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About European Citizenship

A Definition of citizenship

Citizenship is a massively contested term. One of the most influential definitions of

citizenship however, is that of T.H. arshall, who envisa!es citizenship as involvin!

three elements, civil, political and social. The civil element is composed of the ri!hts

necessary for individual freedom. The political element involves the ri!ht to

participate in the e"ercise of political power. And the social element involves the

ran!e of ri!hts to welfare, security and to live the life of a civilised bein! accordin! to

the standards prevailin! in the society. #Adapted from T.H. arshall$s Citizenship

and %ocial Class&

Citizenship in schools

Citizenship education !ives pupils the 'nowled!e, s'ills and understandin! to play an

effective role in society at local, national and international levels. (t helps them to

become informed, thou!htful and responsible citizens who are aware of their ri!hts

and, subse)uently, conscious of their duties. *e want citizenship education to

promote spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, ma'in! students more self+confident and responsible both in and beyond the classroom. (t helps pupils to play a

part in the life of their schools, nei!hbourhoods, communities and the wider world. (t

also encoura!es learnin! about the economy democratic institutions and values

different national, reli!ious and ethnic identities and the developoment of students$

abilities to reflect on issues and ta'e part in discussions. #The -ational Curriculum for

En!land&

A European dimension to citizenship

E citizenship !ives citizens of E member states the ri!ht to/

ove and reside freely within the territory of the E ember %tates.0ote and stand as a candidate at municipal elections in the ember %tates in which

they are residents, even those who live in ember %tates other than their own.

1etition the European 1arliament and apply to an ombudsman with complaints about

maladministration in the activities between the citizens and the European institutions.

2e protected in third countries where their own country is not represented. There they

are entitled to protection by the diplomatic or consular authorities of any E ember

%tate, on the same conditions as the nationals of other ember %tates.

Citizenship is often li'ened with identity. 1eople livin! in Europe, whether inside or

outside the E, mi!ht describe themselves as Europeans. There is, however, no clear

picture of what the identity of a European citizen is. 3iven the cultural, ethnic and

lin!uistic variety of Europe, any attempt to define European citizenship needs toinclude the notion of diversity. %pea' Out4 on European citizenship encoura!es an

open discussion around the meanin! of European citizenship, and how active

citizenship can be practiced at a local, re!ional, national and European level.

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This website is endorsed by De5fchild (nternational

%pea' Out4 is supported by the 6 Office of the European 1arliament

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%pea' Out4 on European citizenship provides a forum where youn! people can share

their views and opinions, whatever they are, on issues that matter to them. %pea' Out4

on European citizenship is a strictly non+partisan pro7ect. (t does not propose to ta'e a

stand in the pro8anti debate around the E. The views of participants are, of course,

their own and do not necessarily represent the view of the (nstitute for Citizenship or

its sponsors.

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