In accordance with the Decision establishing the European Year of Citizens 2013, the Commission presented this report offering an overview of its implementation, results and overall achievements.

It also builds on insights from the ex post evaluation of the Year carried out for the Commission by an external contractor.

Objectives of the European Year : in its Resolution of 15 December 2010 on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union (2009), the European Parliament called on the Commission to make 2013 the European Year of Citizens ‘in order to give momentum to the debate on European citizenship and inform EU citizens of their rights, in particular the new rights resulting from the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon’.

It was therefore appropriate, 20 years on from the Maastricht Treaty, to designate 2013 as the European Year of Citizens, to enhance awareness of the rights attached to Union citizenship, in order to help citizens make full use of their right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States. This objective was all the more relevant given the upcoming (2014) European elections, in which all Union citizens were entitled to vote and stand.

The Commission report recalled the following specific objectives for the European Year of Citizens 2013 (hereinafter ‘EYC2013’):

to raise Union citizens’ awareness of their right to move and reside freely within the European Union and more generally their rights in cross-border situations, including the right to participate in the democratic life of the Union; to raise Union citizens’ awareness of how they can tangibly benefit from Union rights and policies while living in another Member State, and to stimulate their active participation in civic fora on Union policies and issues; and to stimulate debate about the impact and potential of the right to free movement as an inalienable aspect of Union citizenship, in particular in terms of strengthening societal cohesion and mutual understanding between Union citizens and the bond between citizens and the Union.

EYC2013 was meant to show that Union citizenship is not an empty concept , but a fundamental status of nationals of the Member States involving tangible rights and benefits for them (as individuals, consumers, workers, students, volunteers, political actors, etc.).

By extension, EYC2013 would also emphasise that Union citizens themselves have a critical role to play in strengthening those rights through their participation in civil society and democratic life.

Main conclusions : the Commission welcomes the external evaluators’ conclusions as to the relevance of the portfolio of activities chosen for EYC2013 and their recognition that these fully covered the Year’s objectives, without major gaps or overlaps. It also noted that the breadth of the topic meant that a wide range of relevant actors and multipliers got involved and so contributed to spreading the EYC2013 message. The communication activities were seen as having addressed the needs of the target groups.

(1) Late adoption : the Commission acknowledges the external evaluator’s conclusions that:

the late adoption of the Decision made it difficult for potential partners to get mobilised in time to contribute to the activities, in particular at national level; the financial resources made available did not match the ambition of informing all citizens of their EU rights.

However, the evaluators consider that participative activities and events proved more effective than information through mass media. Furthermore, they highlight the considerable mobilisation of stakeholders, who contributed human and financial resources and/or participated on a voluntary basis, and underline that the categories of activity varied in terms of efficiency .

(2) Sustainability of activities : the Commission also shares the evaluators’ conclusions on the sustainability of the EYC2013 activities. On the one hand, the effects of the EU-wide information and communication campaign are indeed not likely to be sustained, due to its low budget, and this detracts from overall sustainability . On the other hand, the participative forms of communication that were promoted, centred as they were on citizens’ needs, are likely to have a lasting influence on the stakeholders involved, provided the expectations for follow-up that they created are met; otherwise, some stakeholders may be less inclined to get involved in the future.

(3) Citizens’ awareness of their rights : as regards its impact on European citizens’ overall awareness of their rights and their ability to engage in the process of European integration, EYC2013 can only be seen as a specific contribution to the Commission’s general efforts through its corporate communication strategy and EU outreach programmes and policies.

EYC2013 was conceived as an EU-wide campaign to raise awareness about EU citizens’ rights and as a catalyst for policy development in the area of EU citizenship, especially as regards the creation of a genuine European public space. The latter consideration became much more prominent as the Year progressed, particularly with the extension of EYC2013 activities into 2014 in the run-up to the European elections. The modest budget limited the scope and impact of the communication campaign, but this was effectively mitigated by the creativity, commitment, voluntary efforts and drive of all stakeholders at Union and national levels. These included EYCA and its members from organised civil society, which generated sustainable networks with lasting effects that will help foster the development of a genuine European public space.

Challenges for future European Years : the external evaluator considered that:

in order to reach a large audience, targeting the 28 Member States equally, an information campaign would require a budgetary ‘entrance ticket’ of at least several million euros , e.g. for media placements alone. It would also need to convey sharp and original messages to catch people’s attention and potentially have an impact; when resources are limited, the priority is to deploy a communication campaign that supports events . In such cases, events are the key pillars of information dissemination and the campaign is a tool that aims mainly to involve participants and attract media attention so as to secure wider dissemination; and trying to implement a traditional campaign and event-based communication with a limited budget is ineffective. The communication strategy should be decided on at an early design stage .

