Consumers are citizens (and human beings) too

And just one more news item for today: strengthened consumer rights can of course not diminish the reality of the economic crisis and an honest evaluation of the state of EU citizenship is, therefore, needed. The European Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, gave a speech on this topic at the closing conference of the 'European Year of Citizens 2013', which highlights the importance of bringing Europe closer to its citizens:

'This is a time therefore when we need to keep foremost in our minds those values and principles on which the EU was founded, not just the economic ones but also, and more importantly, respect for fundamental rights, for the notion of freedom, solidarity the protection of minorities and respect for cultural and language diversity.

The Irish President Michael D. Higgins has referred to “Human Europe” and when people struggle to describe what is felt to be missing from the current make up of our Union perhaps this precisely is it, the sense of the heartbeat pulsating away and not just the sterile and silent ebbs and flows of the stock market.'

A summary of the Ombudsman's speech can be found here.

Getting ahead of themselves?

Yesterday the European Parliament decided to make year 2013 the European Year of Citizens. The goal is to raise awareness of rights that are linked to the EU citizenship.The coming year should be, therefore, rich in events and activities that would focus on explaining and spreading knowledge of such rights like e.g., passenger and consumer rights. (European Year of Citizens: raising awareness of EU citizens' rights)

It is a bit ironic that on the same day, the European Parliament adopted also a non-legislative resolution in which it argues for better protection of passenger rights. It demands from the European Commission to improve complaint procedures and fight more actively unfair pricing conditions, as well as to define 'extraordinary circumstances' under which passengers may not claim compensation from their carriers. (Passenger rights: MEPs want loopholes closed) This is the second resolution this year on this subject. (Towards no stress flying) If you are interested in what such a resolution can achieve - see the reply giving to the March resolution by the European Commission here.

On the one hand the European Parliament wants to educate consumers about their rights, on the other hand it admits that these rights are often not clear or easily understandable. It would make more sense to first clarify the vague provisions on a European level before introducing them (and their current loopholes) to the EU citizens.

Your voice in Europe

The European Commission published some interim results of the currently running public consultation on citizens' rights (see an earlier post, 'Europe and you'). So far, more than 5,500 EU-citizens have answered the Commission's questionnaire. The consultation is open till 9 September 2012.

More information is available on the 'Your rights, your future' website. See also the Commission's 'Your voice in Europe' website for an overview of public consultations.

Europe and you

As a follow-up to the previous post, other initiatives for European citizens (also in their capacity of consumers) are:

1. The launch of the broadest public consultation ever on EU citizens' rights. Have you ever encountered difficulties moving to another EU country or shopping cross-border? European Commissioner Viviane Reding invites all European citizens to fill out a brief questionnaire to express their views on citizens' rights in the EU. See the press release and the questionnaire 'your rights, your future'. The consultation will be open till 9 September 2012.

2. A manifesto for re-building Europe from the bottom up, published by 90 European intellectuals. The manifesto introduces the idea of a 'European year of volunteering for everyone', utilising existing programmes such as the European Voluntary Service and Erasmus for All.

Erasmus, anyone?

I begin my contribution to this blog with a slightly off-topic post.

Tomorrow, or today- the 9th of May, by any means, is Europe day!

The Commission has chosen to celebrate by registering the very first European  Citizens' Initiative. What is this? Since 1 April 2012, groups of European citizens from at least seven different Member States can exhort the Commission to propose legislation to certain ends, provided that the Commission has competence over the subject. The Initiatives are then put in an online register and stay open for subscription for a period of 12 months. If a proposal reaches one million subscriptions within that time span, the Commission will act towards the approval of legislation in the desired direction (see also our previous post: European Citizens' Initiatives).

The Initiative which will be registered tomorrow is "Fraternité 2020 – Mobility. Progress. Europe". It was submitted by a group of citizens living in Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Romania and Spain and seeks to "enhance EU exchange programmes – like Erasmus or the European Voluntary Service – in order to contribute to a united Europe based on solidarity among citizens".

Eager to step up for more Erasmus or to bring in your own initiative (maybe in the field of consumer law, or...)? All the info you need can be found on the Citizens' Initiative website.

And happy Europe day!