The document discusses the need for European citizenship education. It notes that the Lisbon Treaty expanded citizen participation and voting rights in the EU. However, voter turnout for European elections remains low due to a lack of understanding of EU institutions and a failure to see voting as a civic duty. The document proposes introducing European citizenship education in national schools to foster greater identification with European citizenship, comprehension of EU functioning, and active participation in European elections. Integrating this into existing national citizenship education would help legitimize the expanded rights and responsibilities of EU citizenship under the Lisbon Treaty.
The document discusses the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI), which allows EU citizens to invite the European Commission to propose new legislation. It addresses frequently asked questions about the ECI. Specifically:
- The Treaty of Lisbon introduced the ECI to give citizens a role in the democratic life of the EU beyond elections. It allows citizens from multiple member states to call on the Commission to propose new policies.
- For an initiative to be successful, it must gather at least 1 million signatures from citizens across at least 1/3 of EU member states within 1 year.
- The Commission will register initiatives that fall within its powers and are not frivolous, abusive, or against EU values. It will
The document summarizes the Salzburg Manifesto 2010, which calls for improving the European Citizens' Initiative to strengthen participatory democracy in the EU. It argues the initiative's potential is not fully realized by the draft regulation, which risks limiting participation and missing an opportunity to increase credibility. The manifesto makes several recommendations to improve the regulation, including allowing more time for signature collection, lowering the entrance threshold, protecting privacy of signatories, and establishing infrastructure support for the initiative.
The document outlines the European Parliament's multi-annual work programme for communication grants from 2016-2019. It aims to promote understanding of the EP's role and identity, communicate its activities to citizens, and disseminate information ahead of the 2019 European elections. The program includes partnership agreements and grants for media organizations and events that fulfill objectives of informing citizens and encouraging civic participation in EU decision making. Annual calls for proposals will be issued and projects selected according to eligibility and evaluation criteria. The indicative budget is expected to remain around €4.7 million annually.
The document outlines 12 new key actions that the European Commission proposes to take to improve EU citizens' lives. The actions focus on removing obstacles for workers, students and trainees; cutting red tape in member states; protecting vulnerable groups; eliminating barriers to shopping; providing targeted and accessible information; and promoting participation in the EU's democratic life. The proposals are aimed at making it easier for citizens to exercise their rights and take advantage of opportunities within the EU.
The Impact Of The Racial Equality DirectiveThomas Müller
The document summarizes views from interviews with over 300 representatives of employer organizations, trade unions, and NGOs across the EU regarding the impact of the Racial Equality Directive. Key findings include:
1. Stakeholder views on the directive's impact ranged from positive to negative or lacking awareness. Positive impacts included new anti-discrimination policies and trainings, while critics cited low economic impact or costs of compliance.
2. Trade unions generally had higher awareness than employers but views varied from supportive to seeing little impact or negative consequences like weakened collective bargaining.
3. Suggestions for improving policies included more rights awareness campaigns and making legal processes less burdensome due to current low complaint numbers.
Communication tools with residents in Polish municipalities with cohabitation...Przegląd Politologiczny
The paper describes the tools for communication with residents used by municipalities. The
basis for paper preparation was qualitative (extended interviews) and quantitative (a question chosen
from a questionnaire) research conducted within a selected group of municipalities with cohabitation
during the term of office between 2014 and 2018. The aim of the paper is to determine whether and what
kind of tools for communication with residents are applied by municipal authorities. How effective are
these tools? Does cohabitation type: conflict or peaceful, influence the channel through which residents
acquire information? What impact will the changes introduced in 2018 in self-government law (the
goal was, among others, to broaden the transparency of self-government work) have on the methods of
communication with residents used by the authorities?
This thesis examines access to justice for Roma EU citizens facing discrimination that undermines their free movement rights. It analyzes the legal framework protecting Roma from discrimination under EU law, including the Charter of Fundamental Rights, EU citizenship provisions, anti-discrimination directives, and free movement rights. It then assesses available means of judicial protection at the EU level, such as preliminary rulings, infringement procedures, and the role of equality bodies. The thesis uses the 2010 French expulsions of Roma as a case study to demonstrate challenges and advantages of existing enforcement mechanisms. The main hypothesis is that discrimination of Roma by Member States jeopardizes their free movement, though restrictions may formally comply with EU law, their discriminatory application
This paper critically examines Latvian media policy from the point of view
of public value theory, regarding the management of public service media. Since
1992, Latvian Television (LTV, 1954) and Latvian Radio (LR, 1925) officially, i.e. according to law, are independent public service media organisations, and consequently
two legal entities. In fact LTV and LR are two state enterprises with one supervising
council (five members) elected by parliament according to political proportionality
– National Electronic Mass Media Council (the NEPLP). Since 2011, the Latvian
government has been slowly deciding plans for the reform and creation of a unified
PSM corporation, not just a PSB, i.e. including not only radio and TV broadcasting
but a multimedia approach, especially on the Internet platform, due to media convergence. Political decisions of government and parliament for the above-mentioned
intent are still wanted. Also, an initiative by LTV and NEPLP to
The document discusses the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI), which allows EU citizens to invite the European Commission to propose new legislation. It addresses frequently asked questions about the ECI. Specifically:
- The Treaty of Lisbon introduced the ECI to give citizens a role in the democratic life of the EU beyond elections. It allows citizens from multiple member states to call on the Commission to propose new policies.
- For an initiative to be successful, it must gather at least 1 million signatures from citizens across at least 1/3 of EU member states within 1 year.
