Report from the Commission - Fifth Report on citizenship of the Union (1 May 2004 – 30 June 2007) {SEC(2008) 197}
Date: 2008-02-15
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European citizenship, Treaty on European Union, civil rights, free movement of persons, fundamental rights, report

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 15.2.2008 
COM(2008) 85 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

Fifth Report on Citizenship of the Union 
(1 May 2004 – 30 June 2007) 

{SEC(2008) 197} 

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

Fifth Report on Citizenship of the Union 
(1 May 2004 – 30 June 2007) 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

More  and  more  European  citizens  study,  get  married,  live  or  work  in  a  Member  State  of 
which they are not nationals. As of 1 January 2006, there were approximately 8.2 million EU 
citizens who were exercising their right to reside in another Member State1.  

The  results  of  the  2007  Flash  Eurobarometer  public  opinion  survey  on  European  Union 
citizenship2 reveal that Europeans are largely aware of their status as citizens of the Union but 
would like to be better informed about their rights. More than three-quarters of EU  citizens 
have  heard  about  the  term  "citizen  of  the  European  Union"  and  are  aware  that  Union 
citizenship is acquired automatically by being a national of a Member State. 90% know that 
they are simultaneously Union citizens and Member State nationals.  

Over the past 5 years one can note a significant improvement in Europeans' general awareness 
of their status as citizens of the Union. Compared to 2002, this year approximately 8% more 
Europeans  claim  to  be  familiar  with  the  term  "citizen  of  the  Union"  and  to  know  what  it 
entails  while  15%  more  respondents  are  aware  that  Union  citizenship  is  acquired 
automatically by being a national of a Member State.  

However  less  than  a  third  (31%)  of  respondents  feel  "well  informed"  about  their  rights  as 
Union citizens. 

The  Commission  places  the  citizen  at  the  heart  of  its  policies  and  will  continue  to  inform 
citizens of their rights and to ensure that they actually benefit from such freedoms across the 
Union.  

Article 22 of the EC Treaty requires the Commission to report to the European Parliament, the 
Council  and  the  European  Economic  and  Social  Committee  every  three  years  on  the 
application  of  the  provisions  of  Part  Two  of  the  Treaty  which  deal  with  Citizenship  of  the 
Union. This 5th Report assesses the application of these provisions during the period 1 May 
2004 – 30 June 2007 in the light of the development of the Union and considers the need for 
strengthening the rights conferred on Union citizens.  

The report focuses on the legal core of citizens' rights, namely the right to move and reside 
within the EU (Article 18), the right to vote and stand as a candidate in European and 
municipal elections in the Member State of residence (Article 19), the right to diplomatic 
and consular protection in third countries (Article 20), the right to petition the European 
Parliament  (EP)  and  the  right  to  apply  to  the  Ombudsman  (Article  21).  Furthermore,  it 

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Eurostat estimates (see Annex to this report) 
Flash Eurobarometer 213 

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takes stock of advances in areas closely related to citizenship in the wider sense, such as equal 
treatment in terms of nationality and the protection of fundamental rights. 

2. 

CITIZENSHIP OF THE UNION 

2.1. 

Problems related to the acquisition and loss of nationality 

The EC Treaty provides that every person holding the nationality of a Member State shall be a 
citizen  of  the  Union  and  that  citizenship  of  the  Union  complements  and  does  not  replace 
national citizenship (Article 17(1)). Declaration No. 2, annexed to the EU Treaty, establishes 
that  whether  a  person  has  the  nationality  of  a  Member  State  is  to  be  determined  solely  by 
reference to the nationality rules of the Member State concerned and the European Court of 
Justice  (ECJ)  has  confirmed  that  the  acquisition  or  loss  of  nationality  falls  within  the 
competence  of  the  Member  States.  The  Commission  has  received  a  number  of  complaints, 
NGO  reports,  petitions  and  EP  questions  concerning  problems  in  certain  Member  States 
linked to the acquisition and loss of nationality. 

