A new Eurobarometer survey published by the European Commission shows that only 36% of respondents feel well informed about the rights that EU citizenship entails. Europeans are most familiar with their rights to free movement (88%) and to petition EU institutions (89%). Meanwhile two-thirds consider that free movement of people within the EU brings economic benefits to their country.

The European Commission published a new Eurobarometer on European Union citizenship which asked Europeans about their status and rights as citizens of the EU. According to the survey, 81% of respondents to the survey know that they are EU citizens on top of their own nationality. Overall, respondents were aware of most of their EU citizenship rights, including petitioning the EU institutions (89%), free movement (88%), non-discrimination on basis of nationality (82%), consular protection (79%) and participating in a Citizens’ Initiative (73%). Over a third of respondents (36%) felt well informed about these rights – this is up by 5 percentage points compared to 2007. In terms of free movement rights, an absolute majority in all 27 EU member states believe that this brings economic benefits to their country. On 9th of May 2012, Europe Day, the Commission launched the biggest ever EU public consultation on citizens' rights.

This Eurobarometer has been published 20 years after the birth of EU citizenship. Thanks to EU citizenship – which was introduced by the Maastricht Treaty in 1993 – all nationals of the EU Member States have a set of additional rights as EU citizens. These include the right to move and live freely in the EU, to vote and stand in local and European elections in the EU country they live in, the right to consular protection abroad under the same conditions as nationals when their own country is not represented and the right to petition the European Parliament, apply to the European Ombudsman and address the EU institutions.

The European Commission stressed that it is working to remove obstacles that EU citizens still face in their daily lives. For instance, the EU Citizenship Report 2010 outlined 25 concrete actions to empower EU citizens exercising their right to free movement in the EU. During the European Year of Citizens in 2013, the Commission will publish a second EU Citizenship Report, which will take stock of the 25 actions proposed in 2010 and will present further key actions for the future to remove remaining obstacles that hinder citizens from fully enjoying their rights as EU citizens.