- The Commission will register initiatives that fall within its powers and are not frivolous, abusive, or against EU values. It will
The document summarizes the Salzburg Manifesto 2010, which calls for improving the European Citizens' Initiative to strengthen participatory democracy in the EU. It argues the initiative's potential is not fully realized by the draft regulation, which risks limiting participation and missing an opportunity to increase credibility. The manifesto makes several recommendations to improve the regulation, including allowing more time for signature collection, lowering the entrance threshold, protecting privacy of signatories, and establishing infrastructure support for the initiative.
The document outlines the European Parliament's multi-annual work programme for communication grants from 2016-2019. It aims to promote understanding of the EP's role and identity, communicate its activities to citizens, and disseminate information ahead of the 2019 European elections. The program includes partnership agreements and grants for media organizations and events that fulfill objectives of informing citizens and encouraging civic participation in EU decision making. Annual calls for proposals will be issued and projects selected according to eligibility and evaluation criteria. The indicative budget is expected to remain around €4.7 million annually.
The document outlines 12 new key actions that the European Commission proposes to take to improve EU citizens' lives. The actions focus on removing obstacles for workers, students and trainees; cutting red tape in member states; protecting vulnerable groups; eliminating barriers to shopping; providing targeted and accessible information; and promoting participation in the EU's democratic life. The proposals are aimed at making it easier for citizens to exercise their rights and take advantage of opportunities within the EU.
The Impact Of The Racial Equality DirectiveThomas Müller
The document summarizes views from interviews with over 300 representatives of employer organizations, trade unions, and NGOs across the EU regarding the impact of the Racial Equality Directive. Key findings include:
1. Stakeholder views on the directive's impact ranged from positive to negative or lacking awareness. Positive impacts included new anti-discrimination policies and trainings, while critics cited low economic impact or costs of compliance.
2. Trade unions generally had higher awareness than employers but views varied from supportive to seeing little impact or negative consequences like weakened collective bargaining.
3. Suggestions for improving policies included more rights awareness campaigns and making legal processes less burdensome due to current low complaint numbers.
Communication tools with residents in Polish municipalities with cohabitation...Przegląd Politologiczny
The paper describes the tools for communication with residents used by municipalities. The
basis for paper preparation was qualitative (extended interviews) and quantitative (a question chosen
from a questionnaire) research conducted within a selected group of municipalities with cohabitation
during the term of office between 2014 and 2018. The aim of the paper is to determine whether and what
kind of tools for communication with residents are applied by municipal authorities. How effective are
these tools? Does cohabitation type: conflict or peaceful, influence the channel through which residents
acquire information? What impact will the changes introduced in 2018 in self-government law (the
goal was, among others, to broaden the transparency of self-government work) have on the methods of
communication with residents used by the authorities?
This thesis examines access to justice for Roma EU citizens facing discrimination that undermines their free movement rights. It analyzes the legal framework protecting Roma from discrimination under EU law, including the Charter of Fundamental Rights, EU citizenship provisions, anti-discrimination directives, and free movement rights. It then assesses available means of judicial protection at the EU level, such as preliminary rulings, infringement procedures, and the role of equality bodies. The thesis uses the 2010 French expulsions of Roma as a case study to demonstrate challenges and advantages of existing enforcement mechanisms. The main hypothesis is that discrimination of Roma by Member States jeopardizes their free movement, though restrictions may formally comply with EU law, their discriminatory application
This paper critically examines Latvian media policy from the point of view
of public value theory, regarding the management of public service media. Since
1992, Latvian Television (LTV, 1954) and Latvian Radio (LR, 1925) officially, i.e. according to law, are independent public service media organisations, and consequently
two legal entities. In fact LTV and LR are two state enterprises with one supervising
council (five members) elected by parliament according to political proportionality
– National Electronic Mass Media Council (the NEPLP). Since 2011, the Latvian
government has been slowly deciding plans for the reform and creation of a unified
PSM corporation, not just a PSB, i.e. including not only radio and TV broadcasting
but a multimedia approach, especially on the Internet platform, due to media convergence. Political decisions of government and parliament for the above-mentioned
intent are still wanted. Also, an initiative by LTV and NEPLP to
Presentatiob by Dr. Frank W. Heuberger
Board Member for European Affairs,
National Network for Civil Society (BBE), Germany at the NCVO Annual Conference 2011.
The European Union (EU) and Civil Society: why bother? (workshop)
The document summarizes Moldova's political system. It describes Moldova as a parliamentary representative democratic republic led by a Prime Minister. Legislative power is shared by the government and parliament, while the judiciary is independent. Key issues include relations with Transnistria and Romania and EU entry. The 101-seat unicameral parliament is elected every 4 years and appoints the President. The Prime Minister leads the government and requires parliamentary approval. Current political parties in parliament are also outlined.
Commission guidelines on assessment of significant market power. case commentMichal
The ruling of the Court of Justice (hereafter, CJ) in the PTC case concerns the
interpretation of Article 58 of the Treaty of Accession1 establishing an obligation
to publish EU legal acts in the languages of Member States which accessed the EU
on 1 May 2004. A controversy emerged in this context whether the said obligation
also applied to European Commission Guidelines on relevant market analysis and
the assessment of significant market power in the field of electronic communication
(hereafter, 2002 Guidelines)2. In general, guidelines issued by the Commission are
regarded as acts of soft law, also called innominate acts or sui generis acts.
