Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on:the Proposal for a Council decision establishing a Community action programme to promote active European citizenship (civic participation), andthe Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on measures to be taken by Member States to ensure participation of all citizens of the Union to the 2004 elections to the European Parliament in an enlarged Union
Date: 2003-11-20
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: EU programme, European Parliament, European citizenship, European election, enlargement of the Union, turnout of voters

C 73/46

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

23.3.2004

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on:

— the ‘Proposal for a Council decision establishing a Community action programme to promote

active European citizenship (civic participation)’, and

— the ‘Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on
measures to be taken by Member States to ensure participation of all citizens of the Union
to the 2004 elections to the European Parliament in an enlarged Union’

(2004/C 73/09)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the proposal for a Council decision establishing a Community action programme to
promote active European citizenship (civic participation), COM(2003) 276 final — 2003/0116 (CNS);

having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council
on measures to be taken by Member States to ensure participation of all citizens of the Union to the
2004 elections to the European Parliament in an enlarged Union COM(2003) 174 final;

having regard to the decision of the European Commission of 8 August 2003 to consult it on this subject,
under the first paragraph of Article 265 of the Treaty establishing the European Community;

having regard to the decision of its President of 8 April 2003 to instruct its Commission for Constitutional
Affairs and European Governance to draw up an opinion on this subject;

having regard to the draft treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe presented to the President of the
European Council in Rome on 18 July 2003 (CONV 850/03) which includes the text of the Charter of
Fundamental Rights of the European Union proclaimed by the European Council at Nice on 7 December
2000;

having regard to the Article 19(2) of the Treaty establishing the European Community on the right to
vote and to stand in elections to the EP;

having regard to the Communication from the Commission on the application of Directive 93/109/EC
to the June 1999 elections to the European Parliament — Right of Union citizens residing in a Member
State of which they are not nationals to vote and stand in elections to the European Parliament
COM(2000) 843 final;

having regard to the Third report on citizenship of the Union (COM(2001) 506 final) and the report of
the European Parliament on it (C5-0656/2001);

having regard to the report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the
application of Directive 94/80/EC on the right to vote and to stand as a candidate on municipal elections;

having regard to its opinion of 21 November 2002 on the Third Report from the Commission on
Citizenship of the Union and a Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council
on the application of Directive 94/80/EC on the right to vote and to stand as a candidate on municipal
elections (CdR 121/2002 fin) (1);

having regard to the White Paper on European Governance (COM(2001) 428 final);

having regard to its opinion of 13 March 2002 on the White Paper on European Governance and the
Communication on a new framework for cooperation on activities concerning the information and
communication policy of the European Union (CdR 103/2001 fin) (2);

having regard to its opinion of 3 July 2003 on the Follow-up to the White Paper on European governance
(CdR 19/2003 fin) (3);

(1) OJ C 73, 26.3.2003, p. 53.
(2) OJ C 192, 12.8.2002, p. 24.
(3) OJ C 256, 24.10.2003, p. 24.

23.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 73/47

having regard to its opinion of 21 November 2002 on the Communication from the Commission to the
Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of
the Regions on an information and communication strategy for
the European Union —
COM(2002) 350 final (CdR 124/2002 fin) (1);

having regard to its draft opinion (CdR 170/2003 rev.) adopted on 26 September 2003 by its Commission
for Constitutional Affairs and European Governance (Rapporteur: Mr Vesey, Member of Cavan County
Council, Member of the Border Regional Authority (IE-EA),

1) whereas bringing citizens closer to the European Union and its institutions involving them in
participatory democracy both legitimate European Integration and creates a sense of belonging to
the EU;

2) whereas as a result of accession of ten new Member States the elections to the European Parliament

for the period from 2004 to 2009 will take place in a Union of 25 Member States;

3) whereas the official date for accession has been set for 1 May 2004 and the polling days in the

elections to the European Parliament are from 10 June to 13 June 2004;

4) whereas the acceding States are expected to transpose the Directive 93/109/EC taking the necessary
measures for the arrangements concerning the elections to the European Parliament in 2004;

5) whereas the primary task of any European citizenship programme is to directly or indirectly serve
to make citizens aware of the European dimension of their citizenship including their right to vote
and stand as a candidate in elections of the European Parliament, especially as the Union expands to
25 Member States in 2004.

adopted unanimously the following opinion at its 52th plenary session, held on 19 and 20 November
2003 (meeting of 20 November).

