In terms of direct requests to obtain Guides and Factsheets, over 630,000 people have contacted Citizens First. Over 230,000 have made telephone calls and some 400,000 people have downloaded more than 2.5 million documents from the Citizens First Internet site. This means that around 5.4 households in every thousand in the Union have already taken steps to obtain information, tailor-made to their particular interests, about their rights and opportunities in the EU and the Single Market. The highest response levels so far are from Italy, France, Spain and Germany. As a percentage of households, Spain, Ireland and Italy have the highest rates.
Strong responses are also evident from Luxembourg, Portugal, Greece and Finland.
People are called back within three working days by an expert and advised on the next step they should take. The aim of the Signpost Service is therefore to reinforce public awareness of advice available from existing EU, national and local bodies. A detailed evaluation of cases raised so far with the Signpost Service has revealed some very interesting conclusions about the functioning of the Single Market. Cases involve people from many different backgrounds. A Spanish unemployed pharmacy graduate asked about the possibilities of working as a pharmacist in another Member State.