EU Citizens' Rights

Each citizen of an EU Member State is automatically an EU citizen. As an EU citizen, you have the right to:

  • move freely throughout the EU
  • live, study, work and do business in other Member States
  • vote and run as a candidate in European elections in the Member State in which you are living
  • vote and run as a candidate in local elections in the Member State in which you are living
  • petition the European Parliament if your rights as citizens are infringed
  • complain to the EU Ombudsman if you have a grievance against an EU institution or body
  • request assistance from the embassy of any EU Member State if you get into difficulty abroad in a country where Ireland has no embassy
  • access EU documents, subject to certain restrictions
  • write to the EU in any of its 23 official languages, including Irish or English, and get a response in that language
  • equal treatment; EU citizens must not be discriminated against on grounds of nationality

Further Information

Click on the link below to the EUROPA websitesite is for you, the European citizen, to know your rights and to find practical tips to help you move around the EU.
http://europa.eu/eu-life/index_en.htm

Europe Direct is a freephone helpline for citizens who need practical information on their rights when they are travelling in the EU or working in another Member State. You can call the number 00 800 67 89 10 11 free of charge from anywhere in the EU.

The European Health Insurance Card entitles you (with certain restrictions) to medical treatment if you have an accident or become ill in other EU Member States.

As of 1 April 2012, EU citizens will have a brand new tool allowing them to participate in shaping EU policy. Put in place by the Lisbon Treaty, the European Citizens' Initiative will allow 1 million citizens from at least a quarter of the EU Member States to ask the European Commission to propose legislation in areas that fall within its competence. The organisers of a citizens' initiative - a citizens' committee composed of at least 7 EU citizens, resident in at least 7 different Member States - will have 1 year to collect the necessary support. Signatures must be certified by the competent authorities in each Member States. The Commission will then have 3 months to examine the initiative and decide how to act on it.
Click on link for further information:  
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/content/20120322FCS41704/html/A-short-guide-to-the-European-Citizens'-Initiative