European citizenship: tied up in red tape

1. European citizenship: tied up in red tape ECAS – European Citizen Action Service Claire Damilano – Legal Officer ESIP annual conference 2008

2. Who are we ? • ECAS, European Citizen Action Service • created in 1990, • an international, non-profit organization, independent of political parties, commercial interests and the EU Institutions,  • our mission is to enable NGOs and individuals to make their voice heard with the EU by providing advice on how to influence the decision-making process and use the opportunities created by the EU. ESIP annual conference 2008

3. ECAS provides « The Citizen Signpost service » as an external contractor for the European Commission http://ec.europa.eu/citizensrights/front_end/index_fr.htm ESIP annual conference 2008

4. Three-quarters of the problems that CSS’ users are telling us about: • Right of residence: directive 2004/38 on the right of EU citizens and members of their families to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States; • Qualifications: directive 2005/36 on the recognition of professional qualifications; • Social security: regulation 1408/71 on the coordination of social security schemes for people on the move, and the implementing rules ESIP annual conference 2008

5. These 3 instruments have a direct impact and interrelated impact on the mobility of citizens: 1. The rights guaranteed by Directive 2004/38 are intimately connected to the concept of citizenship of the EU, It raises crucial questions about mobility. Because of the way that it was implemented some citizens were not able to be joined in the host country by family members or to get equal treatment there in a variety of services or benefits, Example of problems: • There is still a lot of red tape in the documentation requested by national authorities when registering as resident in the host country; • Authorities are not enough well instructed; ESIP annual conference 2008

6. Obstacles to the exercise of one’s profession in another Member State also raise big concerns for citizens, whether before they decide to depart from their home country or after they have taken that step. It is intimately connected with free movement of workers, the first notion of individual rights in the original EEC. Examples of problems: • Deadline not respected; • A lot of red tape; • Confusion between recognition of diplomas and recognition of qualifications ESIP annual conference 2008

7. 3. Social security also touches upon financial concerns that are apparently perceived as more crucial by citizens than e.g. consumer rights. - This is shown by the steadily high number of enquiries in this area ever since the CSS was created. - Social security is a landmark of the EU/EEA countries and citizens rightly feel that exercising mobility rights should not affect acquired rights. - It should be noted however that, what makes this area of investigation particularly interesting is that it is one where wishful thinking and lack of awareness among concerned citizens accounts for problems as much if not more than problems of implementation. ESIP annual conference 2008

8. Examples of problems area linked to the coordination of social Security system: • Misuse of the European Health Insurance Card; • Confusions between the E forms; • Programmed health care in another Member State and free movement of services; • The Scope of the “totalisation” maybe not sufficiently clear; • The transfer of the unemployment benefits in another Member State ESIP annual conference 2008

9. Persistent lack of awareness of existing sources of information at EU level • one out of two enquiries appears to be primarily a request for legal information without direct reference to the underlying problem • lack of awareness of available legal information tools at EU level ESIP annual conference 2008

10. Difficulty to access the information; • Ignorance of the organizations representative of the EU and the points of information available in each country; • Insufficient preparation of the civil servants; ESIP annual conference 2008

11. Problems encountered by citizens: some worrying pointers • Growing gap between the case law of the European Court, the much improved legislative framework and the way it is being applied on the ground by Member States. The implemention is often: • Late • In contradiction with the spirit of the text • There is a lack of coordination between several texts. ESIP annual conference 2008

12. For more information : • +32 (0) 2512 5968e-mail: ecas@ecas.org • Website: http://www.ecas.org ESIP annual conference 2008