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Last year was the European Year of Citizens.
This means European countries tried to give citizens a say about the way their country is run. In December last year there was a big meeting in Latvia. Many citizens and politicians came to this meeting. They talked about what needs to be done in Europe so citizens could have a say about how their country is run. They also talked about how to make more people interested in the way their country is run. |
The Closing Conference of the European Year of Citizens 2013 celebrated the efforts of the EU institutions and civil society to engage citizens in a debate on Europe they want for future.
The event organised by the European Commission, the European Year of Citizens Alliance (EYCA) and the Lithuanian Presidency, brought together 360 participants at the Lithuanian Parliament in Vilnius on 12 and 13 December 2013.
Debates between representatives from civil society organisations, the EU institutions and other stakeholders were raised around:
•   The Role of Civil Society in European democracy
•   EU Citizenship in action – How citizens can influence policy-making
•   Participative and representative democracy: Two sides of a same coin
Jean-Marc Roirant, EYCA’s Chairman, officially handed over to Viviane Reding, the Vice-President of the European Commission, the outcome of the EYCA year’s work – a set of policy recommendations. This document entitled “It’s about Us, it’s about Europe! Towards Democratic European Citizenship” draws up the recommendations of civil society organisations towards higher citizens’ participation in Europe.
The Vice President expressed a positive overall evaluation of the Alliance’s work and promised the Commission’s engagement to pursue the objectives of the European Year of Citizens in the view of European elections in May 2014.
Source: EYCA
| The European Year of Citizens Alliance (EYCA) was created as a civil society alliance of European and national organisations, aiming to advocate for a broad understanding of active European citizenship during 2013, the European Year of Citizens. The Alliance has adopted a Manifesto to express its political guidelines and common vision for a wide understanding of European citizenship. The EYCA aimed to mobilise and coordinate a wide civil society engagement throughout the European Year of Citizens 2013, to initiate a European-wide debate on issues related to the exercise of European citizens’ rights and to foster citizens’ participation in the democratic life of the European Union. Inclusion Europe is a member of the EYCA. |
