Own initiative opinion of the Committee of the Regions on Citizens' rights: Promotion of fundamental rights and rights derived from European citizenship
Date: 2008-10-09
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: European Commission, European citizenship, fundamental rights, human rights, regional and local authorities

C 325/76

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

19.12.2008

Own initiative opinion of the Committee of the Regions on ‘Citizens' rights: Promotion of
fundamental rights and rights derived from European citizenship’

(2008/C 325/13)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS:

— emphasises the significant role played by the Charter of Fundamental Rights, a cornerstone of the
process of guaranteeing fundamental rights and a crucial point of reference for the definition and
interpretation of the rights which the EU is required to respect and highlights the specific function of
the Charter of Fundamental Rights as an instrument at the service of all individuals;

— emphasises that the exercise of the rights arising from citizenship also involves the obligation to

comply with certain ‘duties’ as regards local and regional communities;

— insists on the responsibility of all levels of governance to help build a ‘culture of fundamental rights’
by raising citizens' awareness of their rights; emphasises the need therefore for a joint campaign
promoting citizens' rights, with such promotion constituting an integral part of
the European
Commission's information and communication policy; and is of the view that in this connection,
specific resources must be channelled and actions planned with the effective involvement of local and
regional authorities;

— intends to build upon the existing fruitful

inter-institutional cooperation on fundamental rights,
confirmed at the seminar in Reggio Emilia in September 2008, and will consider seriously the
Commission's proposal to organise a joint yearly event highlighting the citizens' oriented approach to
fundamental rights and benchmarking at different levels of governance;

— reiterates the request for a representative of local and regional authorities to take part in the agency's

Management Board;

— calls on the Commission systematically to invite the President of the Committee of the Regions to
take part in the work of the Group of Commissioners on Fundamental Rights, Anti-discrimination,
and Equal Opportunities, which issues policy guidelines and monitors the consistency of initiatives in
this field.

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C 325/77

Rapporteur: Sonia MASINI (IT/PES), President of the Province of Reggio Emilia

Reference document

Report from the Commission — Fifth Report on Citizenship of the Union

(1 May 2004-30 June 2007)

COM(2008) 85 final

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

General comments

that

points out

1.
the Treaty on European Union
acknowledges that the Union is founded on the principles of
freedom, democracy and the rule of law, as well as on respect
for personal rights and the fundamental freedoms common to
the constitutional traditions of the Member States and guaran-
teed by the European Convention for the protection of Human
signed in Rome on
Rights
4 November 1950;

and Fundamental

Freedoms,

emphasises the significant role played to date by the
2.
the European Union,
Charter of Fundamental Rights of
proclaimed on 7 December 2000 in Nice by the Parliament, the
Council and the Commission,
in highlighting the importance
and scope of the rights laid down in it; although so far not
legally binding, the charter is a cornerstone of the process of
guaranteeing fundamental rights and a crucial point of reference
for the definition and interpretation of the rights which the EU
is required to respect;

highlights the unique position held by the charter among
3.
the instruments on human rights, insofar as it brings together
in one single text the universal personal rights (civil and political
rights) derived from the historical development of the rights of
freedom and integrity of the person in Europe, as well as the
economic and social rights derived from Europe's experience of
establishing a ‘social market economy’, together with a number
of highly innovative provisions (such as rights of older and
disabled people) relating to the European welfare model;

highlights the specific function of the Charter of Funda-

4.
mental Rights as an instrument at the service of all individuals;

is therefore pleased that, with the entry into force of the
5.
Treaty of Lisbon, the Charter of Fundamental Rights,
in the
amended version adopted on 12 December 2007 in Lisbon,
should become legally binding; points out in particular that it
would have ‘the same legal value as the Treaties’, which, as stipu-
form the European
lated by the European Court of
Union's ‘constitution’;

Justice,

6.
points out that, although the rights derived from citizen-
ship represent a major step forward, difficulties persist regarding
their application (Fifth Report from the Commission on Citizen-
ship of
in particular, many communities feel
distanced from the EU institutions, and this feeling must be

the Union);

fought and overcome; stresses in this connection that regions
and local authorities can make a contribution in this area as
well by acting as a bridge between the institutions and the
public;

stresses that

fresh impetus must be infused into the
7.
promotion of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, with a view to
its becoming legally binding; therefore, a campaign of European
civic education could be undertaken, particularly in educational
the
establishments;
regions and local authorities,
including the dissemination of
information, the exchange of experiences and project ideas;

in relation to this, stresses the role of

notes that while the Union guarantees universal rights to
8.
anyone (whether a European citizen, from a third country or
stateless) who falls under its jurisdiction,
it attributes specific
rights to ‘European citizens’ with whom there is the special link
of citizenship;

