Citizenship provides both rights and responsibilities within a community. The European Union aims to bring European citizens closer together by encouraging travel, education, and cultural programs between member countries. While European identity is still developing, symbols like the euro currency and EU flag and anthem represent the idea of a shared European identity.

1. EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP

2. CITIZENSHIP
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social,
political, national community and it carries with it both rights
and responsibilities.
The citizen is a person who lives in a nation of which he/she
acquires the rights and obligations and has the opportunity to
participate in the exercise of legal power.
To be considered an Italian citizen you should:
-be the child of an Italian citizen;
-be born on Italian territory;
-be married to an Italian citizen;
-live in Italy for a certain period of time.
THE DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF MAN AND CITIZEN
The UN (United Nations) was founded in 1945 after World War II
to stop wars between countries. In 1948 The General
Assembly proclaimed a set of rights granted to all human
beings, which set certain limits to the power of states.

3. A CITIZEN'S EUROPE
Thanks to the European Union, citizens of member countries can travel,
live and work anywhere in Europe.
In daily life, The EU encourages and funds programmes to bring citizens
closer together, particularly in the fields of education and culture.
A feeling of belonging to the European Union will develop only gradually,
through its tangible achievements and successes.
Some symbols that represent a shared European identity already exist.
The most prominent is the single currency, but there are also the EU flag
and anthem.

4. THE IDEA OF UNITY IN A DIVIDED EUROPE
After the World War I, European states began to think of a unity between them, but
this idea was swept away by the policy of Hitler. However, a new kind of hope
emerged from the rubble of the Second World war. Between 1945 and 1950, a
hanful of courageous statemen including Robert Shuman, Konrad Adenauer, Alcide
De Gasperi and Winston Churchill set out persuading their peoples to enter a new
era.
The project of bringing Europe together began in 1951. In this historical context, six
western states (Italy, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West
Germany) founded the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) which came
into force on 23rd July 1952, for a period of fifty years. On 25 th March 1957, the six
countries signed the treates establishing the European Atomic Energy Community
(EURATOM) and the European Economic Community (EEC),or Common Market.
The economic unification came in 2002 with the introduction of the single currency in
12 European countries.
The common market, however, was not sufficient to form a unit, in fact, the
integration should be based on democratic institutions and the involvement of
citizens. The first step was the election of the European Parliament in 1979.
In 1986 the Single European Act was signed, which introduced the principle of
foreign policy and free-flow trade across EU borders . In 1992 the Maastricht Treaty
was signed which brought political integration with the European Union.
When the Lisbon Treaty came into force, the European Union has finally replaced the
existing community which now includes 27 countries.It was designed to make the EU
more democratic, efficient and transparent.

5. A BIG MARKET WITH A SINGLE CURRENCY
For several decades, the momentum of European integration was mainly economic,
in fact , the benefits of switching to a single large market are: the intensification of
competition between firms and decrease costs.
The construction of a single market took place in stages, the first phase was the
removal of customs barriers. The European market is based on the free movement
of goods, services, people and capital. The conditions necessary for the realization
of freedom are the elimination of tariffs, the harmonization of tax systems that
regulate businesses and the adoption of common technical standards and
recognition of qualifications.
Another very important condition was the monetary stability, namely the adoption
of a single coin. The euro is the single currency shared by 17 of the 27 member
states of the European Union. It came into circulation from 1st January 2002 ,
when euro notes and coins were issued.The euro gives consumers in europe
considerable advantages. Travellers are spared the cost and inconvenience of
changing currency. Shoppers can directly compare prices in different countries.
Prices are stable thanks to the European Central Bank, whose job is to maintain
this stability.

6. THE INSTITUTIONS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
In order to make decisions, the European Union is organized in supranational
Institutions.
The main ones are:
• The European Parliament , which is based in Strasbourg,is the elected body
that represents the EU’s citizens. It supervises the EU’s activities and, together
with the Council, it enacts EU legislation. Sine 1979, members of the European
Parliament (MEPs) have been directly elected by universal suffrage every five
years.
• The European Council is the EU’s top political institution. It cosists of the
Heads of State or Government- the president and/or prime ministers – of all
the EU member countries, plus the President of The European Commission. It
normally meets four times a year, in Brussels. It has a permanent President,
whose job is to coordinate the European Council’s work and ensure its
continuity.The President is elected for a period of two and a half years and can
be re-elected once.
• The Council is made up of ministers from the EU’s national governments.The
member states take it in turns to hold the Council Presidency for a six-month
period. The council main job is to pass EU laws. Normally it shares this
responsibility with the European Parliament .
• The European Commission is a key EU institutions. It alone has the right to
draw up proposals for new EU legislation, which is sent to the Council and
Parliament for discussion and adoption.Its members are appointed for a five-
year term agreement between the member states, subject to approval by the
European Parliament.
• The Court of Justice,located in Luxembourg, has the role of ensuring that EU
laws is complied with , and that the Treaties are correctly interpreted and
applied.