This document is an alternative report submitted by the Swedish Muslims in Cooperation Network in response to Sweden's 22nd and 23rd periodic reports to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. It outlines nine recommendations related to improving data collection on ethnic diversity in Sweden, investigating discriminatory practices within Swedish social services, increasing representation of minorities in media, establishing an independent agency to investigate potential police misconduct, improving monitoring and response to hate crimes, overhauling anti-terrorism laws to prevent racial and religious discrimination, continuing to allocate resources for Muslim safety, and increasing actions taken by the Equality Ombudsman to address discrimination cases in court.
POLITICAL DIALOGUE ON HUMAN RIGHTS UNDER ARTICLE 8 OF THE COTONOU AGREEMENTDr Lendy Spires
The study assesses the effectiveness of the EU's political dialogue on human rights under Article 8 of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement with African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries. It analyzes the inclusiveness, comprehensiveness, effectiveness, alignment, and impact of the dialogue based on a review of legal provisions and case studies of dialogues in 8 countries. The study concludes that while the dialogues aim to promote human rights, their effectiveness is limited by tensions with partner governments and a lack of strategic approach. It recommends developing a more strategic dialogue, enhancing legitimacy, ensuring monitoring of results, and fully exploiting development programs to strengthen the human rights dialogue.
The document discusses the introduction of e-governance programs at the University of Bologna Law Faculty. It provides an overview of the CIRSFID research center, its courses in legal informatics and ICT law, and its undergraduate and graduate programs in computer science and law and e-governance. It then outlines the agenda for a workshop on organizing e-governance module content using a wiki platform.
The document summarizes the responses to a public consultation on the procedures and requirements for a proposed European Citizens' Initiative regulation. Most respondents saw the initiative as important for European democracy but wanted simple procedures. There was general agreement that initiatives should come from multiple member states, have online signature collection, and a registration system. However, there were differing views on issues like admissibility checks, minimum signatures per country, and whether to allow successive initiatives on the same topic.
Homophobia, transphobia and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation a...Iim Ibrahim
This report from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights updates a previous comparative legal analysis of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in EU member states. It finds that while some countries have strengthened legal protections for LGBT rights, in other countries little has changed or there have been setbacks. The report examines issues related to legal gender recognition, employment non-discrimination, and freedom of expression and assembly for LGBT people. It concludes that further improvements are still needed in legislation across Europe to combat LGBT discrimination.
The document provides information about the structure and institutions of the European Union (EU) and the 7th Framework Programme (FP7). It describes the four main treaties that established the EU and its pillars. It outlines the roles and responsibilities of the main EU institutions: the European Parliament, Council of the EU, European Commission, and their various departments and directorates general. It also summarizes the principal structure of EU research funding, including the framework programmes, specific programmes, and participation rules.
Comparison of media law and ethics (from ayush aryan) editedAyush Aryan
Hi Everyone in this presentation you will find the media law comparison between India and Poland and what challenges are they facing in the modern world . I hope you will like my work
for any queries and suggestions write me on :- ayusharyan7428@gmail.com
or Instagram :- ayusharyan_4040
Thank you and Regards,
Ayush Aryan.
This document discusses whether the European Union exhibits characteristics of a federal system and the extent to which the Lisbon Treaty moved the EU in a more federal direction. It analyzes several features of federal systems and compares them to the EU, such as a single currency (euro), common defense, written constitution, and supremacy of EU law. While the EU shares some federal characteristics like a single market and currency for some members, it lacks a full federal system with centralized taxation, military, and constitution. The document concludes the EU has moved in a more federal direction with reforms like the Lisbon Treaty but member states still retain significant sovereignty and control over most policy areas.
Report on national courts, social media and convergenceOles Kulchytskyy
The present report examines judicial approaches to social media and convergence. It identifies the jurisprudence of supreme, constitutional and appellate courts in a selected set of European Union (EU) countries that form part of the Compact project. It discusses key characteristics of related jurisprudence, and it examines judicial reasoning by exploring the interpretative efforts of judges and their contribution to the protection and balancing of distinct fundamental rights and interests in the realm of social media. The report also delves into patterns of judicial interaction between courts.
The information is prepared by the team of the COMPACT project (http://compact-media.eu/).
COMPACT is a Coordination and Support Action funded European Commission under framework Horizon 2020.
The objective of the COMPACT project is to increase awareness (including scientific, political, cultural, legal, economic and technical areas) of the latest technological discoveries among key stakeholders in the context of social media and convergence. The project will offer analyses and road maps of related initiatives. In addition, extensive research on policies and regulatory frameworks in media and content will be developed.
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union that, along with the Council and Commission, exercises the EU's legislative functions. It has been directly elected every five years since 1979. The Parliament has three places of work in Brussels, Luxembourg, and Strasbourg and consists of members from various political groups like the EPP and S&D. While it can amend or reject legislation, it needs the Commission to initiate bills. Its powers have expanded with each new treaty.
The document summarizes Serbia's judiciary and implementation of fundamental rights based on a screening report. It describes Serbia's judicial system, which includes basic, high, appellate and supreme courts, as well as commercial and misdemeanor courts. It also discusses Serbia's efforts to reform its judiciary through a new strategy and action plan to ensure independence, impartiality, and accountability. However, further efforts are still needed to build a solid track record, particularly in implementing new laws and strategies.
Cdt isac (podgorica-belgrade) civil society and eu accession negotiations in ...Dr Lendy Spires
This document analyzes the importance of including civil society in EU accession negotiations in Serbia and Montenegro. It finds that civil society organizations (CSOs) enjoy more public trust than state institutions in both countries. CSOs can also provide valuable expertise to support the negotiations. The European Union also encourages involvement of CSOs in the accession process. However, Montenegro's initial structures for negotiations consisted mainly of state officials and did not directly provide for CSO membership. The document recommends Serbia learn from this and ensure more active inclusion of civil society representatives.