In  particular,  the  Commission  is  aware  of  questions  related  to  persons  belonging  to  the 
Russian-speaking  minority  in  Estonia  and  Latvia  who  are  considered  to  be  "non-citizens" 
and  to  the  situation  of  "erased  persons"  in  Slovenia.  Another  issue  which  has  been  raised 
concerns  the  extension  of  citizenship  to  nationals  of  another  country  on  the  basis,  inter 
alia, of their membership of an ethnic community. 

The  Commission  has  no  power  to  deal  with  the  question  of  the  acquisition  or  loss  of 
nationality. However, within its remit, the Commission has sought to contribute to solutions 
linked to this issue by promoting integration and by using the Community instruments at its 
disposal  such  as  ensuring  that  Member  States  strictly  implement  EC  anti-discrimination 
legislation. 

2.2. 

Access to Union citizenship 

Union  citizenship  is  gained  through  the  acquisition  of  the  nationality  of  a  Member  State. 
Without prejudice to the fact that the Member States alone remain competent in the area of 
nationality  laws,  the  1999  Tampere  Council  endorsed  'the  objective  that  long-term  legally 
resident third-country nationals should be offered the opportunity to obtain the nationality of 
the Member State in which they are resident'.  

In  2004,  the  Council  adopted  Common  Basic  Principles  (CBPs)  on  integration  to  assist 
Member States in formulating integration policies3. One of these states that the participation 
of  immigrants  in  the  democratic  process  and  in  the  formulation  of  integration  policies  and 
measures supports their integration. In 2005, the Commission adopted 'A Common Agenda 
for  Integration'  proposing  measures  to  put  the  CBPs  into  practice4.  It  put  forward 
suggestions  such  as,  at  national  level,  the  elaboration  of  preparatory  citizenship  and 
naturalisation  programmes  and,  at  EU  level,  the  promotion  of  research  and  dialogue  on 
identity  and  citizenship  questions.  The  Third  Annual  Report  on  Migration  and  Integration5 

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Council Document 14615/04 
COM(2005) 389 
COM(2007) 512 

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confirms  the  importance  of  various  forms  of  participative  citizenship  for  the  integration  of 
third-country nationals.  

The  Council  Conclusions  on  the  strengthening  of  integration  policies  in  the  EU  by 
promoting unity in diversity, adopted in June 2007, call upon the Member States, supported 
by  the  Commission,  to  explore  and  clarify  the  various  conceptions  of  participation  and 
citizenship and to exchange experiences on naturalisation systems.  

2.3. 

Promoting European citizenship 

Citizens should be made aware of their European citizenship, its benefits as well as its rights 
and obligations, if they are to develop a sense of European identity and give their full support 
to European integration. Initiatives such as the Community action programme to promote 
active European citizenship6, which was implemented over 2004-2006 and the 'Europe for 
Citizens  Programme'7  for  the  period  2007-2013,  provide  the  Union  with  important 
instruments to promote active European citizenship. 

3. 

FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT AND THE RIGHT OF RESIDENCE 

3.1. 

Report on the three directives on the right of residence of economically inactive 
Union citizens 

In  April  2006,  the  Commission  adopted  its  third  report8  on  the  application  of  the  three 
Directives9 on the right of residence of EU citizens who are students, economically inactive or 
retired, covering the period from 2003 to 2005. 

3.2. 

