Gender balance in corporate boards and decision-making positions, the importance of economic cooperation between the European Union (EU) Member States and EU trade relations worldwide, online gambling and its economic and social effects, climate change and sustainable energy, employment and education, as well as the phenomenon of irregular immigration, were some of the pertinent issues discussed during a public dialogue organised by the Malta-EU Steering and Action Committee (MEUSAC) last week.

The public dialogue with the theme ‘L-Ewropa fejn sejra?’ (‘Where is Europe heading?’), held on August 9, at Ghar id-Dud in Sliema, was the first of a series of five citizens’ dialogues currently being held in various public places across the Maltese Islands.  The Maltese Members of the European Parliament: Claudette Abela Baldacchino, Roberta Metsola and Marlene Mizzi, addressed questions and concerns by the participants. These dialogues are intended to give Maltese citizens the opportunity to voice their concerns and discuss their views on their rights as EU citizens, the kind of Europe they would like to live in, and their expectations for the future of the EU.

These public debates, organised as part of the European Year of Citizens 2013, an entire year dedicated to improving awareness about the rights and opportunities arising from EU citizenship, follow a call by the European Commission President José Manuel Barroso for an EU-wide debate on proposals to deepen the Economic and Monitory Union, and to create a democratically legitimate political Union. In his own words, “There must be a broad debate all over Europe. A debate of truly European dimension…We cannot continue trying to solve European problems just with national solutions. This debate has to take place in our societies and among our citizens.” The opinions and suggestions arising from these debates will then feed into future European Commission proposals, in particularly those aimed at strengthening European citizens’ rights in a Union where freedom, security, justice and equal rights prevail.

But what are these rights that we speak of? Under the EU treaties, EU citizenship automatically confers on any national of an EU Member State a number of rights in addition to the rights they exercise as nationals of their country of origin. Being a citizen of the EU implies that individuals across the EU have the freedom to live or work in any other EU Member State apart from their own, and to vote and stand as candidates for European or local elections. Furthermore, EU citizens who travel to non-EU countries have the right to receive diplomatic or consular protection from any EU Member State. Citizens are further granted a wide range of rights - rights pertaining to the free movement of goods and services, consumer protection and public health, equal opportunities and equal treatment, access to employment and to social protection as well as other rights aimed at ensuring that EU citizens enjoy the same rights as nationals of the Member State in which they reside.

EU citizens can equally petition the European Parliament and submit complaints to the European Ombudsman. Furthermore, on April 1, 2012, EU citizens acquired an entirely new civil right - the European Citizens’ Initiative. This initiative, introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon, gives the right to a minimum of one million citizens to request the European Commission to initiate new legislation on an issue where the EU has the power to make laws. The signatories must be of voting age and represent at least seven of the 28 EU Member States.

Are European and Maltese citizens aware of such rights? According to the results of the latest Eurobarometer survey on public opinion in the EU, six out of ten citizens in the EU feel ‘European’ and want to know more about their rights, but less than half (46%) know what these rights are. Malta’s figures are quite encouraging with 81% of Maltese feeling ‘European’ and 69% wanting to know more about their rights.

These results also show that Europeans see their rights as EU citizens as the most positive result of the EU – 56% of respondents identifying the free movement of people, goods and services as the EU’s most positive result. Despite the crisis, those saying they are optimistic about EU's future outnumbered those who said they are pessimistic in 19 out of the 27 Members States (Croatia had not yet joined the EU when the survey was carried out), while pessimism about the impact of the crisis on jobs appears to be receding. Almost seven in ten Europeans (67%), with a majority in all Member States, said that the EU's voice counts in the world.

An absolute majority (51%) of Europeans are in favour of the euro, with those living within the euro area supporting the single currency with a two-thirds majority (62%). This support is at or near its strongest (between 68% and 77%) in four out of the last five countries to join the euro area (Estonia, Malta, Slovenia and Slovakia).

Be part of the debate and get to know more about your rights! Join MEUSAC’s next themed public dialogue, ‘L-Ewropa li rrid nghix fiha’ (‘The Europe I would like to live in’), which will be held in Marsalforn, Gozo on August 23 at 20:00. Further information about upcoming debates is available on MEUSAC’s website http://www.meusac.gov.mt/upcomingevents.