EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP - WHICH CONCRETE RIGHTS DOES IT GIVE EVERY EU CITIZEN ?

NOVEMBER 14:

European citizenship: what does that give you in addition to your national citizenship?

If you are a citizens in one of the member states of the EU you also enjoy the rights of having a European Citizenship.  What does that mean ?  

 

The EU decided in its Maastricht Treaty from 1993 that all citizens in its member states in addition to the rights being a citizen in their own countries would from then on enjoy a number of additional rights, freedoms and protections. And these rights are automatic and valid permanently.  You do not have to apply for them.  You simply have them, when you are a citizen of a member state in the European Union.

 

What are these European citizen rights then ?

 

·       You enjoy free movement in all member states. You can go anywhere at anytime

·       You are free to settle down in all member state where you want to

·       You have the right to study and work everywhere in the EU

·       You are free take goods, services and capital with you anywhere

·       You are protected against any discrimination anywhere in the EU.  This might be discrimination due to nationality, religion, gender, colour, etc. You have the right to be treated in exactly the same way as the citizens of the country you are in

·       You have the right to complain directly to the courts, including the European Court of Justice, if you think that your rights are not respected

·       You have the right to vote in local elections in the country you stay in on the same conditions as the citizens of that country.  And you also have the right to be a candidate in local elections

·       When travelling outside the EU you have the right to get help from any embassy or consulate of a member state of the EU, if your own country does not have an embassy in the country you visit or stay in.  And you have the right to get exactly the same assistance as the citizens of the country of the embassy or consulate.

You can ready much more about your rights in the European Charter of Fundamental Rights in the European Union.   It is now part of EU’s Lisbon Treaty of 2009 and therefore legally binding in all member states.

After the United Kingdom left the EU by January 31, 2020, the European citizenship is no longer valid for British citizens.



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