
Article 1 
The year 2013 shall be designated as the 'European Year of Citizens'.
Article 2 

1. The general objective of the European Year of Citizens shall be to enhance awareness and knowledge of the rights and responsibilities attached to Union citizenship, in order to enable citizens to make full use of their right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States. In this context, the European Year of Citizens shall also promote the enjoyment by Union citizens of the other rights attached to Union citizenship.
2. On the basis of paragraph 1, the specific objectives of the European Year of Citizens shall be:
(a) to raise Union citizens’ awareness of their right to move and reside freely within the Union and, in that context, of all other rights guaranteed to Union citizens, without discrimination, including their right to vote in local and European elections in any Member State in which they reside;
(b) to raise awareness among Union citizens, including young people, about how they can tangibly benefit from Union rights, as well as about policies and programmes that exist to support the exercise of those rights;
(c) to stimulate debate about the impact and potential of the right of freedom of movement and residence, as an inalienable aspect of Union citizenship, with a view to stimulating and strengthening active civic and democratic participation of Union citizens, in particular in civic forums on Union policies and European Parliament elections, thereby reinforcing societal cohesion, cultural diversity, solidarity, equality between women and men, mutual respect and a sense of a common European identity among Union citizens, based on the core values of the Union, as enshrined in the TEU and the TFEU and in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
Article 3 

1. The measures to be taken to achieve the objectives set out in Article 2 may include the following initiatives organised at Union, national, regional or local level:
(a) initiating information, media coverage, education and awareness-raising campaigns targeted at the general public and more specific audiences;
(b) exchanging information and sharing experience and good practices among Union, national, regional and local authorities and other public and civil society organisations;
(c) organising conferences, hearings, including by means of the internet, and other events to promote debate and raise awareness of the importance and benefits of the right of freedom of movement and residence, and more generally on the concept of Union citizenship and the rights attached to it;
(d) using the existing multilingual participatory tools to stimulate the active involvement of civil society organisations and of citizens in the European Year of Citizens, including such direct democracy tools as the citizens’ initiative and public consultations;
(e) strengthening the role and visibility of existing tools for informing citizens, including modern information and communication technology tools, such as the multilingual Europe Direct information centres and Your Europe web portal as key elements of a 'one-stop-shop' information system relating to Union citizens’ rights;
(f) strengthening the role and visibility of problem-solving tools, such as SOLVIT, in order to enable Union citizens to make better use of, and defend their rights, under Union law;
(g) providing Union citizens with information about the European Parliament's Committee on Petitions and the European Ombudsman in order to enable them to make better use of, and defend their rights under, Union law; and
(h) promoting the EU Citizenship Report, which is to be based on a thorough debate and active contributions by citizens and stakeholders, and which is to identify further obstacles preventing Union citizens from fully exercising Union citizenship rights and to promote appropriate strategies to remove those obstacles.
2. Details of the initiatives referred to in paragraph 1 are set out in the Annex.
3. The Commission and the Member States may identify other activities which could contribute to objectives of the European Year of Citizens set out in Article 2 and allow the name of the European Year of Citizens to be used in promoting those activities in so far as they contribute to achieving those objectives.
4. In the context of initiatives organised in the framework of the European Year of Citizens, consideration shall be given to identifying obstacles to the exercise of the rights by the Union citizens and to promoting appropriate ways and strategies to remove those obstacles, as well as to promoting inter-cultural understanding of discrimination and fighting against it. Synergies shall therefore be sought between those initiatives and existing tools and programmes in the field of fundamental rights, citizens’ rights, employment and social affairs, education and culture.
Article 4 

1. The Commission shall cooperate closely with Member States, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of Regions, as well as with local and regional authorities and with bodies and associations which represent local and regional interests.
2. The Commission shall convene meetings of representatives of European or civil society organisations, or bodies that are active in the field of citizenship and that defend citizens’ rights or promote education and culture, and other stakeholders, to assist the Commission in implementing the European Year of Citizens at Union level.
3. The Commission shall endeavour to exploit possible synergies between different thematic European years, by evaluating achievements, monitoring persistent gaps and providing statistical data, where appropriate, thus ensuring effective implementation of the aims of European years.
4. The Commission shall implement this Decision at Union level.
Article 5 

