A bottom-up approach” “

“A more human Europe”. It is the vision for the future according to the European ombudsman Emily O’Reilly, conveyed in the closing conference of the European Year of Citizens 2013, held in Vilnius (Lithuania) on December 12-13. The event was an occasion to reflect to reflect on what has been accomplished over the past months to draw citizens closer to the common institutions, and to the founding values of the “common home” such as solidarity and subsidiarity; but also to realize identity-related issues and the effectiveness of the EU, especially in the light of European Parliament elections in May 2014. Rights, duties and citizenship. Some 350 participants from 28 member countries, national authorities, national associations, European and Eastern partnership NGOs, broached a set of themes such as “the role and the future of civil society organizations in the development of Europe’s future” or “a bottom-up project for Europe: to promote citizens’ rights”. In the past twelve months seminars, informative campaigns, initiatives and school competitions were held across EU countries at national, regional and municipal level to inform and form European citizens on the rights and duties bound to European citizenship, also through multilingual websites such as “Europe Direct”, “Your Europe” and “Solvit”. Forty “dialogues with citizens” were held to date with the aim of involving local communities with the constant participation of a European commissioner. Indeed, as the year draws to a close, the initiatives in support of that cause are still ongoing. More than fifty meetings have been tabled to ensure that citizens may arrive at the 2014 elections prepared and aware (the agenda of the forthcoming initiatives is available at http://ec.europa.eu/debate-future-europe/index_it.htm). Identity and legitimacy. “The lack of information is our greatest enemy”, declared Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for Justice, Citizenship and Fundamental rights, at the conference in Vilnius, and this is why today “today the feeling of citizenship of the European Union is in crisis”, said the ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly. “We must bear in mind those values and principles on which the European Union was founded, not only the economic features – continued the expert – but also, and most important of all, the respect of fundamental rights, the notion of liberty, solidarity, the protection of minorities and the respect for cultural and linguistic diversity”. Political leaders and civil society are called to focus their attention “not only on the economic situation but also on the identity of the EU and on the crisis of legitimacy” which involves EU institutions, an integrating part of the “common home” according to O’Reilly, who considers the 2014 EP elections “an authentic opportunity for citizens to voice their claims at European level”. Democratic values. “I’m sure that Europe will remain united, solid and competitive and will know how to address the needs and the interests of its citizens”, said Algirdas Butkevicius, prime minister of Lithuania, at the Vilnius conference, which was the last high-level event of the Lithuanian six-month presidency of the European Union Council. “I am pleased that our efforts for the growth of a credible Europe have been aimed at the improvement of the wellbeing of all Europeans – said the premier – and with this I refer not only EU citizens, since one of the priorities of the presidency has been an Eastern partnership program, understood in terms of openness at global level for the diffusion of democratic values”. A new opportunity. What should be expected in 2014? The European Parliament proposed to devote the year “to reconciling work and family life” as recurs the twentieth anniversary of the International Year of the Family celebrated by the United Nations. The initiative intends to send a positive message to all European citizens, namely that “the EU does not deal only with responsibilities and jobs, it also seeks also to improve the life and the wellbeing of all citizens”, affirms a statement of the Confederation of family organizations in the European Union (COFACE). The European Year 2014 would thus represent an excellent opportunity “to provide continuity to the previous European years, to face the problems that are most important to citizens, experienced in their daily lives”, concludes the release.