News

The year 2024 was marked by the campaign for the European elections from 6–9 June and the setting up of the new legislature. It is therefore appropriate to begin this Annual Report with some consideration of the achievements during the last legislature from 2019–2024 and which should be built on …

ECIT demanded on several occasions in 2023 that there should be a public consultation on the tri-annual Citizenship Report which the European Commission presents under Article 25 TFEU. Following on from an exchange of letters with DG Justice, which refused to make such a commitment, ECIT appealed to the Commission …

Our correspondence with the Secretary General The purpose of the ECIT and New Europeans‘ joint letter to the Commission is to follow up the work of “Voters Without Borders” demanding an end to disenfranchisement of EU citizens practicing their rights to freedom of movement. This letter focuses on the rights …

At a conference in Brussels on 3 July, stakeholders discussed the future of EU Citizenship in the next legislature. They emphasised the need to prioritise European Citizenship, particularly for the younger generation who view it as a key part of their identity. EU Citizenship, established by the Maastricht Treaty, has …

On Wednesday 3 July, the ECIT Foundation will host a significant conference entitled “European Citizenship at the Crossroads”. This event marks the conclusion of the “Inclusive Europe for Mobile EU Citizens” (MobileCIT) project and will take place from 10.30 to 18.00 at the European Economic and Social Committee in Meeting …

This programme comes at a time of transition for the European Union in the run-up to the 2024 European elections and a new legislature. Under the current legislature, the ECIT Foundation has had success with the European Parliament, taking up and supporting its key proposals: the idea of a Statute …

A Symbolic Vote for a More Inclusive European Governance by Amedeo Gasparini Originally published online by The New Federalist. Reproduced with their permission.  Ahead of the European elections on June 9th, the upcoming symbolic vote organized by ECIT Foundation, Voters Without Borders, and Stand Up for Europe presents an opportunity …

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 …

More than 13.7 million people live in one of the European Union Member States and hold citizenship of another European Union Member State. Usually, they have little to no involvement in the political processes of the European Union. These mobile citizens also face everyday challenges that are easily solvable but …

In a letter dated 4 May 1990, the President of the Spanish government, Felipe Gonzalez Marquez, proposed to add Union Citizenship to the negotiation of the Maastricht Treaty. For him, it was about transforming an essentially economic space into one where the citizen would be the key actor. The European …

FOR A EUROPE OF UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE — Statement by the ECIT Foundation and Voters Without Borders — Everyone should have the right to vote and stand in free and fair elections. Universal suffrage is a basic value to which European States and peoples aspire. Over the last two centuries, great …

In these national elections, Greek citizens living abroad will be able to cast their vote from their  Member State of residence, and that, for the first time, ever. That is a stepping stone against disenfranchisement which occurs in some EU Member States such as Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Ireland and Malta, …

The Board met on 23 March and elected the following members. In particular we would like to welcome the four new Board Members marked with an asterisk (*) in the list below: Tony Venables Suzana Carp Julian Culp* Engin Isin* Dora Kostokopoulou Niccolo Milanese (Treasurer) Kalypso Nicolaidis Alvaro Oleart* Jo …

“European Citizenship Education: Forging our way ahead with high-priority” On 22 March at the European Parliament in Brussels, we organised the first meeting of the year of the Cross-Party Group on European Citizenship hosted by MEP Victor Negrescu (S&D, Romania). It was a very fruitful meeting, with interesting insights from …

The AFCO Committee held a hearing on the issue of EU participatory and deliberative democracy mechanisms on 25 January based on a study by Alberto Alemanno, Jean Monnet Professor of European Law at HEC Paris. For any organisation dealing regularly with the EU or involved with training or European citizenship …

ECIT Foundation’s Work Programme sets out our priorities for 2023 and the run-up to the European elections in 2024. The main item is the Statute on European Citizenship, building on the success we have had with this proposal with the European Parliament and the Conference on the Future of Europe. …

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 …

While all eyes are still on Strasbourg, we retrace a few moments of our speech at the European Parliament in Brussels on Thursday 8 September. Suzana Carp, Board Director of the ECIT Foundation, presented our European Citizens’ Initiative “Voters Without Borders” in front of the PETI Committee, members of the …