Directive 2004/38: reinforcing citizenship  

The most important development in this area was the entry into force, on 30 April 2006, of 
Directive 2004/38 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and 
reside freely within the territory of the Member States. The Directive: 

•  codifies in one instrument the complex legislative corpus and the rich case-law of 

the ECJ and creates a single legal regime within the context of citizenship,  

•  facilitates  the  exercise  of  the  right  of  residence  by  simplifying  conditions  and 
formalities (e.g. by abolishing the system of residence permits for Union citizens),  

•  reinforces  the  rights  of  family  members  (e.g.  by  extending  family  reunification 

rights to registered partners), 

•  creates  an  unconditional  permanent  right  of  residence  after  five  years  of 

continuous legal residence in the host Member State and  

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Council Decision 2004/100/EC of 26 January 2004 
Decision  N°  1904/2006/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  of  12  December  2006 
establishing for the period 2007-2013 the programme 'Europe of citizens' to promote active European 
citizenship 
COM(2006) 156 final 
Directives 93/96, 90/364 and 90/365, abrogated by Directive 2004/38 

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•  increases protection against expulsion of Union citizens and their family members 

on grounds of public policy, public security and public health. 

Citizens will only be able to fully exercise their strengthened rights if they are fully informed 
of them. The "Guide on how to get the best out of Directive 2004/38/EC" aims to help to 
make Union citizens more acquainted with the legislation by translating it into user-friendly 
language10. More than 16 000 copies of the guide in 19 languages were distributed throughout 
the EU. 

The control of the correct implementation of the Directive is an absolute priority for the 
Commission11.  Between  June  2006  and  February  2007,  19  infringement  procedures  were 
opened for non-communication of national implementing measures: in June 2007 15 of them 
were  open,  4  of  which  had  been  referred  to  the  ECJ.  In  2007  the  Commission  launched  a 
study  examining  the  conformity  of  transposition  measures.  Certain  problem  areas  of 
incorrect implementation of the Directive have, however, already been identified on the basis 
of individual complaints, petitions and EP questions. 

Third  country  family  members  continue  to  encounter  problems,  not  only  with  regard  to 
authorisation of their entry but also with the issuing of residence cards. They have the right to 
reside with the Union citizens on grounds of their family link alone but some Member States 
require them to present documents or undergo procedures not allowed by the Directive. The 
Commission used and will continue to use its powers under Article 226 EC in order to ensure 
compliance with the Directive. 

Many  complaints  concern  obstacles  to  free  movement  encountered  by  Union  citizens 
travelling to another Member State due to the documents demanded by border authorities 
and  air  carriers.  In  June  2005  the  Commission  invited  all  Member  States  to  verify  that 
national legislation and practice, including the rules and regulations applied to and by airlines, 
are  in  accordance  with  EC  law.  Following  the  Commission's  intervention,  there  were 
essentially no further complaints in this particular area. 

In  a  number  of  judgments12  the  ECJ  recalled  that  the  right  to  reside  in  the  territory  of  a 
Member State is conferred directly on every Union citizen by Article 18 EC and underlined 
the  need  to  interpret  the  right  of  free  movement  in  the  light  of  fundamental  rights  and  in 
particular of the right to protection of family life and the principle of proportionality. 

. 

3.3. 

Transitional arrangements in the field of free movement of workers 

Transitional  arrangements  for  a  period  of  maximum  7  years,  divided  into  three  distinct 
phases, currently apply in relation to nationals of 8 Member States that acceded on 1.5.200413 
(EU-8)  and  to  Bulgarian  and  Romanian  nationals  following  their  countries'  accession  on 
1.1.2007. 

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http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/frattini/doc/guide_2004_38_ec_en.pdf 
COM(2006)  333  final  Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  Council  and  the  European 
Parliament - Report on the implementation of the Hague programme for 2005 
See,  inter  alia,  cases  C-200/02  Chen,  C-215/03  Oulane,  C-157/03  Commission  v  Spain,  C-503/03 
Commission v Spain, C-258/04 Ioannidis, C-1/05 Jia, C-50/06 Commission v The Netherlands. 
Except Cyprus and Malta 

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By  May  2007,  nine  out  of  fifteen  Member  States14  had  opened  their  labour  markets  to  the 
nationals  from  EU-8  Member  States  and  ten  out  of  twenty-five  Member  States  have  opened 
their  labour  markets  to  Bulgarian  and  Romanian  nationals15.  Other  Member  States  restrict 
access of workers from these countries under national law by applying a work permit scheme, 
albeit often with modifications and simplified procedures. 