The European Union has been moving towards gender equality at a snail’s pace. With a Gender Equality Index score of 67.4 out of 100, the EU still has a lot of room for improvement. Since 2005, the EU’s score has increased by only 5.4 points (+ 1.2 points since 2015).
The EU is closest to gender equality in the domains of health (88.1 points) and money (80.4 points). Gender inequalities are most worrying in the domain of power (51.9 points). Nevertheless, the score in this domain has improved the most since 2005 (+ 13 points), due to progress in nearly every Member State. Although the EU has progressed towards gender equality, developments are uneven between Member States. Sweden (83.6 points) and Denmark (77.5 points) are consistently the most gender-equal societies. Greece (51.2 points) and Hungary (51.9 points) have the longest way to go. Italy and Cyprus have improved the most (+ 13.8 points and + 10.4 points), while Lithuania is the only country not to have made any progress in gender equality since 2005. In some domains, progress has slowed, stalled or even regressed. We are still far from the finish line.
Each year we score EU Member States and the EU as a whole to see how far they are from reaching gender equality. The Index uses a scale of 1 to 100, where 1 is for total inequality and 100 is for total equality. The scores are based on the gaps between women and men and levels of achievement in six core domains: work, money, knowledge, time, power and health. Two additional domains are integrated into the Index but do not have an impact on the final score. The domain of intersecting inequalities highlights how gender inequalities manifest in combination with age, dis/ability, country of birth, education and family type. The domain of violence against women measures and analyses women’s experiences of violence. In addition to providing a snapshot into the Index scores, the Gender Equality Index 2019 includes a thematic focus on work-life balance.
The document provides answers to frequently asked questions about the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI). It discusses what the Treaty of Lisbon says about the ECI, when citizens will first be able to launch initiatives, the differences between an ECI and a petition, who can organize an initiative, and how the Commission will process initiatives to ensure they are within its competencies. The Commission aims to establish a transparent process that engages citizens while maintaining the legitimacy and values of the European Union.
Presentation by Shannon Pfohman (Deputy Director – Policy - ENAR) on the occasion of the EESC hearing on 'A more inclusive citizenship open to immigrants' - Brussels, 4 September 2013
Exclusivity of the concept of European Union citizenshipAinoSa
The concept of European Union citizenship excludes non-EU citizens, which can cause issues in Europe's labor markets. EU citizenship is primarily derived from national citizenship in one of the member states. This leads to unequal treatment of migrants and refugees from third countries who do not receive the same privileges to work or move within the EU. Some argue the EU should develop a more inclusive concept of citizenship that provides rights and privileges based on residency rather than national citizenship alone.
Presentatiob by Dr. Frank W. Heuberger
Board Member for European Affairs,
National Network for Civil Society (BBE), Germany at the NCVO Annual Conference 2011.
The European Union (EU) and Civil Society: why bother? (workshop)
The document summarizes Moldova's political system. It describes Moldova as a parliamentary representative democratic republic led by a Prime Minister. Legislative power is shared by the government and parliament, while the judiciary is independent. Key issues include relations with Transnistria and Romania and EU entry. The 101-seat unicameral parliament is elected every 4 years and appoints the President. The Prime Minister leads the government and requires parliamentary approval. Current political parties in parliament are also outlined.
Commission guidelines on assessment of significant market power. case commentMichal
The ruling of the Court of Justice (hereafter, CJ) in the PTC case concerns the
interpretation of Article 58 of the Treaty of Accession1 establishing an obligation
to publish EU legal acts in the languages of Member States which accessed the EU
on 1 May 2004. A controversy emerged in this context whether the said obligation
also applied to European Commission Guidelines on relevant market analysis and
the assessment of significant market power in the field of electronic communication
(hereafter, 2002 Guidelines)2. In general, guidelines issued by the Commission are
regarded as acts of soft law, also called innominate acts or sui generis acts.
This document is an alternative report submitted by the Swedish Muslims in Cooperation Network in response to Sweden's 22nd and 23rd periodic reports to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. It outlines nine recommendations related to improving data collection on ethnic diversity in Sweden, investigating discriminatory practices within Swedish social services, increasing representation of minorities in media, establishing an independent agency to investigate potential police misconduct, improving monitoring and response to hate crimes, overhauling anti-terrorism laws to prevent racial and religious discrimination, continuing to allocate resources for Muslim safety, and increasing actions taken by the Equality Ombudsman to address discrimination cases in court.
POLITICAL DIALOGUE ON HUMAN RIGHTS UNDER ARTICLE 8 OF THE COTONOU AGREEMENTDr Lendy Spires
The study assesses the effectiveness of the EU's political dialogue on human rights under Article 8 of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement with African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries. It analyzes the inclusiveness, comprehensiveness, effectiveness, alignment, and impact of the dialogue based on a review of legal provisions and case studies of dialogues in 8 countries. The study concludes that while the dialogues aim to promote human rights, their effectiveness is limited by tensions with partner governments and a lack of strategic approach. It recommends developing a more strategic dialogue, enhancing legitimacy, ensuring monitoring of results, and fully exploiting development programs to strengthen the human rights dialogue.
The document discusses the introduction of e-governance programs at the University of Bologna Law Faculty. It provides an overview of the CIRSFID research center, its courses in legal informatics and ICT law, and its undergraduate and graduate programs in computer science and law and e-governance. It then outlines the agenda for a workshop on organizing e-governance module content using a wiki platform.
