News
Dear Readers, Although summer is now well and truly underway in Brussels, the ECIT team has been working at full speed throughout July. This month, the ECIT Foundation achieved an important milestone: the European Commission officially registered our “All On Board” European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), giving us the green light …
Author: Chiara Ravasio Packing a suitcase, stepping off a train in a city where you don’t speak the primary language, and figuring out how to navigate university life away from home—for millions of young people, this is the defining moment of becoming European. Since its establishment in 1987 as a …
Author: Tony Venables, Founder, ECIT Foundation Should parliamentarians propose behavioral guidelines for the judiciary? Occasionally yes, since no institution is immune from legitimate scrutiny. However, respect for judicial independence and the separation of powers must remain an exception. When politicians criticise the administration of justice, it often marks a dangerous …
Author: Maëlle Goret Announced in President von der Leyen’s Political Guidelines, the European Democracy Shield (EDS) is the European Union’s latest flagship initiative to protect our democratic systems. Built on pillars like safeguarding the information space, ensuring free and fair elections, and boosting citizen engagement, the initiative has officially set …
Brussels, 24 July 2026 What if every young European had the opportunity to learn about Europe, experience it first-hand and have those experiences recognised wherever they live? The European Commission has officially registered the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) “All On Board – For your right to citizenship without borders”, marking …
Author: Lisa Desjardins On June 26, the ECIT Foundation brought together legal experts, voting rights advocates, and affected citizens at the Press Club Brussels Europe (and online) for a vital panel debate. Moderated by ECIT Co-Founder Suzana Carp, and timed deliberately in the run-up to the Irish Presidency of the …
Dear Readers, Although the heatwave was raging in Brussels, it did not slow the team down. June has been a particularly busy and productive month for the ECIT Foundation, defined by high-level legal mobilization and deep policy analysis. Following our formal submission of the “All On Board” ECI to the European Commission …
Author: Lisa Desjardins On 10 June, the ECIT Foundation brought together citizens, activists, and legal experts for an informal round table, to discuss a growing “democratic void” in the European Union: the fact that up to 10 million mobile EU citizens risk being stripped of their voice in the 2029 …
Author: Lisa Desjardins On May 26, the Council of the European Union adopted a new directive reinforcing mobile EU citizens’ voting rights in local elections. Aiming to empower an estimated 13.5 million Europeans living in a Member State other than their own, this update modernizes rules originally drafted in 1994 …
Dear Readers, Just as summer is about to kick off, May 2026 has proven to be an important milestone for the ECIT Foundation. This month, we officially submitted our European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), “All On Board,” to the European Commission for formal registration. This brings our core vision of learning, …
The ECIT Foundation is looking for a new generation of architects to support our upcoming launch of the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) “All On Board – For Your Right to EU Citizenship.” This is not a typical internship. We aren’t just “running a project”. We are building a youth-led European …
Author: Maëlle Goret European Union citizenship is frequently hailed as a “fundamental status” of Member State nationals. It is a unique legal construction that grants individuals rights beyond the nation-state, most notably the right to free movement. However, as the ECIT Foundation continues its research and advocacy, we have identified …
On 18 March 2026, ECIT held a meeting to finalise the All on Board ECI ahead of its registration with the European Commission. The event represented an important occasion for the initiative, providing an opportunity to review the legal framework, discuss proposed amendments, and ensure the ECI was fully prepared for formal …
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 …
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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 …