In April 2005 the European Commission adopted the proposal for a new program ‘Citizens for Europe’ 2007-2013 to promote active European citizenship. This program will take over the current program coming to an end in 2006. With the new program, the European Commission wishes to contribute to a major challenge of the European Union, namely how to bridge the gap between citizens and the European Union.
Proposal
The proposal of the Commission was sent to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union for a decision in April 2005. In this proposal, the European Commission describes a program to encourage co-operation between citizens and their organisations from different countries in order to meet, to act together and to develop their own ideas in a European environment that goes beyond a national vision and which respects their diversity. Mutual understanding, solidarity and a sense of belonging to Europe are the building blocks for the involvement of citizens, according to the European Commission.
Priorities
In the financial perspectives 2007-2013 the Commission stressed the importance of better information for citizens about European institutions and European issues in general. It was considered of utmost importance furthermore to make citizens more aware of their fundamental rights and duties as citizens of the European Union and to stimulate them to become actively involved in the process of European integration, developing a sense of belonging and a European identity. The Commission proposed in particular to ensure that the development of active European citizenship would become one of the Union’s priorities for action. The proposed budget for the new program is EUR 235 million from 2007 to 2013.
Objectives
The main objectives of the program as proposed by the Commission are:
Activities
The proposed program of the Commission will fund three types of action.
Action 1: Active citizens for Europe
Action 2: Active civil society in Europe
Action 3: Together for Europe
Stakeholders
The proposed program will be open to all stakeholders promoting active European citizenship, in particular to local communities, European public policy research organisations (think tanks), citizens’ groups and other civil society organisations such as non-governmental organisations, platforms, networks, associations and federations, and trade unions. It will also be open to participants from various third countries (candidate countries, Western Balkans, EFTA countries), as well as international organisations.
Implementation
The implementation of the proposed program will be guided by the principles of transparency as well as openness to a large variety of organisations and projects. As a consequence, projects and activities will be selected, as a general rule, via open calls for proposals. It will develop the principle of multi-annual partnerships based on agreed objectives, building on the analysis of the results, in order to ensure mutual benefits for both civil society and the European Union.
Lack of ambition
In May 2005, the Council of the European Union decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on the proposal. The section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship of the EESC adopted its opinion in October 2005. In this opinion it was stressed that a comprehensive debate about the reconnecting of citizens with the institutions of the Union should be organised before approval of the new program for 2007-2013. Also, the EESC would like to see the European Union press ahead with a study about the extent to which citizens currently feel a connection with the European Union. A common European identity should be stated in order to be perceived by European citizens. The EESC calls for the organisation of an open symposium in order to get to grips with European citizenship in its entirety. The development of European citizenship, a main priority in the proposal of the Commission, should not just been seen as appropriate but also urgent or even crucial to continued European integration. The EESC criticised the lack of ambition of the program proposal. It should, in the EESC’s point of view, not just be a reworking of the current civic participation program. The allocated budget (EUR 235 million over 7 years) is seen by the EESC as extremely modest for meeting the objectives and actions proposed in the program. As for the three types of action of the proposal, the EESC expressed the wish to address the issues holistically, to make it possible to deal with all aspects of European citizenship and to work on common objectives.
Decision making
The European Parliament (the committee Culture and Education) is expected to deliver its report on the proposal of the European Commission in March or April 2006. In May 2006, the Council of the European Union will probably reach political agreement on a common position.
More information
The procedure of the decision making process can be followed through the following link:
http://www.europarl.eu.int/oeil
More information on the promotion of Active European Citizenship and the current program and calls for proposals of the European Commission can be found on:
Judith Baltus, Instituut voor Publiek en Politiek, Amsterdam
This article was puclished in Politeia Newsletter 41 - March 2006