The document summarizes the responses to a public consultation on the procedures and requirements for a proposed European Citizens' Initiative regulation. Most respondents saw the initiative as important for European democracy but wanted simple procedures. There was general agreement that initiatives should come from multiple member states, have online signature collection, and a registration system. However, there were differing views on issues like admissibility checks, minimum signatures per country, and whether to allow successive initiatives on the same topic.
Homophobia, transphobia and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation a...Iim Ibrahim
This report from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights updates a previous comparative legal analysis of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in EU member states. It finds that while some countries have strengthened legal protections for LGBT rights, in other countries little has changed or there have been setbacks. The report examines issues related to legal gender recognition, employment non-discrimination, and freedom of expression and assembly for LGBT people. It concludes that further improvements are still needed in legislation across Europe to combat LGBT discrimination.
The document provides information about the structure and institutions of the European Union (EU) and the 7th Framework Programme (FP7). It describes the four main treaties that established the EU and its pillars. It outlines the roles and responsibilities of the main EU institutions: the European Parliament, Council of the EU, European Commission, and their various departments and directorates general. It also summarizes the principal structure of EU research funding, including the framework programmes, specific programmes, and participation rules.
Comparison of media law and ethics (from ayush aryan) editedAyush Aryan
Hi Everyone in this presentation you will find the media law comparison between India and Poland and what challenges are they facing in the modern world . I hope you will like my work
for any queries and suggestions write me on :- ayusharyan7428@gmail.com
or Instagram :- ayusharyan_4040
Thank you and Regards,
Ayush Aryan.
This document discusses whether the European Union exhibits characteristics of a federal system and the extent to which the Lisbon Treaty moved the EU in a more federal direction. It analyzes several features of federal systems and compares them to the EU, such as a single currency (euro), common defense, written constitution, and supremacy of EU law. While the EU shares some federal characteristics like a single market and currency for some members, it lacks a full federal system with centralized taxation, military, and constitution. The document concludes the EU has moved in a more federal direction with reforms like the Lisbon Treaty but member states still retain significant sovereignty and control over most policy areas.
Report on national courts, social media and convergenceOles Kulchytskyy
The present report examines judicial approaches to social media and convergence. It identifies the jurisprudence of supreme, constitutional and appellate courts in a selected set of European Union (EU) countries that form part of the Compact project. It discusses key characteristics of related jurisprudence, and it examines judicial reasoning by exploring the interpretative efforts of judges and their contribution to the protection and balancing of distinct fundamental rights and interests in the realm of social media. The report also delves into patterns of judicial interaction between courts.
The information is prepared by the team of the COMPACT project (http://compact-media.eu/).
COMPACT is a Coordination and Support Action funded European Commission under framework Horizon 2020.
The objective of the COMPACT project is to increase awareness (including scientific, political, cultural, legal, economic and technical areas) of the latest technological discoveries among key stakeholders in the context of social media and convergence. The project will offer analyses and road maps of related initiatives. In addition, extensive research on policies and regulatory frameworks in media and content will be developed.
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union that, along with the Council and Commission, exercises the EU's legislative functions. It has been directly elected every five years since 1979. The Parliament has three places of work in Brussels, Luxembourg, and Strasbourg and consists of members from various political groups like the EPP and S&D. While it can amend or reject legislation, it needs the Commission to initiate bills. Its powers have expanded with each new treaty.
The document summarizes Serbia's judiciary and implementation of fundamental rights based on a screening report. It describes Serbia's judicial system, which includes basic, high, appellate and supreme courts, as well as commercial and misdemeanor courts. It also discusses Serbia's efforts to reform its judiciary through a new strategy and action plan to ensure independence, impartiality, and accountability. However, further efforts are still needed to build a solid track record, particularly in implementing new laws and strategies.
Cdt isac (podgorica-belgrade) civil society and eu accession negotiations in ...Dr Lendy Spires
This document analyzes the importance of including civil society in EU accession negotiations in Serbia and Montenegro. It finds that civil society organizations (CSOs) enjoy more public trust than state institutions in both countries. CSOs can also provide valuable expertise to support the negotiations. The European Union also encourages involvement of CSOs in the accession process. However, Montenegro's initial structures for negotiations consisted mainly of state officials and did not directly provide for CSO membership. The document recommends Serbia learn from this and ensure more active inclusion of civil society representatives.
The European Union has been moving towards gender equality at a snail’s pace. With a Gender Equality Index score of 67.4 out of 100, the EU still has a lot of room for improvement. Since 2005, the EU’s score has increased by only 5.4 points (+ 1.2 points since 2015).
The EU is closest to gender equality in the domains of health (88.1 points) and money (80.4 points). Gender inequalities are most worrying in the domain of power (51.9 points). Nevertheless, the score in this domain has improved the most since 2005 (+ 13 points), due to progress in nearly every Member State. Although the EU has progressed towards gender equality, developments are uneven between Member States. Sweden (83.6 points) and Denmark (77.5 points) are consistently the most gender-equal societies. Greece (51.2 points) and Hungary (51.9 points) have the longest way to go. Italy and Cyprus have improved the most (+ 13.8 points and + 10.4 points), while Lithuania is the only country not to have made any progress in gender equality since 2005. In some domains, progress has slowed, stalled or even regressed. We are still far from the finish line.