The Commission presented a report on the functioning of the transitional provisions16 in 
2006. The Commission concluded that mobility flows had been very limited and such flows 
were  found  to  have  had  positive  effects  on  the  economies  of  EU-15  Member  States.  The 
Commission  recommends  considering  carefully  whether  the  continuation  of  restrictions  is 
needed, in the light of the situation of their labour market and of the evidence of the report. 

3.4. 

Other issues 

Many  Union  citizens  availed  themselves  of  the  possibility  to  benefit  from  rights  of  free 
movement  similar  to  those  applicable  in  the  EU  also  in  Switzerland  under  the  Agreement 
between  the  EC  and  its  Member  States  and  the  Swiss  Confederation  on  free  movement  of 
persons17. Since 1 June 2007, Union citizens from EU-15 Member States, Cyprus and Malta 
can  move  to  Switzerland  and  reside  there  without  any  restrictions.  The  negotiations 
concerning adaptation of the EEA Agreement that would make Directive 2004/38 applicable 
in the EFTA Member States (Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland) are ongoing. 

With regard to the issue of repatriation of mortal remains, raised on several occasions by 
the  EP  and  in  the  4th  Citizenship  Report,  funeral  services  are  included  in  the  scope  of  the 
Directive  on  Services  in  the  Internal  Market  (Directive  2006/123).  While  this  does  not 
represent  an  EU-wide  provision  uniformly  governing  the  repatriation  of  mortal  remains,  it 
will make it easier for providers to carry out such activities cross-border. 

4. 

ELECTORAL RIGHTS 

4.1. 

Reporting on the 2004 EP elections and preparing for the 2009 elections  

In December 2006 the Commission adopted a report on the 2004 EP elections.18 Whereas 
the general tendency is a drop in the participation in EP elections (45% in 2004, 50% in 1999 
and  56%  in  1994),  an  increase  of  participation  of  Union  citizens  living  in  a  Member  State 
other than their State of origin can be noted. More than one million Union citizens registered 
to  vote  in  their  State  of  residence  in  2004,  representing  nearly  12%,  compared  to  5,9%  in 
1994 and 9% in 1999. The increase in participation is explained by citizens' greater mobility 
within the EU and by Member States' efforts to inform them of their rights. However, fewer 
of  them  are  standing  as  candidates:  62  in  1999  versus  57  in  2004  (of  whom  three  were 

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Finland, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom 
Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden 
COM(2006) 48 final 
OJ L 114, 20.4.2002 
COM(2006)790 Communication from the Commission – European elections 2004 - Commission report 
on  the  participation  of  EU  citizens  in  the  Member  State  of  residence  (Directive  93/109)  and  on  the 
electoral arrangements (Decision 76/787 as amended by Decision 2002/772) 

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elected).  Possible  explanations  for  the  low  number  of  non-national  candidates  include  the 
onerous procedure for filing candidacies currently provided for in Directive 93/10919. 

In  an  effort  to  solve  the  problems  identified  by  the  Report,  the  Commission  simultaneously 
proposed  to  amend  Directive  93/109  by  introducing  measures  that  lighten  the  burden  on 
candidates and Member States while providing the necessary guarantees against abuses20.  

4.2. 

Developments in case law  

In  its  judgments  of  12.9.200621  the  ECJ  stressed  that  it  is  currently  for  Member  States  to 
regulate  aspects  of  EP  electoral  procedure  not  harmonised  at  Community  level,  and  in 
particular to define the persons entitled to vote and stand as candidate. However, in doing so 
they  must  respect  EC  law,  including  its  general  principles.  This  precludes  differences  in 
treatment of nationals who are in comparable situations, unless that difference is objectively 
justified. 