9.
points out that universal fundamental rights and the rights
of EU citizens must be recognised and applied not only by the
including the CoR, but also by
EU institutions and bodies,
national authorities and regional and local authorities;

10.
recalls the principle laid down in the preamble to the
Charter of Fundamental Rights, whereby the common values of
the EU must be developed while respecting the diversity of the
cultures and traditions of the peoples of Europe as well as the
national identities of the Member States and the organisation of
their public authorities at national, regional and local levels; is
reference to regional and local
pleased with this explicit
autonomy and grassroots democracy;

points out

the Treaty establishing the
11.
European Community, EU citizenship involves duties as well as
rights;

that under

draws particular attention to the duty of EU citizens to
12.
comply with the laws of the EU and of the State in which they
reside and to respect the cultures of other people;

13.
notes that many of the rights laid down in the charter
refer to powers largely devolved in a number of EU States to
local and regional authorities (for example, areas such as educa-
tion, healthcare and environmental protection, social policies,
housing policy, local police and transport), or concern issues of
general importance for all public authorities (good administra-
tion, transparency and access to documents; the rights of chil-
dren, older and disabled people);

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14.
therefore emphasises that fundamental rights must be
protected at various levels and is pleased with the reference to
this principle made in the context of
the
European Parliament's Catania report on the situation of funda-
mental rights in the European Union;

the drafting of

for the period 2007-2013 and calls on the Commission to
involve it
the programme for the period
2014-2020;

in the review of

emphasises that it is primarily at regional and local level
15.
that citizens come into contact with the public administration
and make use of administrative structures and services;

Universal personal rights

points out that the promotion of human and citizens'
16.
rights requires active policies: a right becomes ‘active’ only when
objective conditions so permit;

notes that, in this connection, the Union must pursue its
17.
policies for stronger economic, social and territorial cohesion;
welcomes the fact that the Treaty of Lisbon includes ‘territorial
cohesion’ among the objectives of the European Union;

18.
welcomes the adoption of the Protocol on services of
general economic interest, appended to the Treaty of Lisbon,
underlining the importance for citizens of organising services
which are efficient, accessible to all and close to individual
needs, as well as the essential role and the wide discretion of
regional and local authorities in organising, providing and
commissioning such services;

24.
reiterates that the principle of respect for fundamental
personal rights is central to all EU action, such rights deriving
from the constitutional
traditions common to the Member
States, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by
the General Assembly of
the European
Convention on Human Rights and the other conventions
adopted at international level (in particular within the United
Nations) and ratified by the EU Member States;

the United Nations,

notes that the European model

for the protection of
25.
fundamental rights, as set out in particular in the charter,
is
amongst the most advanced since it incorporates civil and poli-
tical rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights, and is
based on its own order and system of values which, in the area
of universal rights, respects diversity and dialogue between
different cultures, religions and beliefs within the scope of the
rules established by the democratic European systems;

points out that, in accordance with the Charter of Funda-
19.
mental Rights,
religious and
the Union respects cultural,
linguistic diversity; welcomes the reference in the Treaty of
Lisbon to the respect for cultural and linguistic diversity among
the Union's objectives, subject, of course, to the established
democratic rules;

26.
draws attention to the possible tensions which might
arise between the respect for the individual right to privacy and
the guarantee of other fundamental rights such as security, and
calls for this issue to be discussed in greater depth, taking into
account the experiences of local and regional authorities and
their key position as regards the protection of data stored by
them regarding resident citizens;

draws attention to the key role of non-governmental
20.
organisations, the natural partners of local and regional authori-
ties, in the full application of individual rights;

21.
notes that local and regional authorities, being close to
citizens and their needs and views, have the most immediate
and realistic understanding of the application of the rights laid
down by the Union and consequently emphasises the potential
role of the CoR as an observatory monitoring the concrete
conditions for the application of such rights, and calls on the
Commission and the European Parliament to capitalise on this
potential role by ensuring that when acts are adopted they
reflect
interpretations of
situations;

authorities'

and local

regional

22.
calls on the Commission systematically to invite the
President of the Committee of the Regions to take part in the
work of the Group of Commissioners on Fundamental Rights,
Anti-discrimination, and Equal Opportunities, which issues
policy guidelines and monitors the consistency of initiatives in
this field;