1. The Committee of the Regions’ views

Proposed measures to ensure the participation of all citizens of the
Union to the 2004 elections to the European Parliament in an
enlarged Union

Community action programme to promote active European citizenship

The Committee of the Regions

1.1.
welcomes the proposal for a decision to establish a
Community action programme to promote active European
citizenship;

1.2.
is of the view that the EU has a responsibility to its
citizens to make them aware of the European dimension of
their citizenship;

1.3.
is convinced that for the Union to be democratic and
in touch with ordinary people’s concerns it must in language
that is clear and easily understood, communicate more with
citizens and make them more aware of their rights and
responsibilities. In this way the EU citizen will be engaged in
the public debate which will in turn convince them that the
EU does take account of their interests and concerns (hopes
and aspirations).

stresses the connection between active European citi-

1.4.
zenship and voter turnout at European Parliament elections;

(1) OJ C 73, 26.3.2003, p. 46.

welcomes the communication from the Commission
1.5.
to the European Parliament and the Council on the application
of Directive 93/109/EC to the June 2004 elections to the
European Parliament;

1.6.
agrees with the Commission in stressing the import-
ance of full legal and practical implementation of Directive 93/
109/EC on the right to vote and to stand as a candidate in
elections to the European Parliament for citizens of the Union
residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals;

1.7.
underlines that early planning is essential to ensure
that all non-national European citizens can vote or stand for
election to the European Parliament in 2004;

1.8.
trusts that that States and acceding States will take
note of the conclusions of the Communication from the
Commission on the application of Directive 93/109/EC to
the
to the European Parliament
COM(2000) 843 final with the view of addressing the problems
identified;

June 1999 elections

C 73/48

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

23.3.2004

welcomes the commitment made to date by Member
1.9.
States to inform non-national EU citizens of their voting rights
by direct correspondence, where it is economic to do so;

urges that every effort

is made to create public
2.2.
awareness of the work of the existing groups which promote
active citizenship;

suggests that national, regional and local authorities
1.10.
be called on to play a more active role in identifying and
informing non-nationals of the procedure for registration and
voting entitlements;

2. The Committee of the Regions’ recommendations

Community action programme to promote active European citizenship

calls for the EU website to have a link to such groups
2.3.
and that the reports, deliberations, findings and other details
of relevance be accessible through the link;

2.4.
agrees with the proposal that provision should be
made for the geographic coverage of the programme to extend
to Member States but recommends that the budget be enlarged
by at least EUR 50 million over the 5-year period of the
programme to cover the future member states as this period is
unique to the formation of impressions of European citizen-
ship in the future new member states;

2.1.
urges the Council to adopt this decision to ensure that
this act enters into force as from the financial year 2004 and
not halt the positive ongoing work carried out under the
existing budget lines, town twinning etc.;

2.5.
urges that the details of the grants, application forms
and any other accompanying documentation which is made
available at the time of ‘Calls for Proposals’ is ‘user friendly’
and can be easily understood.

Recommendation 1

Article 1 — (Programme objective)

Text proposed by the Commission

CoR amendment

1.

This Decision establishes a Community action
programme to support bodies working in the field
of active European citizenship and to promote
actions in this field.

1.

This Decision establishes a Community action
programme to support bodies working in the field
of active European citizenship and to promote
actions in this field.