4.3. 

Political parties at European level  

In  June  2007  the  Commission  adopted  a  proposal  to  allow  the  establishment  of  European 
political  foundations.  The  proposal  amends  Regulation  (EC)  No  2004/2003  on  political 
parties at European level and their funding. It is based on Article 191 EC, which recognises 
that political parties at European level are an important factor of integration and contribute to 
forming European awareness and to expressing the will of the Union citizens. A total of ten 
political parties at European level receive funding via the Regulation, which is administered 
by the EP. The budget for the purposes of the political parties at European level was fixed at 
EUR 10.4 million in 2007. 

4.4. 

Effective  participation  of  Union  citizens  in  the  political  life  of  their  Member 
State of residence 

To ensure that Union citizens are able to exercise their electoral rights in their Member State 
of residence in municipal and European elections, under the same conditions as nationals, the 
Commission  is  assessing the legislation of  those  Member  States whose  national legislation 
does  not  allow  non-national  Union  citizens  to  become  members  of  political  parties 
and/or  to  found  political  parties.  The  exclusion  of  Union  citizens  from  founding  or 
becoming  members  of,  a  political  party  in  their  Member  State  of  residence  could  obstruct 
them  in  the  effective  exercise  of  their  right  to  stand  as  a  candidate.  The  Commission  will 
request the Member States concerned to eliminate such restrictions and will, where necessary, 
use its powers under Article 226 EC.  

Previous reports on citizenship highlighted the concerns of many Union citizens about the fact 
that  in  most  Member  States,  non-national  Union  citizens  are  deprived  of  the  right  to 
participate in national or regional elections in their country of residence. Citizens' concern 
was  confirmed  by  recurrent  EP  questions  and  public  correspondence  during  the  reporting 

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Directive  93/109/EC  of  6  December  1993  laying  down  detailed  arrangements  for  the  exercise  of  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 
COM(2006)791 
C-145/04 Spain v UK and C-300/04 Eman and Sevinger 

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period.  The  Commission  invites  Member  States  to  examine  this  issue  in  order  to  promote 
participation of Union citizens in the political life of their country of residence. 

4.5. 

Electoral rights in municipal elections  

Finally, with regard to electoral rights in municipal elections, Directive 94/80 was adapted by 
Directive  2006/106  which  added  references  to  basic  local  government  units  of  the  new 
Member States.  

5. 

DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR PROTECTION 

The  acquis  in  the  area  of  diplomatic  and  consular  protection  is  very  limited.  Apart  from 
Decision 96/409/CFSP on the establishment of an emergency travel document, it consists of 
Decision 95/553 regarding protection for citizens of the EU by diplomatic and consular 
representations which only came into force in May 2002 due to the cumbersome legislative 
procedures required for its adoption in Member States.  

Union citizens are increasingly travelling to and living in third countries. EUROSTAT22 has 
estimated  the  number  of  trips  made  in  2005  to  destinations  outside  the  EU  to  be 
approximately 80 million. Half of Union citizens expect to travel to a third country in the next 
3 years.23 The limited representation of Member States in third countries (in 107 out of 166 
third countries a maximum of 10 Member States are represented) and the experience gained 
from recent crises (namely the Asian tsunami and the Lebanon crisis) illustrated that there is 
room for improvement in cooperation between consular and diplomatic authorities.  

Following  the  adoption  of  the  Commission's  Green  Paper  on  diplomatic  and  consular 
protection  of  Union  citizens  in  third  countries24  on  28.11.2006,  the  Commission  has 
presented  an  Action  Plan  for  the  years  2007-200925  proposing  a  series  of  measures  to 
enhance  this  protection  and  a  Recommendation  to  Member  States  to  include  the  text  of 
Article 20 in passports26.  

6. 

