Debate: EU Citizenship Report
Date: WEDNESDAY, 9 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Yana Toom
Country: Hungary
Language: EN

As the epidemiological situation takes a turn for the better in the majority of Member States, we must watch the situation carefully and take steps towards removing any restrictions that interfere with the freedom of movement. Having freedom of movement does not only mean that you are able to pass from one country to another without being checked on the border. The full enjoyment of this right means that any European can move to another Member State and start enjoying life in the new country. This means that there should not be discrimination based on nationality, that living in another country should not affect access to national services, that people should have a right to influence the decisions that affect them. It means that they should not be overburdened by arbitrary or even discriminatory administrative procedures. It means that they should not be subject to double taxation.  We must not forget that mobile Europeans face many different situations when living in another Member State. Same-sex marriages are not recognised in every Member State. Cross-border couples with children that go through a separation might be faced with court proceedings that are harder and more complex than those for regular couples. Cross-border and seasonal workforce is at the core of the European economic activity, but they aren’t always treated in the best way. We have situations in some countries where mobile Europeans are not able to get national sickness insurance or a social security number, and this leaves them without access to a majority of that country’s administrative services. All of these are areas we need to work on.  The Commission will soon release an updated version of the guidelines on the implementation of the Freedom of Movement Directive, and this is the perfect opportunity to address such challenges, and we call on the Commission to investigate these practices and to address them in the guidelines.  There are challenges as well with mobile citizens’ electoral rights. Some Europeans that choose to move to another country are unfortunately left without the right of participation in elections. Their native Member State does not allow them to vote in elections as they have left the country and their host Member State does not allow them to vote in general elections as they are not nationals. And on top of that, they’re being hindered in the voting in local elections by a combination of burdensome procedures. We simply cannot stand for this because our Union is based on democratic values that cherish universal suffrage. We have to ease the access to elections so that mobile Europeans should be able to vote or stand for local and European elections just as easily as locals, and we have to explore and expand the possibilities of remote voting.  We should also improve the participatory framework that allows Europeans to have a say in European law-making. In our committee we sometimes receive petitions which are better suited for the Ombudsman or Citizens’ Initiative. This makes me think that Europeans might be confused about the participatory tool that they should be using. This could easily be solved by creating a single platform with access to all three, and better guidance on the appropriate tool.  Lastly, the European citizenship rights we are so proud of cannot make a difference if Europeans are not aware of them. That is why we must do more to inform people about their rights and we must promote political education on EU affairs.