PURPOSE: to establish the European Year of Citizens (2013).

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision No 1093/2012/EU of the European Parliament and the Council on the European Year of Citizens (2013).

CONTENT: based on an agreement reached at first reading, the European Parliament and the Council adopted a decision declaring 2013 as ‘European Year of Citizens’.

Objectives: the general objective of the European Year of Citizens shall be to enhance awareness and knowledge of the rights and responsibilities attached to Union citizenship, in order to enable citizens to make full use of their right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States. In this context, the European Year of Citizens shall also promote the enjoyment by Union citizens of the other rights attached to Union citizenship.

Specific objectives: in order to achieve its general objective, the specific objectives of the European Year of Citizens shall be:

to raise Union citizens’ awareness of their right to move and reside freely within the Union and, in that context, of all other rights guaranteed to Union citizens, without discrimination, including their right to vote in local and European elections in any Member State in which they reside ; to raise awareness among Union citizens, including young people , about how they can tangibly benefit from Union rights, as well as about policies and programmes that exist to support the exercise of those rights; to stimulate debate about the impact and potential of the right of freedom of movement and residence, as an inalienable aspect of Union citizenship, with a view to stimulating and strengthening active civic and democratic participation of Union citizens, in particular in civic forums on Union policies and European Parliament elections, thereby reinforcing societal cohesion, cultural diversity, solidarity, equality between women and men, mutual respect and a sense of a common European identity among Union citizens, based on the core values of the Union, as enshrined in the TEU and the TFEU and in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

Initiatives involved: the measures to be taken to achieve the objectives may include the following initiatives organised at Union, national, regional or local level: (i) information and awareness-raising campaigns; (ii) exchanging information and sharing experience and good practices with the involvement of civil society organisations; (iii) organising conferences and other events to promote debate and raise awareness of the importance and benefits of the right of freedom of movement and residence, and more generally on the concept of Union citizenship and the rights attached to it; (iv) strengthening the role and visibility of existing tools for informing citizens (Europe Direct, the ‘Your Europe’ web portal, or even SOLVIT); (v) providing Union citizens with information about the European Parliament's Committee on Petitions and the European Ombudsman; (v) promoting the EU Citizenship Report

An annex to the decision sets out the details of the initiatives.

In the context of initiatives organised in the framework of the European Year of Citizens, consideration shall be given to identifying obstacles to the exercise of the rights by the Union citizens and to promoting appropriate ways and strategies to remove those obstacles . Synergies shall therefore be sought between those initiatives and existing tools and programmes in the field of fundamental rights, citizens’ rights, employment and social affairs, education and culture.

Financial provisions: certain provisions exist to specify the types of actions that can be financed and the technical procedures that relate to the various types of financing. An annex provides details on the possible types of grants, cofinancing and support available. Existing European programmes could be used for this purpose.

Coordination and implementation at EU level: the Commission shall cooperate closely with Member States, the European Parliament , the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of Regions, as well as with local and regional authorities and with bodies and associations which represent local and regional interests.

Furthermore, the Commission shall endeavour to exploit possible synergies between different thematic European years, by evaluating achievements, monitoring persistent gaps. The Commission shall be responsible for implementing this Decision at Union level.

International cooperation: for the purpose of the European Year of Citizens, the Commission may cooperate with appropriate international organisations, in particular with the Council of Europe .

Monitoring and evaluation: with regard to the monitoring and evaluation of the Year, it is stipulated that the report that the Commission shall present by 31 December 2014 at the latest shall serve as a basis for future Union policies, measures and actions in this field. Pursuant to the experience of the European Year of Citizens, that report shall also present ideas and best practices on how better to inform citizens of their rights, even after the end of the European Year of Citizens.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 26.11.2012.

The European Parliament adopted by 518 votes to 63 with 19 abstentions a legislative resolution on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Year of Citizens (2013).

Parliament adopted its position in first reading following the ordinary legislative procedure. The amendments adopted in plenary are the result of a compromise negotiated between the European Parliament and Council. They amend the proposal as follows:

Scope: generally, Parliament’s amendments seek to stress the need to raise citizens' awareness of their rights as citizens of the Union, in the framework of the European Year, and to promote the exercise of Citizens’’ rights in the context of active participation in the democratic life of the Union.

Title: the year 2013 shall be designated as the ‘European Year of Citizens’ .

