EU Commission seeks views on how to simplify cross-border rights rules
The European Commission is seeking ‘real-life experiences’ of the obstacles citizens face in areas such as employment, travel or consumer protection within the EU, to propose changes to legislation on cross-border rights.
The initiative targets administrative procedures affecting people who move across the EU borders, such as pension transfers or inheritance, studying abroad, data portability, civil proceedings, family rights, and access to financial services. It also aims to increase public awareness of existing rights and tools, such as the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).
The EU executive said in a ‘call for evidence’ that it intends to reduce the ‘administrative burden’ associated with EU policies with “a direct impact on the daily lives of citizens”.
Comments, which can be sent anonymously and in all 24 EU languages, can be submitted by 19 June. A Communication outlining legislative plans is expected towards the end of the year.
The move is part of the Commission’s ‘omnibus’ programme for legislative simplification, which also concerns environmental and digital rules, as well as provision for the agri-food, chemicals and automotive industries.
“The initiative will benefit EU citizens and people legally residing in the EU, ensuring that they can fully benefit from the single market when acting in their capacity as private individuals, without facing disproportionate administrative or legal barriers, in particular in cross-border situations,” says the call for evidence.
“In the EU, cross-border issues are an integral part of people’s daily lives,” the document adds, because many travel to or reside, work or study in another Member State, have family members or property or interactions with public authorities in other EU countries, or buy products and services from elsewhere in the single market.
The Commission looks for views from citizens, civil society organisations and other interested parties on where “further simplification is needed” and how to make it easier for people to exercise their rights.
Contributions are especially requested on problems faced in everyday situations, and ways to resolve them, the Commission says.
Among the comments already received at the consultation page, one person pointed at the fact that “there is no European register number to identify oneself in any country.”
“For many people legally residing in the EU, the real burden is not always too much law. It is often the gap between the law on paper and the lived reality of trying to work, move, and build a stable life across Europe,” said one of the contributors. “In practice, jobseekers still face age bias, location-based screening, weak relocation support, opaque hiring processes, salary compression, and inconsistent enforcement,” added the comment.
Another respondent said the EU should “facilitate access to dual nationality for European citizens who live in a country other than that in which they were born but still in the European Union.”
The consultation is available here.
Claudia Delpero, Europe Street News © all rights reserved
Image by Dmitrii E. on Unsplash
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