At ECIT Foundation, our mission is to further develop European Citizenship.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the 7th Edition of the ECIT Annual Conference!
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
About?A statute for more inclusive and outward-looking European citizenship (see programme here) When?Tuesday 29 November from 9.30 am to 6 pm Where?At the Brussels Press Club (95 Rue Froissard, Brussels) and online Why?This 7th Annual Conference on European Citizenship is being organised by the ECIT Foundation bringing together civil society
On 5 October, a new meeting of the Cross-Party Group of MEPs was held in Strasbourg, organised by the ECIT Foundation, initiator of the European Citizens’ Initiative Voters Without Borders (VWB), with the support of a number of external speakers who are experts on voting rights and campaigning. The main
ECIT’s introduction to the workshop on ECIs at the Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy (22 September 2022, Luzern) It is a pleasure and an honour to have been invited to attend this event, which is particularly inspiring for anyone who has worked with the EU’s transnational participatory democracy instrument
SUPPORT US
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.
