9.9.2022
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
C 347/205 Thursday 10 March 2022
A. whereas EU citizenship is one of most tangible achievements of the EU and confers on EU citizens a set of fundamental rights, including free movement in the EU, the right to participate in EU democratic life and the right to be protected from discrimination, while ensuring equal opportunities;
B. whereas Brexit has highlighted the importance of EU citizenship rights and their crucial role in the everyday lives of millions of EU citizens, and has raised awareness in the EU about the potential loss of those rights and its consequences, as revealed by the large number of petitions submitted by EU citizens living in the UK and by UK citizens residing in an EU country on the consequences of Brexit on their status as EU citizens; C. whereas the rule of law is one of the values that underpin the Union, and whereas its protection ensures respect for fundamental rights and democracy; D. whereas freedom of movement, which allows any EU citizen to live, work or study and have access to healthcare in any Member State, is one of the foundations of the EU; E. whereas active citizenship is better ensured if the fundamental needs of citizens are satisfied; whereas the protection provided by minimum wages is therefore of great importance and is a prerequisite for achieving the EU’s goal to leave no one behind; F. whereas people facing precarious working and living conditions often feel marginalised and participate less or not at all in social life, civil society and elections; G. whereas homeless people not only face precarious living conditions, but often have little or no access to information regarding their rights and the tools to defend them; H. whereas the definitions of vulnerable, disadvantaged or under-represented groups vary widely between Member States and can even depend on the political and social situation in a Member State at a given moment;
I.
whereas numerous cross-border and seasonal workers face difficult, unhealthy and unsafe working conditions, little or no job security and insufficient or no social security coverage and access to social benefits; whereas many cross-border and seasonal workers come from vulnerable social groups and regions; whereas the COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated the existing precarious situations of numerous cross-border and seasonal workers, creating gaps in the implementation of existing legislation for their protection;
J.
whereas the COVID-19 outbreak has brought a number of unprecedented challenges to free movement across the EU, with many Member States imposing travel restrictions and internal border controls as emergency measures; whereas EU citizens have submitted a significant number of petitions raising serious concerns over the impact of national emergency measures on their freedom to travel, work and study abroad, and their ability to build and maintain cross-border family ties;
K. whereas the pandemic is having a particularly negative impact on the situation of persons with disabilities and the elderly, significantly limiting their ability to exercise their rights;
L. whereas PETI has received a considerable number of petitions raising concerns over the discrimination experienced by LGBTIQ persons in the EU, and rainbow families (i.e. families where at least one member is LGBTIQ) in particular, when exercising their freedom of movement in the EU, resulting in adverse consequences for the rights and interests of their children; M. whereas Article 21 of the Charter explicitly prohibits ‘discrimination based on any ground such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation’, as the primary expression of EU citizenship; whereas it forms, at the same time, a crucial component of the successful exercise of the freedom of movement, as evidenced in the abovementioned petitions;