Objectives: the general objective of the European Year of Citizens shall be to enhance awareness and knowledge of the rights and responsibilities attached to Union citizenship, in order to enable citizens to make full use of their rights. to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States. It provides a timely opportunity to raise the awareness citizens about their rights arising from Union citizenship when they exercise their right to move and reside freely in another Member State.

The specific objectives of the European Year shall be:

· to raise Union citizens' awareness of their right to move and reside freely within the European Union and in this context of all other rights guaranteed to Union citizens, without discrimination, including their right to vote in local and European elections in any Member State in which they reside;

· to raise awareness among Union citizens, including young people, about how they can tangibly benefit from Union rights, as well as about policies and programmes that exist to support the exercise of those rights;

· to stimulate debate about the impact and potential of the right of freedom of movement and residence, as an inalienable aspect of Union citizenship, with a view to stimulating and strengthening active civic and democratic participation of Union citizens, in particular in civic fora on Union policies and European Parliament elections, thereby reinforcing societal cohesion, cultural diversity, solidarity, equality between women and men, mutual respect and a sense of a common European identity among Union citizens, based on the core values of the Union, as enshrined in the EU Treaty and the TFEU and in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

Initiatives involved : the main amendments to the proposal aim to: (i) stimulating the active involvement of civil society organisations and of citizens in the European Year of Citizens, including such direct democracy tools as the citizens' initiative and public consultations; (ii) strengthening existing tools for informing citizens about the European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions and the European Ombudsman in order to allow them to make better use of, and defend their rights under, Union law; and (iii) promoting the EU Citizenship Report, which will be based on a thorough debate and active contributions by citizens and stakeholders, and which will promote appropriate strategies for removing obstacles preventing Union citizens from fully exercising Union citizenship rights.

In the context of initiatives organised in the framework of the European Year, consideration shall be given to identifying obstacles to Union citizens’ exercise of their rights and to promoting appropriate ways and strategies to remove those obstacles. Synergies shall therefore be sought between initiatives and existing tools and programmes whilst exploiting possible synergies between different thematic European years, by evaluating achievements, monitoring persistent gaps and providing statistical data, where appropriate, thus ensuring effective implementation of the aims of European years.

Co-financing : the text provides that Union programmes, such as the 2007 to 2013 Europe for Citizens could be used to co-finance activities under the European Year. Other programmes, such as the 2007-2013 specific programme “Fundamental Rights and Citizenship", part of the general programme "Fundamental Rights and Justice", will provide information on EU rights as priority criteria for projects.

Coordination and implementation at Union level : Parliament stressed the need for the Commission to cooperate closely with Member States and also with the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of Regions , as well as with local and regional authorities.

International cooperation : for the purpose of the European Year of Citizens, the Commission may cooperate with appropriate international organisations, in particular with the Council of Europe.

Monitoring and evaluation: lastly, in the context of evaluating the Year, the Commission report to be submitted by 31 December 2014, will serve as a basis for future Union policies, measures and actions in this field. Pursuant to the experience of the European Year, that report shall also present ideas and best practices on how better to inform citizens of their rights, even after the end of the European Year.

PURPOSE: to establish the European Year of Citizens (2013).

PROPOSED ACT: Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council.

BACKGROUND: in 2009, an estimated 11.9 million Union citizens were living in another Member State than their own and many more might exercise this right at some point in their lives: a Eurobarometer survey conducted in 2009 showed that more than one third (35%) of European citizens would consider working in another Member State. However, close to one in five Europeans see too many obstacles to working in another Member State . Lack of information is (together with language difficulties) is the most important barrier to cross-border commuting, which constitutes, besides trans-national migration, the main form of geographic labour mobility within the EU. Recent surveys have also shown that the information citizens need in order to exercise their right to free movement is not strictly limited to the conditions for using this right as such: amongst the administrative issues which people had looked at prior to moving to another Member State, the two items mentioned most often were social security and welfare and the recognition of academic diplomas.

It is clear that citizens who wish to study, work, retire, live in another Member State need to be adequately informed about the different rights available to them in cross-border situations and to be able to effectively enjoy them in practice. Without this knowledge citizens are not able to make informed decisions about making use of their free movement rights. More broadly, citizens' awareness of their rights to free movement and more generally of their rights as Union citizens is crucial to enable individuals, businesses and society as a whole to benefit from the full range of opportunities available in the single market.

The significant gaps in citizens' awareness of their rights were demonstrated by a 2010 Eurobarometer survey which showed that, although Europeans are broadly aware of their status as Union citizens (79% claim some familiarity with the term 'citizen of the European Union'), they lack concrete knowledge about the exact meaning of rights attached to this status. More specifically, only 43% know the meaning of the term 'citizen of the European Union' and almost half of European citizens (48%) indicate that they are not well informed about their rights.