THE  RIGHT  TO  PETITION  THE  EP  AND  TO  APPLY  TO  THE 
OMBUDSMAN  

Union citizens, as well as any natural or legal person residing or having its registered office in 
a Member State have the right to petition the EP on a matter which comes within the sphere 
of activity of the EC and which concerns the petitioner directly (Articles 21 and 194 EC). The 
EP received 1002 petitions in 2004  (623  of  which were admissible), 1032 petitions in 2005 
(628 admissible) and 1021 petitions in 2006 (667 admissible). Between one quarter and one 
third of petitions are linked or give rise to, infringement proceedings.  

Complaints  may  also  be  sent  to  the  European  Ombudsman  concerning  instances  of 
maladministration  in  the  activities  of  the  Community  institutions  or  bodies  (Articles  21  and 

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Database on population, section on tourism. Data includes holiday and business trips of more than one 
day in 2005. 
Eurobarometer No 118 of July 2006. 
COM(2006)712 
COM(2007)767 final 
C(2007)5841 final 

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195 EC). The Ombudsman has continued to witness an increase in complaints, largely due to 
the  accession  of  the  new  Member  States:  3726  complaints  were  received  in  2004,  3920  in 
2005 and 3830 in 2006. A large majority of complaints continue to be deemed to fall outside 
the Ombudsman's mandate or to be considered inadmissible while the vast majority of them 
(an average of 94.5% over the period 2004-2006) are sent by individuals.27  

By Decision 2005/46, the EP attributed to M. Diamandouros a second mandate in the quality 
of European Ombudsman, as from 11 January 2005. 

EQUAL TREATMENT ON GROUNDS OF NATIONALITY  

7. 
The ECJ delivered several important judgments28 in this area during the reference period. It 
recalled  that  Union  citizenship  is  destined  to  be  the  fundamental  status  of  nationals  of 
Member States enabling those who find themselves in the same situation to enjoy the same 
treatment in law irrespective of their nationality, subject to such exceptions as are expressly 
provided for and that Union citizens legally resident in a Member State can rely on Article 12 
EC in all situations which fall within the material scope of EC law, including those involving 
the right to move and reside freely in another Member State.  

The  right  to  equal  treatment  has  been  further  clarified  by  Directive  2004/38.  Article  24(2) 
allows two exceptions to this rule: During the first three months of residence, or for a longer 
period in the case of job seekers, Member States are not obliged to grant entitlement to social 
assistance to Union citizens other than those who are workers, self-employed persons or who 
retain  such  status  or  their  family  members.  Member  States  are  also  not  obliged  to  grant 
maintenance  aid  for  studies  consisting  of  student  grants  or  student  loans,  prior  to  the 
acquisition of the permanent right of residence, to these same persons.  
In  the  Garcia  Avello  case29  the  ECJ  ruled  that  Articles  12  and  17  EC  preclude  national 
authorities from refusing to grant an application for a change of surname made on behalf of 
minor Union citizens with double nationality that would enable them to bear the surname to 
which  they  are  entitled  according  to  the  law  and  tradition  of  their  second  Member  State  of 
nationality. The Commission examined measures adopted by Member States to comply with 
the judgment and opened in this respect three infringement procedures between October 2005 
and 2006. 

8. 

RENDERING CITIZENS' RIGHTS EFFECTIVE 

Correspondence received from citizens constitutes a vital means of detecting infringements of 
EC law by Member States. The Commission continues to receive numerous questions based 
on alleged violation of their rights, in particular the right of free movement. While the rights 
of free movement and residence are perhaps two of the most tangible rights available to Union 
citizens,  the  multitude  of  national  authorities  which  are  susceptible  to  limit  the  effective 
exercise  of  such  rights  (from  border  guards  to  immigration  authorities  to  local  councils) 
means that the implementation of EC law is often uneven across the EU.  
In this respect, the success of the SOLVIT mechanism,30 established by the Commission and 
the  Member  States  in  July  2002,  should  be  mentioned.  SOLVIT  helps  Union  citizens  and 