The programme shall have the following objectives:

The programme shall have the following objectives:

a)

b)

c)

d)

e)

to promote the values and objectives of the
European Union;

to bring citizens closer to the European
Union and its institutions;

to involve citizens closely in reflection and
discussion on the construction of the Euro-
pean Union;

to intensify links and exchanges between
citizens from the countries participating in
the programme, notably by way of town-
twinning arrangements;

to stimulate initiatives by the bodies engaged
in the promotion of active and participatory
citizenship.

a)

b)

c)

d)

to promote the values and objectives of the
European Union;

to bring citizens closer to the European
Union and its institutions;

to involve citizens closely in reflection and
discussion on the construction of the Euro-
pean Union;

to inform young people in particular of their
European citizenship

d) e) to intensify links and exchanges between
citizens from the countries participating in
the programme, notably by way of town-
twinning arrangements;

e) f)

to stimulate initiatives by the bodies engaged
in the promotion of active and participatory
citizenship.

23.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 73/49

Reason

The Laeken Declaration annexed to the conclusions of the European Council of 14 and 15 December
2001 asserts that one of the basic challenges to be resolved by the European Union is ‘how to bring
citizens, and primarily the young, closer to the European design and the European institutions’. It should,
therefore, be an objective of the programme to inform young people of their European Citizenship. Within
the programme, priority should be given to encouraging the development of actions to achieve this
objective.

Recommendation 2

General amendment

Replace

Text proposed by the Commission

CoR amendment

municipalities

municipalities local and regional authorities

Reason

A number of Member States do not have municipalities as a level of Governance. The European
Commission White Paper on Governance refers to the role of Local and Regional Authorities. It is
considered, therefore, that the designations — ‘Local and Regional Authorities’ — encompasses all levels
of sub-Member State Governance and, therefore, these designations should be used.

Recommendation 3

New article to insert after article 3

Text proposed by the Commission

CoR amendment

Article 3 (awareness-raising)

Due to the specificity of the target users of this pro-
gramme, special efforts are made to ensure that there is
a high level of awareness of
this
programme by the European Commission and Member
States

the existence of

Reason

Recent statements by the European Council, Commission and Parliament stress the need to promote
active European Citizenship. The Commission’s White Paper on Governance stresses the principle of
Citizen Participation in devising and carrying out policy, of involvement of civil society and its component
organisations. Therefore, every effort should be made to raise public awareness of the programme to
ensure as high a participation rate as possible.

C 73/50

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

23.3.2004

Proposed measures to ensure the participation of all citizens
of the Union to the 2004 elections to the European Parliament
in an enlarged Union

urges those acceding States, that have not already done
2.6.
so to transpose the Directive 93/109/EC to ensure it is fully
implemented in good time before accession;

2.7.
urges that all non-national European citizens who will
be eligible to vote or stand as a candidate as and from the date
of accession be informed of that right in good time, and if
possible earlier, so that they may exercise their right;

urges current Member States to make special efforts to
2.8.
register or compile lists of potential voters from the future
new member states given the short period between the date of
accession and the dates of the elections to the European
Parliament;

2.9.
calls for the European Commission to make the
2004 European Parliament elections a priority in its 2004
Communication Strategy;

recommends that in order to improve the awareness
2.10.
of all European Union citizens in relation to voting rights and
the right to stand as a candidate in the 2004 elections to the
European Parliament the following should be considered:

— Information campaigns using audio-visual and new tech-

nologies.

— Information literature through educational institutions,
all national, regional and local bodies, hospitals, etc.

— innovative and cost-effective communications such as
franking and branding of public correspondence and
literature to include recognisable logos and free-phone
information numbers;

2.11.
recommends that as a way of informing non-national
EU citizens of their voting rights, the literature which the host
State sends to non-national EU citizens eligible to vote should
be in the official languages of the enlarged EU, where it is
economic to do so. Furthermore all official correspondence
with non-national EU citizens should include details of contact
numbers, for their information on voting rights.

Brussels, 20 November 2003.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Albert BORE