Each year we score EU Member States and the EU as a whole to see how far they are from reaching gender equality. The Index uses a scale of 1 to 100, where 1 is for total inequality and 100 is for total equality. The scores are based on the gaps between women and men and levels of achievement in six core domains: work, money, knowledge, time, power and health. Two additional domains are integrated into the Index but do not have an impact on the final score. The domain of intersecting inequalities highlights how gender inequalities manifest in combination with age, dis/ability, country of birth, education and family type. The domain of violence against women measures and analyses women’s experiences of violence. In addition to providing a snapshot into the Index scores, the Gender Equality Index 2019 includes a thematic focus on work-life balance.
The document provides answers to frequently asked questions about the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI). It discusses what the Treaty of Lisbon says about the ECI, when citizens will first be able to launch initiatives, the differences between an ECI and a petition, who can organize an initiative, and how the Commission will process initiatives to ensure they are within its competencies. The Commission aims to establish a transparent process that engages citizens while maintaining the legitimacy and values of the European Union.
Presentation by Shannon Pfohman (Deputy Director – Policy - ENAR) on the occasion of the EESC hearing on 'A more inclusive citizenship open to immigrants' - Brussels, 4 September 2013
Exclusivity of the concept of European Union citizenshipAinoSa
The concept of European Union citizenship excludes non-EU citizens, which can cause issues in Europe's labor markets. EU citizenship is primarily derived from national citizenship in one of the member states. This leads to unequal treatment of migrants and refugees from third countries who do not receive the same privileges to work or move within the EU. Some argue the EU should develop a more inclusive concept of citizenship that provides rights and privileges based on residency rather than national citizenship alone.
European Citizens' Initiative: Decide via clickMarkus Winkler
The document discusses eParticipation in Europe, which refers to electronic modes of civic participation that allow citizens to engage with government. It outlines opportunities and challenges of eParticipation, including increased transparency but also potential loss of control by governments. It also discusses the Treaty of Lisbon and the European Citizens' Initiative, which allows EU citizens to invite the European Commission to submit policy proposals if they collect 1 million signatures from different member states. Examples of eParticipation tools and initiatives in different European countries are provided.
The emergence of a europe wide public sphere slow but surelyAusten Uche Uwosomah
The document summarizes the implications of the European Constitution and Treaty of Lisbon on European citizenry. It discusses how the rejection of the initial European Constitution led EU institutions to pursue the Treaty of Lisbon to achieve similar goals. The Treaty of Lisbon strengthens EU institutions' power over member states and establishes common EU laws, policies, and citizenship that will unite Europeans under a shared identity. This is expected to encourage the emergence of a Europe-wide public sphere as EU citizens become more invested in EU policies that will increasingly impact their lives more than national policies.
This document provides a 3,021 word essay on the topic of "When are Human Rights Binding on Member States under EU Law?". The essay discusses:
1. How the EU Court of Justice gradually recognized the need to incorporate human rights into EU law and began prioritizing human rights, extracting legislation from member states.
2. How the Lisbon Treaty made the Charter of Fundamental Rights legally binding and of equal value to the EU Treaties, but also established the principle of conferral limiting the EU's competences.
3. Three circumstances outlined by Craig and De Búrca where member states must respect human rights: when implementing EU legislation, when implementing or enforcing EU law, and when
The document discusses the democratic deficit of the European Union and ways to address it. It argues that EU citizens feel detached from EU institutions and lack incentive to vote in European Parliament elections. This represents a legitimacy problem for the EU. However, the European Parliament has grown in power with each new EU treaty and the upcoming elections provide an opportunity for citizens to influence EU policymaking and help reduce the democratic deficit. Voting in the elections is important for a healthy democratic process in the EU.
Is a Genuine Link Requirement the Future of EU Citizenship?Julian Swartz
Is a Genuine Link Requirement the Future of EU Citizenship?
Website Content link -
https://www.knowhowtotargetcustomersonline.com/2022/05/is-genuine-link-requirement-future-of.html
#EUCitizenshipUK
#IsEUCitizenshipAMeaninglessConcept
#BritishCitizenship
Presentation by Michael Diedring (Secretary General of the European Council on Refugees and Exiles) on the occasion of the conference on Immigration – a source of wealth and duties for Europe organised by the EESC, the Council of Europe and the French Economic, Social and Environmental Council in Brussels on 15 March 2013.
The document discusses how the Lisbon Treaty has implications for European citizenship and identity over national identity. It argues that the Treaty forces some EU member state laws to be superseded by common European laws, bringing citizens of EU states together under a common identity with shared rights and obligations. This favors the development of a European identity over solely national identities among EU citizens. The Treaty reinforces concepts from the earlier proposed but rejected EU Constitution, but avoids national referendums. This shift toward a European identity may reduce euroscepticism and increase EU citizens' participation in and support for European integration policies over time.
Praktyka wykorzystania form demokracji bezpośredniej w państwach europejskich dowodzi, iż prócz licznych głosowań referendalnych w sprawach ogólnonarodowych, coraz bardziej popularnym przedmiotem debaty publicznej, a następnie głosowania stają się również
kwestie o tematyce „unijnej”. Wykorzystanie referendum ogólnonarodowego do decydowania
w sprawach procesu integracji europejskiej nie jest zjawiskiem nowym, bowiem pierwsze głosowanie o tej tematyce miało miejsce już w 1972 r. Od tego czasu integracja europejska stała
się przedmiotem 60 ogólnonarodowych referendów – zarówno w państwach członkowskich,
w państwach kandydujących, jak i w państwach „trzecich”, które związane są dziś z Unią Europejską różnego rodzaju umowami bilateralnymi. Większość doświadczeń związanych z wykorzystaniem referendów w sprawach „europejskich” jest – można rzec – pozytywnych, jednak
część z nich przysporzyło państwom członkowskim i samej Unii wielu problemów. Jednym
z ostatnich przykładów głosowań referendalnych, którego konsekwencje będą miały swój wyraz w przyszłym kształcie Unii Europejskiej, jest głosowanie z 23 czerwca 2016 r. sprawie
członkostwa Wielkiej Brytanii w UE.