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European 

Ombudsman's 

The 
http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/report/en/default.htm 
See in particular Cases C-456/02 Trojani and C-209/03 Bidar 
C-148/02 
See http://ec.europa.eu/solvit and the Annual SOLVIT report SEC (2007)585 

Reports 

Annual 

may 

be 

found 

at 

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businesses find fast and pragmatic solutions to problems arising from the incorrect application 
of EC law by national administrations, within a deadline of ten weeks. SOLVIT centres were 
created in all 27 Member States as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. All centres 
are  part  of  the  national  administrations  while  the  Commission  monitors  and  facilitates  the 
work of the network. 

Since its creation, SOLVIT case flow has increased from 12 to 70 new cases per month. The 
average resolution rate is around 80% and case handling time over the period 2004-2007 has 
been  around  65  calendar  days.  The  majority  of  complaints  (66%)  are  submitted  by  citizens 
and  concern  residence  rights,  visa,  social  security,  recognition  of  professional  qualifications 
and  taxation.  SOLVIT  performs  very  well  but  Member  States  need  to  ensure  that  their 
national SOLVIT centres are sufficiently staffed, which is currently not the case in almost half 
of the centres. 

While  the  Commission  will  continue  to  monitor  the  uniform  application  of  EC  law  by  the 
Member  States  and  to  use  its  powers  under  Article  226  EC  to  urge  the  Member  States  to 
comply with EC law as quickly as possible, it will continue to encourage alternative dispute 
mechanisms  which  can  be  particularly  effective,  efficient  and  less  cumbersome  in  the 
resolution of citizens' problems. 

9. 

CITIZENSHIP AND FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS 

The Commission places fundamental rights at the heart of all its policies. In this context, since 
2004  the  Group  of  Commissioners  on  Fundamental  Rights,  Anti-Discrimination  and 
Equal  Opportunities  drives  policy  and  ensures  the  coherence  of  Commission  initiatives  in 
these areas as well as in the area of integration of minorities. 

While  most  rights  enshrined  in  the  Charter  of  Fundamental  Rights  of  the  EU  are  not 
limited  to  Union  citizens,  certain  rights  are  linked  to  citizenship  of  the  Union,  i.e.  electoral 
rights (Articles 39 and 40), the right to move and  reside freely (Article 45) and the right to 
diplomatic and consular protection (Article 46).  

9.1. 

The Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Programme 2007-2013 

The Council created a major instrument in the field of citizenship on 19 April 2007, when it 
adopted  Decision  2007/252/EC  establishing  for  the  period  of  2007-2013  the  specific 
programme  'Fundamental  rights  and  citizenship'  as  part  of  the  General  programme 
'Fundamental  Rights  and  Justice'31.  The  Programme  constitutes  a  new  boost  for  the  EU 
fundamental  rights  and  citizenship  policies,  one  of  its  main  aims  being  the  promotion  of  a 
European  society  based  on  respect  of  fundamental  rights,  including  the  rights  derived  from 
Union  citizenship.  Community  funding  under  the  Programme  may  be  either  in  the  form  of 
grants or through public procurement contracts.  

9.2. 

The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights  

The  European  Union  Agency  for  Fundamental  Rights  came  into  existence  on  1  March. 
200732, replacing the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia. The objective 

31 
32 

OJ L 110, 27.4.2007, p. 33, corrigendum OJ L 141 of 2.6.2007, page 83. 
Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 of 15 February 2007  

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of  the  Agency  is  to  provide  assistance  and  expertise  relating  to  fundamental  rights  to  the 
relevant Community institutions and its Member States when implementing EC law. Its three 
main  tasks  relate  to  information  and  data  collection,  analysis  and  dissemination,  the 
formulation and publishing of advice and reports and the fostering of dialogue and awareness-
raising with civil society.  

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