Citizens’ rights

Being part of the EU entitles citizens to certain rights. EU citizenship was introduced in the Maastricht Treaty (1992). In the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam it was clarified that EU citizenship goes together with national citizenship and does not replace it. Rights for members of the EU include the right to:

• travel, live, work and study in any member state
• vote in local and European Parliament elections in their country of origin or residence
• petition the President of the European Parliament on EU matters
• diplomatic protection; in other words, a citizen of the EU is entitled to the same protection as nationals of other member states.

Countries have to meet certain requirements to join the EU. Some questions to ask when reading about the EU include: Do citizens of countries outside the EU feel discriminated against? Is there a two-tier Europe – one with countries of the EU and one with poorer countries?