Głównym celem niniejszego tekstu jest odpowiedź na pytanie o konsekwencje referendów
w sprawie integracji (ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem głosowania brytyjskiego) dla przyszłego kształtu Unii Europejskiej.
Does the European Union have an Institutional Problem with Democratic DeficiencyJames Peters
This document provides a 4,700 word analysis of whether the European Union suffers from a democratic deficiency. It begins by defining democratic deficiency as a lack of transparency in policymaking and an inability for citizens to reject policies. It then examines the European Parliament, Council of the European Union, Commission, European Council, and European Court of Justice based on four criteria: direct democratic election, accountability, adherence to the subsidiarity principle, and alternative accountability mechanisms. While some institutions are not directly elected, the document finds they are still accountable through elections and ability to censure poor performance. Overall, it argues the EU does not have a greater democratic deficit than nation states and policies unpopular with citizens are often supported by their own national governments.
The document is an application by an individual for a PhD program on globalization, the EU, and multilateralism. It summarizes the applicant's educational background and qualifications for the program. The applicant has studied law in multiple European countries and is fluent in several European languages. Their education has focused on public international law and European law. The applicant is currently interning at the European Court of Justice and is interested in researching the interaction between European and international law for their doctoral project.
An Independent Catalonia Within the EU (IT In Transit #23)Miqui Mel
The document summarizes the legal arguments around whether an independent Catalonia would be excluded from the European Union (EU). It makes the following key points:
1) There is no explicit EU or international law dealing with this question. Articles 4.2 and 49 of the EU Treaty, which some cite as preventing Catalonia's entry, can be interpreted differently.
2) Article 4.2 refers to ensuring the territorial integrity of member states from outside interference, not internal changes. Article 49 governs new state applications but may not apply to Catalonia which has been part of the EU since 1986.
3) The European Council could make a consensus-based decision on an ad hoc procedure for Catalonia that does
This document presents the Stockholm Programme, which outlines strategic guidelines for legislative and operational planning within the area of freedom, security and justice for 2010-2014. It discusses political priorities such as promoting citizenship and fundamental rights, developing a Europe of law and justice, protecting Europe, managing access to Europe, and responsibility in migration/asylum. It also outlines tools to support implementation, including increasing mutual trust, legislation, coherence, evaluation, and training. The Council submits this Programme to the General Affairs Council and European Council for approval and publication.
The document summarizes the responses to a public consultation on establishing procedures for a European Citizens' Initiative as provided for in the Treaty of Lisbon. Key points from the consultation included: support for simple procedures that are accessible to all EU citizens; a minimum requirement of signatures from one-third of member states; a minimum age of 16 or linked to voting ages in European Parliament elections; and common EU-wide rules for signature collection and verification to ensure uniformity across states. Many respondents felt it important to avoid unnecessary obstacles while maintaining credible requirements.
Similar to Article on European Citizenship by Cécile Fournis (18)
1. 78 79
Towards a European citizenship education
Cécile Fournis
“Every right involves a responsibility”,1
as the notion of European citizenship entitles a
list of rights; the upcoming European elections in May 2014 are endorsing the European
citizen with an implied “civic duty”, as their vote is now indirectly linked to the Union’s
executive body, the European Commission. This new form of participation of the
European citizen to the legislative branch of the European Union, raises the question
whether nationals of member states are aware of the importance of their vote in the
European Union?
A European Union voting right
Article 20 (2) (b) of the TFEU provides European citizens with the right to a universal
direct vote to elect members of the European Parliament. This vote allows nationals
of member states of taking part in influencing the legislative branch of the European
Union. As European Parliamentary elections have always been a decisive process in the
building of a European Union citizenship, the 2014 European elections will increase
its legitimacy. For the first time: the president of the Commission will be elected
by the Parliament, according to article 17(7) of the Treaty on the European Union
(TEU). Therefore the nationals of member states will be able to indirectly influence
the executive branch of the European Union by choosing their candidates for the
Parliament. This legitimacy is reinforced by the co-decision procedure. This co-decision
mechanism, found in article 294 of the TFEU, obliges the Council and the Parliament
to adopt legislative acts jointly. Under the Lisbon Treaty, this co-decision procedure
has been extended to even more areas of law such as the area of freedom, security and
justice. Therefore the influence of the Parliament has grown stronger in representing
nationals of member states.
The most significant right introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, for European citizens, is
the ‘citizen initiative procedure’ provided by article 10(3) of the TEU. This procedure
enables nationals of member states to directly participate in the legislative procedure.
The requirements for such a procedure are found in article 11 of the TEU: participation
of “not less than one million citizens who are nationals of a significant number of
member states may take the initiative of inviting the European Commission, within the
2. 80 81
the European Union is becoming a super state, and a threat to the sovereignty of their
country. This skepticism was increased with the passing of the Lisbon Treaty without
a national referendum in member states, which was perceived as a threat to their
democratic rights. Nevertheless, if they would have been informed properly about
this Treaty, they would have probably realized that the changes introduced were
increasing their rights as European citizens. Therefore, the European Union needs to
come up with a solution if it wishes to achieve its goal to create an active participation
of its citizens.