In the EU Citizenship Report 2010 "Dismantling the obstacles to EU citizens' rights", the Commission identified main obstacles which citizens still encounter in their daily lives when they seek to exercise their rights as Union citizens and outlined 25 concrete actions to remove these obstacles. In the context of this exercise, the Commission concluded that Union citizens are prevented from enjoying their rights because they lack awareness of them and announced its intention to step up the dissemination of information to Union citizens about their rights as such and in particular about their free movement rights. The designation of 2013 as the European Year of Citizens, leading to the organisation of targeted events on EU citizenship and citizen-related EU policies during this year, is thus listed in the EU Citizenship Report 2010 as one of the actions to implement in order to remedy this lack of awareness.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: an ex-ante evaluation was carried out, which indicated amongst other matters, that the actions to be implemented in the proposed European Year do not go beyond what is necessary to achieve its objectives. The proposal respects therefore the principle of proportionality.

LEGAL BASIS: Article 21(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU). Although Member States retain the primary responsibility for raising citizens' awareness of their rights as Union citizens, adequate actions to address this problem require multilateral partnerships, transnational exchanges of information and experience and Union-wide awareness-raising and dissemination of good practices. Therefore, the objectives of the proposed European Year can be better achieved at Union level.

CONTENT: the year 2013 shall be designated as the European Year of Citizens.

The overall purpose of the proposed European Year of Citizens is to ensure that all Union citizens are aware of the rights available to them in a cross-border context by virtue of their Union citizenship status, so as to enable them to make informed decisions about whether to make use of their right to free movement and to facilitate the effective exercise of this right.

The European Year will aim, more specifically, at:

raising Union citizens' awareness of their right to move and reside freely within the European Union and more generally the rights guaranteed to Union citizens in cross-border situations, including their right to participate in the democratic life of the Union; raising Union citizens' awareness of how they can tangibly benefit from EU rights and policies while living in another Member State, and at stimulating their active participation in civic fora on Union policies and issues; stimulating a debate about the impact and potential of the right to free movement, as an inalienable aspect of Union citizenship, in particular in terms of strengthening societal cohesion and mutual understanding between Union citizens and the bond between citizens and the Union.

Initiatives involved : the measures to be taken to achieve these objectives may include the following initiatives organised at Union, national, regional or local level linked to the objectives of the European Year:

information, education and awareness raising campaigns targeted at the general public and more specific audiences; exchange of information, sharing of experience and good practices of national, regional, local administrations and other organisations; conferences and events to promote debate and raise awareness of the importance and benefits of the right to free movement and residence and more generally citizens' rights as Union citizens; use of the existing multilingual participatory tools to stimulate citizens' contributions in giving tangible effect to their rights and more generally in achieving the objectives of the European Year; strengthening of the role and visibility of the multilingual Europe Direct and Your Europe web portal as key elements of a 'one-stop-shop' information system on Union citizens' rights; strengthening of the role and visibility of problem solving tools, such as SOLVIT, to allow Union citizens to better make use of and defend their rights.

Coordination at Union level : the Commission shall cooperate closely with Member States and bodies and associations which represent local and regional interests, in particular the Committee of Regions. It will also cooperate closely with the European Economic and Social Committee. It will convene meetings of representatives of European organisations or bodies active in the field of defending citizens' rights and stakeholders to assist the Commission in implementing the European Year at Union level.

Evaluation : by 31 December 2014, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the implementation, results and overall assessment of the initiatives provided for in the Decision.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: no additional funding is sought for the European Year. The flexibility for annual priority setting based on the budget lines and programmes of the Directorate General for Communication provides sufficient financial margin for running the Year on a EUR 1 million scale.

PURPOSE: to establish the European Year of Citizens (2013).

PROPOSED ACT: Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council.

BACKGROUND: in 2009, an estimated 11.9 million Union citizens were living in another Member State than their own and many more might exercise this right at some point in their lives: a Eurobarometer survey conducted in 2009 showed that more than one third (35%) of European citizens would consider working in another Member State. However, close to one in five Europeans see too many obstacles to working in another Member State . Lack of information is (together with language difficulties) is the most important barrier to cross-border commuting, which constitutes, besides trans-national migration, the main form of geographic labour mobility within the EU. Recent surveys have also shown that the information citizens need in order to exercise their right to free movement is not strictly limited to the conditions for using this right as such: amongst the administrative issues which people had looked at prior to moving to another Member State, the two items mentioned most often were social security and welfare and the recognition of academic diplomas.

