In order to prepare the 2016 citizenship report the European Commission launched an online public consultation to gather citizens’ experiences and their ideas on how to improve their citizenship rights, as they live, study, work and travel across the EU.
EU citizens enjoy a number of rights, such as the right to move and reside freely within the EU and to vote and stand as a candidate in EU elections. Since 2010 and in order to improve the application of these rights in practice, the European Commission has issued the EU Citizenship report, where it lists priority actions to eliminate barriers in the exercise of EU citizenship rights. At the end of 2015 the Commission launched a consultation allowing EU citizenship share experiences and opinions about the real-life that they face as they work, live, travel or study in the EU.
AGE Platform Europe replied to this consultation highlighting the specific issues faced by older EU citizens. These include aspects of age discriminations, such as age limits in travel insurance or car rental that impede senior tourism, accessibility of goods and services and inequalities in the taxation of pension income when people decide to retire in another member state.
AGE recommends the adoption of EU-wide legislation that covers discrimination in all areas of life, the promotion of cross-generational exchanges; fighting ageism and supporting the creation of age-friendly environments.
For more information:
- EC portal on EU citizenship: https://ec.europa.eu/justice/citizen/
- EC consultation on EU citizenship (closed): https://ec.europa.eu/justice/newsroom/citizen/opinion/150826_en.htm
- 2013 EU citizenship report: https://ec.europa.eu/justice/citizen/files/2013eucitizenshipreport_en.pdf
- Handbook ‘Did you know? 10 EU rights at a glance’: https://bookshop.europa.eu/en/did-you-know–pbNA0414127/
- AGE answer to the EU Citizenship consultation
