At ECIT Foundation, our mission is to further develop EU Citizenship.
Don’t miss your chance to vote for inclusive European democracy
Have your say on three important voting rights issues:
1. Should votes at 16 be spread throughout the EU?
2. Should EU citizens be able to vote and stand in all elections in their country of residence?
3. Should the political rights of EU citizens be extended to all residents?
EUROPEAN MOBILE CITIZENS, HAVE YOUR SAY! Take this opportunity to shape e-democracy!
The MobileCIT project proposes 14 carefully selected issues that are characteristic of mobile citizens and that can be solved if EU citizens explicitly express a wish to solve them. You can do this by voting on the online platform Open2Vote.eu.
our ECI "I'm going European" successfully registered
Today, 8th November 2023, our ECI demanding European citizenship education for all — I’m going European — was successfully registered by the European Commission. Our ECI aims to introduce a right to education on European citizenship, human rights, democracy and the rule of law, and to back this up through a European civic education requirement in EU free movement legislation, a statute on European Citizenship and a centre of excellence for exchanging best practice and teacher training. Following today’s registration, we have six months to open the signature collection.
HELP US SHAPE CHANGE! JOIN OUR TEAM AS AN INTERN/VOLUNTEER!
ROLLING APPLICATIONS
We are actively looking for a new team of interns/volunteers to revive the campaign of our previous ECI ‘Voters Without Borders’ in the run-up to the next European Parliament elections.
Our campaign towards full political rights
Currently, electoral rights are only partials in the EU. In 13 out of the 27 EU Member states, non-EU nationals are not allowed to vote in municipal elections. Non-nationals are not able to vote in national elections. We believe that partial electoral rights are an obstacle to participation and democracy, which is why we want to demonstrate that mobile EU citizens should be entitled to vote in the Member State in which they reside!
Our campaign towards full political rights
Currently, electoral rights are only partial in the EU. In 13 out of the 27 EU Member states, non-EU nationals are not allowed to vote in municipal elections. Non-nationals are not able to vote in national elections. We believe that partial electoral rights are an obstacle to participation and democracy, which is why we want to demonstrate that mobile EU citizens should be entitled to vote in the Member State in which they reside!
Citizenship Statute
Since it was established in 2015, ECIT was alone in demanding and putting forward proposals for a Statute on European Citizenship — our attempt to codify and redefine the rights constituting what it means to be a European citizen. It is a success that the idea of a citizenship statute has now been supported by the European Parliament and the Conference on the Future of Europe, but there is still some way to go.
Political Rights
EU citizens have the right to vote and stand as candidates in local and European elections but not in regional and national elections, or to participate in referendums in their country of residence. The ECI ‘Voters Without Borders’ failed to collect enough signatures, but the campaign for full voting rights connected to freedom of movement and migration continues.
Citizenship Education
Our proposal ‘Making European Citizens’ for a new ECI is developed with the idea to guarantee the freedom of Europe for every child. This ECI aims for a Europe of equal opportunity. In theory, young people have the freedom of Europe, but there is a gap between the fine principles of the law and the barriers to access. If one third of EU citizens have the civic education and skills to take advantage of Europe, the majority miss out.
NEWS
From 10.00 to 18.00 on 26 April 2024, ECIT Foundation, Voters Without Borders, and Stand Up for Europe will hold a Symbolic Vote in Brussels on the Esplanade of the European Parliament and Place de la Petite Suisse, close to ULB-Solbosch. There will also be an online version. For the first
https://ecit-foundation.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Should-votes-at-16-spread-throughout-the-EU.mp4 This question is bound to be a key feature of our half-day event on 24 January 2024: European Citizenship in the run-up to the European elections. The reason for this is that Votes at 16 is THE innovation for the organisation of the elections in Belgium on 9 June
Our ECI demanding European citizenship education for all has been successfully registered today. The Commission — in a decision taken on 8 November 2023 — confirms that it can act without changing the Treaties. This is pleasantly surprising news. It should put an end to a period where more demands
Upcoming Events
Symbolic Vote
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Thanks to your generous donation our initiatives can continue to grow, working towards our mission to further develop European Citizenship, and set positive goals for the future of Europe. We are so grateful for your continuing support.