Citizens' rights

The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) entails the right:

To non-discrimination on the basis of nationality when the Treaty applies
To move and reside freely within the EU
To vote for and stand as a candidate in European Parliament and municipal elections
To be protected by the diplomatic and consular authorities of any other EU country
To petition the European Parliament and complain to the European Ombudsman
To contact and receive a response from any EU institution in one of the EU official languages
To access European Parliament, European Commission and Council documents under certain conditions
To launch and support a European Citizens’ Initiative

General resources on citizens’ rights

For an explanation of European citizenship relating to Articles 20-25 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, visit the website of DG Justice in the Commission, which provides links to the triannual citizenship reports.

Read also the EU Citizenship Report 2017 "Strengthening Citizens’ Rights in a Union of Democratic Change".

For issues relating to citizenship more generally across the world, the GLOBALCIT website is indispensable. It has comparative information on the acquisition and loss of citizenship, a section on European citizenship with an extensive bibliography and runs debates on topical EU themes.

CEPS is a very good source on migration, data privacy and mobility.

More resources on:

ECIT’s point of view

ECIT’s work focuses on how to close the gap between the fine principles of European law and actual practice on the ground, and barriers to the practice of European citizenship, particularly for job-seekers and vulnerable minorities. The ECIT Guidelines call for a one-stop shop, prevention, collective action and more rapid enforcement. A European free movement solidarity fund is proposed. A rights based European citizenship will not though be complete without full political rights, equal treatment and access to this status for legally resident third country nationals.