23.
notes the adoption of Decision 2007/252/EC establishing
the specific programme on fundamental rights and citizenship

emphasises that the Union must also promote democracy
27.
and human rights in third countries and,
in this connection,
refers to the opinion on the 2007-2010 strategy paper on the
European instrument
for democratisation and human rights
(EIDHR), for which Heini Utunen was rapporteur;

28.
reiterates the need to respect fundamental rights and the
rule of law in the context of policies to establish an area of
freedom, security and justice and in parallel, points out that the
Union must thus guarantee a high level of security for citizens;

is pleased that the Treaty of Lisbon does away with the
29.
Union's pillar structure and that, in consequence, actions in the
freedom, security and justice are made
field of
subject to the general rules for EU policies,
in particular as
regards the judicial review performed by the Court of Justice;

the area of

30.
welcomes the innovative measures set down in the
Treaty of Lisbon, which enhance the European Parliament's role
in framing, implementing and assessing policies for the area of
freedom, security and justice, and recognise the role played by
national parliaments in the mechanisms for assessing the results
achieved in this field;

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C 325/79

intends to build upon the existing fruitful inter-institu-
31.
tional cooperation on fundamental rights, confirmed at
the
seminar in Reggio Emilia in September 2008, and will consider
seriously the Commission's proposal to organise a joint yearly
event highlighting the citizens' oriented approach to funda-
mental
levels of
governance;

and benchmarking

at different

rights

is pleased that the European Union's Fundamental Rights

32.
Agency has been established and has launched its activities;

confirms that both the Committee of the Regions and
33.
local and regional authorities wish to play an active role in the
work of the Fundamental Rights Agency and its multi-annual
programming, and is pleased with the forms of cooperation
already underway;

reiterates the request for a representative of

34.
local and
regional authorities to take part in the agency's Management
Board;

35.
would be pleased to cooperate with the agency, by
collecting and disseminating good practices and particularly
significant experiences for the protection and promotion of
fundamental rights at local and regional
level, or forwarding
relevant data collected at local and regional level;

stresses that local and regional authorities are in a unique
36.
position to play an active role in the promotion of the rights of
children, as well as to help monitor the conditions for the
enjoyment of these rights;

37.
recalls that it has pointed out that local and regional
authorities play a key role in the application of the fundamental
rights of women and the principle of equal opportunities for all;

38.
emphasises, with particular reference to migrant women,
that integration means sharing and respecting the fundamental
rights and duties of
the
European legal acquis, and reiterates the importance of reception
policies founded on the recognition of cultural diversity stem-
ming from people's freedom of choice (CdR 396/2006);

the individual, which are part of

stresses that the media have an important role to play in
39.
publicising infringements of human and civil rights, but that
they should also publicise good practices and particularly signifi-
cant experiences in safeguarding human and civil rights;

European Union, specifically in the title containing provisions
on democratic principles, which reiterates the principle whereby
decisions shall be taken as openly and as closely as possible to
the citizen (grassroots democracy);

42.
deplores the fact nonetheless that there is no explicit
reference to the key role played in this respect by local and
regional authorities;

stresses that freedom of movement and residence is of
43.
key importance among the rights attributed by European citi-
zenship, being a contributing factor
in enhanced mutual
knowledge between EU communities;

notes

the progress

44.
achieved in implementing this
freedom, thanks to the adoption and entry into force of Direc-
tive 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;

urges Member States to work together to ensure security

45.
for citizens and fight crime;

46.
strongly emphasises, inter alia in light of the experience
of applying Directive 2004/38, the fundamental responsibilities
assumed by local and regional authorities in connection with
the management of problems relating to the movement and in
particular the residence of European citizens. This refers not
only to the administrative formalities and practices inherent in
residence but also and particularly to reception policies;

47.
deplores the fact therefore that the Fifth Report from the
Commission on Citizenship of the Union makes no reference to
the special responsibilities of local and regional authorities as
regards reception;

48.
recalls that under Directive 2004/38, EU citizens other
than workers or self-employed persons have the right to reside
in a State other than the State of which they are nationals,
provided they are not a problem for or a burden on the social
assistance system of the host Member State and, for periods
longer
than three months, provided they have sufficient
resources for themselves and their family members as well as
comprehensive sickness insurance cover in the host Member
State;

