Our Proposal

This European Citizens’ Initiative (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.

EU declarations on European citizenship education are a “dead letter”. The citizen-led Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) appealed repeatedly for education in European values and critical thinking to meet major challenges: migration, climate change, media literacy and the digital age. The EU ignores this appeal at its peril.

We ask the Commission to:

• propose a European law for all Member States to guarantee education for every child in European citizenship values of human rights, democracy and the rule of law;
• back up this child guarantee in Union legislation on European rights and the transition to a green and digital economy;
• provide a Statute on European Citizenship, teacher training and monitoring of practice;
• support the demands of the CoFoE.