EU nodigt studenten uit om ervaringen te delen (en) - Montesquieu Instituut

People can face obstacles when exercising their rights as European citizens. The European Commission is therefore asking citizens to share the problems they have experienced when moving around the EU.

We really want to hear from students who have studied in another EU country or plan to do so, whether they are university students or still at school. You are also invited to describe the kind of European Union they would like to see by 2020.

The EU has several programmes that help students study in another country. Erasmus is the EU's flagship education and training programme enabling 230 000 students to study and work abroad each year. The programme not only supports students, but also professors and business staff who want to teach abroad, as well as helping university staff to receive training. The Comenius Programme focuses on all levels of school education, from pre-school and primary to secondary schools. The Leonardo da Vinci Programme funds practical projects in the field of vocational education and training. Initiatives range from those giving individuals work-related training abroad to large-scale co-operation efforts. Maybe you have participated in one of these, or would be interested in doing so? We're interested in your experience.

In the largest ever EU public consultation on citizens' rights, the European Commission is now calling on citizens all over the European Union to help set the policy agenda for the coming years and shape the future of Europe. The consultation will be open until 9 September, during which time the public will be asked about the obstacles they face in exercising their rights as EU citizens.

Background

Thanks to EU citizenship - which does not replace national citizenship but complements it - all nationals of the 27 EU Member States have a set of additional rights as EU citizens. Freedom of movement is the most cherished right of EU citizenship. Indeed, Europeans make over a billion journeys within the EU per year and more and more citizens are benefiting from the right to live, work and study in another EU Member State: in 2010, an estimated 12.3 million EU citizens, or 2.5 %, were living in a Member State other than their own.

The European Commission adopted the first EU Citizenship Report in 2010, based on input from EU citizens, which led to a list of 25 concrete actions needed to be taken to address problems faced by EU citizens. The input received from the public this year will feed directly into the Commission's policy agenda and form the basis for the 2013 EU Citizenship Report, to be presented in May 2013.

Read more

Participate in the public consultation by filling out a short questionnaire online (open until 9 September 2012)

Read the press release “Citizens' rights: European Commission kicks off the broadest public consultation ever and asks citizens to set future agenda”.

Visit the official website and keep track of improvements since the first Citizenship Report in 2010.

Visit the website of the Lifelong Learning Programme covering Erasmus, Leonardo da Vinci and Comenius