Rights deriving from EU citizenship

points out that, as stipulated by the European Court of
the
in the process of European

40.
Justice, citizenship constitutes the fundamental status of
individual, a political player
integration;

41.
is therefore pleased that the Treaty of Lisbon enshrines
the general provisions on EU citizenship in the new Treaty on

49.
notes the European Court of Justice's interpretation of
these conditions and underlines the impact of this interpretation
on the responsibilities of local and regional authorities as well
as the financial burdens which may result;

points out that the national authorities have the right
50.
and duty to combat abuse of the rights conferred by the direc-
tive and fight fraud, as in the case of fictitious marriages or part-
nerships or illegal behaviour;

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welcomes

the new rules set out

the Commission initiative

promote
to
51.
knowledge of
in Directive 2004/38,
including the publication of the Guide to Directive 2004/38/EC,
and calls on the Commission to capitalise on the special posi-
tion of local and regional authorities which enables them to act
as channels for the dissemination of such information;

52.
emphasises that the exercise of the rights arising from
citizenship also involves the obligation to comply with certain
‘duties’ as regards local and regional communities;

53.
stresses the importance of the right of European citizens
to vote and to stand as candidates in the Member State in which
they reside, in both local and European Parliament elections;

54.
stresses in this respect that local political
reflect a ‘European’ electorate, and are thus the first
European governmental bodies;

institutions
truly

is pleased with the increase in turnout for European
55.
Parliament elections by EU citizens living in a State other than
their State of origin, but expresses concern about the gradual
overall decline in turnout for European elections;

reiterates its call for information and education activities
56.
concerning European elections to be stepped up, capitalising
fully on the strengths of local and regional authorities;

57.
reiterates its interest in the development of European
political parties (CdR 280/2004) and highlights the key role that
should be played by local and regional elected representatives
with reference to the functioning of
these parties and the
framing of associated strategies, inter alia in order to establish a
link between the various
(European,
national, regional and local);

tiers of government

58.
is pleased that the Treaty of Lisbon makes it possible for
EU citizens, numbering not less than one million and nationals
of a significant number of Member States, to take the initiative
of inviting the Commission to submit legislative proposals;

59.
stresses the fundamental role assumed by the European
Ombudsman, inter alia in the light of experience, with a view to
redressing cases of maladministration on the part of EU institu-
tions and bodies;

61.
recalls that EU citizens in the territory of a third country
in which the Member State of which they are a national is not
represented are entitled to protection by the diplomatic or
consular authorities of any Member State, on the same condi-
tions as the nationals of that Member State, and emphasises the
importance of such a provision as a point of principle, insofar
as it is intended to acknowledge an external dimension of EU
citizenship;

62.
shares the Commission's view regarding the inadequacy
of the Community acquis in the field of diplomatic and consular
protection, welcomes the presentation by the Commission of an
action plan for the period 2007-2009 with the aim of devel-
oping the acquis, and calls on the Council and Member States to
adopt the actions needed in this respect, inter alia at interna-
tional level;

on this subject underscores the powers and experience of
63.
local and regional authorities in this area (such as tourism,
health policy, burial and cremation) and therefore urges the EU
institutions to consult the CoR when framing and adopting deci-
sions in this area;

64.
is pleased that the Treaty of Lisbon acknowledges the
international personality of the Union and hopes that the Union
may also protect citizens at international level;

65.
notes the data set out in the Fifth Report from the
Commission on Citizenship of the Union (1 May 2004-30 June
2007), according to which EU citizens would like to be better
informed about their rights, but in fact less than one third of
them feel that they are well informed about the rights deriving
from EU citizenship;

66.
insists on the responsibility of all levels of governance to
help build a ‘culture of fundamental rights’ by raising citizens'
awareness of their rights; emphasises the need therefore for a
joint campaign promoting citizens' rights, with such promotion
constituting an integral part of
the European Commission's
information and communication policy;

60.
is pleased that citizens are now able to submit petitions
to the European Parliament and complaints to the Ombudsman
electronically;

67.
is of the view that in this connection, specific resources
must be channelled and actions planned with the effective
involvement of local and regional authorities.

Brussels, 9 October 2008.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Luc VAN DEN BRANDE