1. Measures which are Union-wide in nature, referred to in Part A of the Annex, shall give rise to a procurement contract or the award of grants financed from the general budget of the Union.
2. Measures which are Union-wide in nature, referred to in Part B of the Annex, may be subsidised by the general budget of the Union.
Article 6 
For the purpose of the European Year of Citizens, the Commission may cooperate with appropriate international organisations, in particular with the Council of Europe.
Article 7 

1. The Commission shall ensure that, where actions financed under this Decision are implemented, the financial interests of the Union are protected by the application of preventive measures against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities, by effective checks and by the recovery of the amounts unduly paid and, if irregularities are detected, by effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties. The Commission may carry out checks and verifications in situ under this Decision, in compliance with Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96. If need be, investigations shall be carried out by the European Anti-Fraud Office in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999.
2. For the Union actions financed under this Decision, the notion of irregularity referred to in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 shall mean any infringement of a provision of Union law or any breach of a contractual obligation resulting from an act or omission by an economic operator which has, or would have, the effect of prejudicing the general budget of the Union by an unjustified item of expenditure.
3. The Commission shall reduce, suspend or recover the amount of financial assistance granted for an action if it finds irregularities, particularly non-compliance with the provisions of this Decision or of the individual decision or contract granting the financial support in question, or if it transpires that, without Commission approval having being sought, the action has undergone significant change that conflicts with its nature or with its implementing conditions.
4. If the time limits have not been observed or if only part of the allocated financial assistance is justified by the progress made with implementing an action, the Commission shall request the beneficiary to submit observations within a specified period. If the beneficiary does not give a satisfactory answer, the Commission may cancel the remaining financial assistance and demand repayment of sums already paid.
5. Any amount unduly paid shall be repaid to the Commission. Interest shall be added to any sums not repaid in due time under the conditions laid down in the Financial Regulation.
Article 8 
By 31 December 2014, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the implementation, results and overall assessment of the initiatives provided for in this Decision. That report shall serve as a basis for future Union policies, measures and actions in this field. Pursuant to the experience of the European Year of Citizens, that report shall also present ideas and best practices on how better to inform citizens of their rights, even after the end of the European Year of Citizens.
Article 9 
This Decision shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Article 10 
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Strasbourg, 21 November 2012.
For the European Parliament
The President
M. SCHULZ
For the Council
The President
A. D. MAVROYIANNIS
ANNEX
As a guiding principle, the implementation of the European Year of Citizens will be built around a broad Union-wide information campaign which can be complemented by actions of the Member States. Union and national actions may also involve civil society, which has substantial experience in the field in question, and other stakeholders with a view to create ownership of all key actors. Implementation will be carried out through the following measures:

A. 
Financing will generally take the form of direct purchase of goods and services under existing framework contracts. Part of the financing can be devoted to the provision of linguistic services (translation, interpretation, multilingual information, sign language and Braille).

Information and promotion campaigns including:


— producing and disseminating audiovisual and print material which reflect the messages outlined in Article 2;
— holding high-visibility events and forums for exchanging experience and good practices;
— taking measures to publicise the results and raise the profile of Union programmes, schemes and initiatives contributing to the objectives of the European Year of Citizens;
— establishing an information website on Europa (http://europa.eu/index_en.htm) which is dedicated to the actions implemented in the context of the European Year of Citizens;
— including information on the European Year of Citizens in the newsletters, brochures, information material and websites of education institutions and associations, nongovernmental organisations and trade unions.

B. 
Union programmes, such as the 2007 to 2013 Europe for Citizens, could be used to co-finance activities under the European Year of Citizens. Other programmes, such as the 2007-13 specific programme ‘Fundamental Rights and Citizenship’ as part of the general programme "Fundamental Rights and Justice", will provide information about the rights of Union citizens as a priority criterion for projects.

C. 
The Union will grant non-financial support, including written authorisation to use the label, once developed, and other materials associated with the European Year of Citizens, to initiatives carried out by public or private organisations, in so far as they provide assurances to the Commission that the initiatives in question are or will be carried out during 2013 and are likely to make a significant contribution to achieving the objectives of the European Year of Citizens.
