beginning of the Austrian presidency, we must all congratulate ourselves on this European Parliamentary report which, once more, reaffirms its role as the voice of conscience, as a warning, against certain circumstances which today seem to advocate a hard‐nosed, short‐sighted Europe. Now, against that hard‐nosed, short‐sighted Europe, the European Parliament is raising its voice, and that of its citizens, saying that Europe will come into being only through integration, and that, in contrast to the concept of the Europe of the markets, we have to ensure that the reality of the Amsterdam Treaty translates into a genuine citizens' Europe.

  Voggenhuber (V).(DE) Madam President, I want to congratulate the rapporteur, and I am pleased that Parliament is once again advocating the implementation of the rights enshrined in the Treaty, in the framework of citizenship of the Union. I would like to suggest that we take a look at the fundamental significance of citizenship of the Union. What is it all about? I firmly believe that it means the Union recognizing nothing less than that our citizens are the driving and sovereign forces of the European unification process. Citizenship of the Union therefore plays a key part in legitimizing the Union. And it is not just legitimized indirectly via national governments and treaties, but also directly, personally and immediately, by giving all citizens a legal status.

Citizenship of the Union was, therefore, quite logically introduced in the Treaty on European Union to strengthen the protection of the rights and interests of the nationals of its Member States. We are, therefore, looking at a statute that covers the fundamental and civil rights of all citizens. So far, so good, as far as the theory goes. In practice, however, we are still a very long way from achieving an all‐embracing guarantee of fundamental and civil rights, from recognizing the citizen's sovereign role in integration. Of the four freedoms, surely the most personal, the most existential, the most human is freedom of movement of persons, the implementation of which has been the most protracted, subject to the greatest reluctance and has had the most obstacles put in its way. Border checks for individuals have not been abolished. They have not been eliminated by the Schengen Agreement, but rather replaced by barriers that are sometimes even higher than the old ones we pledged to get rid of.

The right to vote and the right to stand for election to the European Parliament is often undermined, and even more so the right to participate in local elections. These rights are often sabotaged to some extent, and in some capitals, in Vienna for example, they are limited to taking part in city district elections. Consular protection is also virtually non‐existent in practice. However, I also believe that we have to look beyond the Treaty texts, and the rights enshrined in the Treaty, to the comprehensive protection of fundamental and civil rights. I hope that the special summit in Vienna will allow us to progress from mere technocratic institutional reform to genuine democratic reform.

  Oddy (PSE). – Mr President, I should like to thank the rapporteur for his learned and thoughtful report and commend his European vision.

If we are to ensure that the European Union flourishes, the citizens of Europe must feel that we have ownership of this project and that we benefit too, not just the commercial organizations and governments. The Commission's second report on citizenship is therefore an important plank in building a corps d'esprit and a sense of European belonging.

I particularly welcome the right to vote and stand as a candidate at municipal elections in the European Parliament, although I would flag up the generous voting rights granted to Commonwealth citizens in the UK and urge there is no reorganization of this and no attempt to water down the rights which exist.

As draftsperson on the Commission action plan on free movement of workers, I welcome the remarks of Mr De Clercq on obstacles to the free movement of people, such as pension mobility, family responsibilities and the educational needs of children. I fear that this is a little adventurous for my British group as yet but I believe the Commission could look at promoting the international baccalaureate.

The creation of the Ombudsman can only be commended but I feel that its office needs greater promotion. I agree that the key to feelings of closeness with the European Union hinge on information. I therefore ask the Commission to make even greater efforts to inform the citizens of Europe.

  Zimmermann (PSE).(DE) Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, this evening's debate is concerned with citizenship of the Union. We all know what that means and what a key role citizenship of the Union occupies for the citizens of Europe, and above all in European integration. But I wonder if people in Europe actually know about this? Do the very people whose rights are associated with citizenship of the Union know this? Do they know to whom they can turn, whom they can ask and where they can obtain information? In the course of many conversations with ordinary citizens, I have repeatedly had the feeling that people only have a sketchy idea and precious little knowledge about this.

However, it is not only our citizens who know very little about this. For example, take a look at the information issued by the European Commission, which often does not deal with certain areas at all. For instance, we were recently sent a brochure, the Single Market Review, which contains over 38 reports describing how the internal market is being implemented in practice. Yet this brochure contains next to nothing about freedom of movement. When I see that, I wonder how our citizens are actually supposed to be informed! Another example: when I mention to officials in the Commission or Parliament or even outside that as a citizen of the Union with a Dutch passport I have a seat in the European Parliament for Germany, I always get asked: how is that allowed? Where does it say that? How is that possible? This demonstrates that even the right to vote and to stand for election, to the extent that it must be in the Treaty, is something we have not really grasped. Nor has it really been grasped by the people who decreed it or by our citizens or by my colleagues. Many of my colleagues have not actually realized this yet either.

I think it is important that we ourselves should take on board citizenship of the Union, with everything that it implies, and give it serious thought. We will then be better placed to inform people about it, so that people really understand it too.

  Pinheiro, Member of the Commission. – (PT) Madam President, on behalf of the Commission, I am very pleased with Parliament's detailed examination of our second report on citizenship of the Union and, in particular, I would like to highlight the excellent work of an outstanding European called Willy De Clercq.

I consider this debate on citizenship of the Union as a kind of invitation to all politicians to concentrate on the essentials of the construction of Europe, and a warning regarding the advances and setbacks that are taking place in the construction of Europe, and may detract from our citizens' sense of ‚belonging to a political community under the rule of law’, to quote the expression used in your resolution. As Members are aware, this concern was also expressed at the recent Cardiff European Council, where it was declared that all citizens should be able to benefit from the advantages of Economic and Monetary Union and the single market, and that the Union should be brought even closer to ordinary citizens.

This second report on citizenship of the Union covers 1994, 1995 and 1996. It therefore pre‐dates the conclusion of the Intergovernmental Conference that led to the adoption of the Amsterdam Treaty. In this report, the Commission has been at pains to describe and analyse the new rights conferred by the Maastricht Treaty, to investigate what progress has been made since the publication of its first report in 1993 and to indicate a series of objectives to be achieved.

Your motion for a resolution is rightly addressed to all interested institutions, and likewise to Member States. The fact is that future progress can only be achieved by means of combined action at all levels, particularly in the field of improving legislation by making it more readable and capable of more efficient application. I can assure Mr Willy de Clercq and this House that as far as Schengen and the application of Article 8a are concerned, the following issues are on the table before the Commission: infringement procedures, administrative practices, the right to vote, consular and diplomatic protection, permanent dialogue mechanisms, education and the recognition of qualifications, protection against threats to individual safety and freedom and trade.

Even today, at the Commissioners' meeting, the first part of the meeting was, in fact, dedicated to European citizenship. And we hope that with the impetus provided by this House and input of the kind we have received through this resolution, we can all achieve real citizenship that much earlier.

  President . – Thank you very much, Commissioner Pinheiro.

The debate is closed.

The vote will take place tomorrow at 11.00 a.m.

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