A programme promoting the citizens' active participation
By Decision 1904/2006/EC of 12 December 2006 the European Parliament and the Council adopted the "Europe for Citizens" Programme for the period 2007-2013, which put into place the legal framework to support a wide range of activities and organisations promoting „active European citizenship' and therefore the involvement of citizens and Civil Society Organizations (hereafter CSOs) in the process of European integration.
General objectives of the programme:
- giving citizens the opportunity to interact and participate in constructing an ever closer Europe, which is democratic and world-oriented, united in and enriched through its cultural diversity, thus developing citizenship of the European Union;
- developing a sense of European identity, based on common values, history and culture;
- fostering a sense of ownership of the European Union among its citizens;
- enhancing tolerance and mutual understanding between European citizens respecting and promoting cultural and linguistic diversity, while contributing to intercultural dialogue.
The Programme has an overall budget of 215 million euro for the seven years (2007-2013).
Within the "Europe for Citizens" Subprogramme the aim is to bring together people from local communities across Europe to share and exchange experiences, opinions and values, to learn from history and to build for the future. It encourages meetings, exchanges and debates among European citizens from different countries and through different means: Town Twinning and Citizens’ Projects and Support Measures.
The details of the programme can be found here.