It is clear that citizens who wish to study, work, retire, live in another Member State need to be adequately informed about the different rights available to them in cross-border situations and to be able to effectively enjoy them in practice. Without this knowledge citizens are not able to make informed decisions about making use of their free movement rights. More broadly, citizens' awareness of their rights to free movement and more generally of their rights as Union citizens is crucial to enable individuals, businesses and society as a whole to benefit from the full range of opportunities available in the single market.

The significant gaps in citizens' awareness of their rights were demonstrated by a 2010 Eurobarometer survey which showed that, although Europeans are broadly aware of their status as Union citizens (79% claim some familiarity with the term 'citizen of the European Union'), they lack concrete knowledge about the exact meaning of rights attached to this status. More specifically, only 43% know the meaning of the term 'citizen of the European Union' and almost half of European citizens (48%) indicate that they are not well informed about their rights.

In the EU Citizenship Report 2010 "Dismantling the obstacles to EU citizens' rights", the Commission identified main obstacles which citizens still encounter in their daily lives when they seek to exercise their rights as Union citizens and outlined 25 concrete actions to remove these obstacles. In the context of this exercise, the Commission concluded that Union citizens are prevented from enjoying their rights because they lack awareness of them and announced its intention to step up the dissemination of information to Union citizens about their rights as such and in particular about their free movement rights. The designation of 2013 as the European Year of Citizens, leading to the organisation of targeted events on EU citizenship and citizen-related EU policies during this year, is thus listed in the EU Citizenship Report 2010 as one of the actions to implement in order to remedy this lack of awareness.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: an ex-ante evaluation was carried out, which indicated amongst other matters, that the actions to be implemented in the proposed European Year do not go beyond what is necessary to achieve its objectives. The proposal respects therefore the principle of proportionality.

LEGAL BASIS: Article 21(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU). Although Member States retain the primary responsibility for raising citizens' awareness of their rights as Union citizens, adequate actions to address this problem require multilateral partnerships, transnational exchanges of information and experience and Union-wide awareness-raising and dissemination of good practices. Therefore, the objectives of the proposed European Year can be better achieved at Union level.

CONTENT: the year 2013 shall be designated as the European Year of Citizens.

The overall purpose of the proposed European Year of Citizens is to ensure that all Union citizens are aware of the rights available to them in a cross-border context by virtue of their Union citizenship status, so as to enable them to make informed decisions about whether to make use of their right to free movement and to facilitate the effective exercise of this right.

The European Year will aim, more specifically, at:

raising Union citizens' awareness of their right to move and reside freely within the European Union and more generally the rights guaranteed to Union citizens in cross-border situations, including their right to participate in the democratic life of the Union; raising Union citizens' awareness of how they can tangibly benefit from EU rights and policies while living in another Member State, and at stimulating their active participation in civic fora on Union policies and issues; stimulating a debate about the impact and potential of the right to free movement, as an inalienable aspect of Union citizenship, in particular in terms of strengthening societal cohesion and mutual understanding between Union citizens and the bond between citizens and the Union.

Initiatives involved : the measures to be taken to achieve these objectives may include the following initiatives organised at Union, national, regional or local level linked to the objectives of the European Year:

information, education and awareness raising campaigns targeted at the general public and more specific audiences; exchange of information, sharing of experience and good practices of national, regional, local administrations and other organisations; conferences and events to promote debate and raise awareness of the importance and benefits of the right to free movement and residence and more generally citizens' rights as Union citizens; use of the existing multilingual participatory tools to stimulate citizens' contributions in giving tangible effect to their rights and more generally in achieving the objectives of the European Year; strengthening of the role and visibility of the multilingual Europe Direct and Your Europe web portal as key elements of a 'one-stop-shop' information system on Union citizens' rights; strengthening of the role and visibility of problem solving tools, such as SOLVIT, to allow Union citizens to better make use of and defend their rights.

Coordination at Union level : the Commission shall cooperate closely with Member States and bodies and associations which represent local and regional interests, in particular the Committee of Regions. It will also cooperate closely with the European Economic and Social Committee. It will convene meetings of representatives of European organisations or bodies active in the field of defending citizens' rights and stakeholders to assist the Commission in implementing the European Year at Union level.

Evaluation : by 31 December 2014, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the implementation, results and overall assessment of the initiatives provided for in the Decision.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: no additional funding is sought for the European Year. The flexibility for annual priority setting based on the budget lines and programmes of the Directorate General for Communication provides sufficient financial margin for running the Year on a EUR 1 million scale.