‘European citizenship education’
According to Professor Milet the appropriation of the right to vote can only be achieved
if the ‘entire community feels involved’4
and through a slow process of learning to be a
citizen. Many solutions and mechanisms have been provided by member states within
their own national systems such as referendums, public opinion polls, and citizenship
education. Therefore a project that could be introduced and created at the Union level
is a “European citizenship education” that would have to be implemented in national
schools by member states. According to Eurydice, an information system belonging
to EACEA,5
in its 2009 report on citizenship education in Europe, national citizenship
education is mandatory and exists in each member state.
Whereas pupils are required to learn about national citizenship in every member state, the
method of assessment varies from a country to another. For example, in France there even
exists an external assessment of citizenship outside of schools. In order to acquire your
voting card or other privileges, such as being able to pass the high school exit exam or
drivers license, you must have your JDC (“Journée d’appel à la Défense et la Citoyenneté”).
The JDC, which translates to ‘day of defense and citizenship’, is a mandatory day, for all
16 year’s old or older individuals acquiring citizenship, where they have to be educated on
their rights and duties as citizens. This is complementary to ‘citizenship education’ classes
given throughout their entire pupil schooling.
According to the Commission, as mentioned in the Eurydice report, ‘citizenship
education refers to school education for young people, which seeks to ensure that they
become active and responsible citizens capable of contributing to the development
and well being of the society in which they live. Citizenship education is normally
meant to guide pupils towards (a) political literacy, (b) critical thinking and the
development of certain attitudes and values and (c) active participation’. As one of
framework of its powers, to submit any appropriate proposal on matters where citizens
consider that a legal act of the Union is required for the purpose of implementing the
Treaties”. This article provides for two requirements: a certain number of participants
from the member states and the approval of the Commission; if these requirements are
high they can nevertheless be reached if known how to be used.
The right to vote: a ‘civic duty’
The broadening of the list of subject matters covered by the co-decision procedure
and the existence of the instrument regarding a ‘European citizen initiative’ will not
only increase the legitimacy of European Union institutions, but will also enforce the
idea that the European Union has an organization leaning towards the ‘classic model
of democracy’. Also this evolution in European legislative procedures will give a new
dimension to European Union citizenship. The classic model of democracy2
is defined
as the participation of the citizens in the legislative process by voting, and the executive
branch being a representation of the assembly of its national citizens. The changes
introduced by the Lisbon treaty embrace this classic model of democracy and give a
meaning to European citizenship. In a classic model of democracy, citizenship involves
rights and duties. Could this new dimension of European citizenship not only involve
rights but also imply a ‘civic duty’? Civic duties can take many forms, but what is
common to all member states is the duty to vote. In some countries such as Belgium or
Luxembourg it is even mandatory.
According to the post-electorate survey of the 2009 European elections, the main reason
given by 47% of the participants in the European Parliament elections is that it is their
duty as citizens to vote. If nationals see voting as a civic duty, it would explain why the
participation of voters has been decreasing since the creation of the European Union,
the nationals of members states simply don’t see a ‘civic duty’ attached to European
citizenship. Hence the European Union should take this into consideration by creating a
sentiment of ‘civic duty’ for the European elections.
The low participation of nationals in the European Union maybe can also be explained
by the lack of information and knowledge of European institutions by the voters.
A good example are the negative results in the national referenda in France and
The Netherlands concerning the adoption of the Constitutional Treaty for Europe in
2005.3
The rejection of the Constitutional Treaty by these national electorates was
often solemnly based on the wording of the text itself because of the use of the term
‘Constitution’ in the treaty. This created fear among nationals of member states that
3. 82 83
Endnotes
1
John Davison Rockefeller Junior.
2
Held, D. (2006): Models of Democracy (third edition). Cambridge: Polity.
3
Foster, N. (2008): EU Law directions. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
4
Milet, M. (2009): La démocratie en Europe: trajectoires et enjeux. Paris: Ellipses.
5
The Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive body of the European Commission.
the goals of the European Union is to create active participation among national
electorates to European Parliamentary elections, it could be achieved through a
European citizenship education.
Implementing a European citizenship education
Since each member state has its own form and system of citizenship education, integrating
a European one into the already existing national one should be very simple to implement.
Nevertheless this would require the European Union to invest in education of not only
nationals of member States but also in competent instructors. This idea is reinforced
by the fact that European citizenship can only be acquired through the possession
of the nationality of a member states, it seems only natural that national citizenship
education would be extended so far as teaching about European citizenship and not only
the national one. This would create a better identification of national electorates to a
European citizenship, as they would have a better understanding of the functioning of the
European Union leading them to be able to participate actively in the elections.
The Lisbon Treaty has given European citizens a stronger method of participating in
the legislative process by introducing ‘citizenship initiative procedure’; this makes the
European Union evolve towards a traditional democratic model that can no longer be
ignored by national governments. As more rights are given to European citizens, it
should imply in a sense that they are given more responsibilities, therefore leading to
the creation of a ‘European civic duty’. The Union must also face that with its growth and
fast evolution, it has become a very complex organization for the national electorates.
In order to legitimize the notion of a citizenship under the Lisbon Treaty the Union has
to acknowledge that the use of a voting right is a long process that must be learned.
This progressive electoral learning can be reached through citizenship education, as it
is already applied by member states for national citizenship. The creation therefore of
a European citizenship education is crucial to the existence and growth of the European
Union and a solution to decrease the apparition of euro-skepticism.