Free movement obstacles and their influence on political participation of EU mobile citizens

Target group: Civil Society Professionals, Civil Servants, Citizens

Year: 2018 – 2019

Subject: Freedom of Movement and related rights

The objective of the focus groups was to explore the link between free movement obstacles encountered by EU mobile citizens and their political participation in local and EU elections in selected Member States. The focus groups also identified best practices for political participation.

Based on the outcomes of the focus groups, a synthesis report was developed. This provided an overview of the obstacles to free movement and their effect on the exercise of political rights in the EU28, with a special focus on the six Member States where the focus groups took place. It also generated recommendations for local, national and EU stakeholders.

ECAS chose the countries for the focus groups based on the following criteria:

• Member States with the lowest percentage of EU citizens registered to vote in municipal elections EU cities,
• Member States with the largest share of EU mobile citizens in their population.

This identified the following cities: Brussels, Dublin, Athens, Luxembourg, Paris and Lisbon. Four of the focus groups took place in 2018 (Brussels, Dublin, Athens, Lisbon), while the remaining two were held in January 2019 (Luxemburg and Paris).

You can read the full report here.