EU-CITZEN establishes a new Academic Network on European Citizenship Rights aimed at providing the European Commission with the best independent scholarly knowledge and advice on Citizenship of the Union rights and related policies, and their implementation in EU Member States and other third countries of relevance. EU-CITZEN brings together a network of academic and research institutions and a Brussels-based think tank, along with a pool of national experts. Find more about EU-CITZEN here.
In context of the EU-CITZEN project, ITEM has carried out two research reports.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictive measures it brought to freedom of movement have, in some instances, exacerbated the obstacles already experienced in border regions. The present contribution seeks to analyse the effects of measures taken in light of the COVID-19 pandemic specifically on cross-border regions. Particular attention is devoted to assessing the proportionality of measures taken to combat the spread of COVID-19 in light of the intensity of cross-border life and work mobility.
Political participation of persons with disabilities: Update of the 2018 report
Member States have taken a variety of measures to facilitate the democratic inclusion of persons with disabilities. However, due to the varying approaches, the level of access to participate in elections differ between Member States. There are differences in, for example, the right to vote and stand as a candidate; the degree of accessibility of information and physical barriers at the polling stations; the existence of alternative methods of voting such as postal or electronical voting; and whether voting is available outside the polling stations, for example at a hospital or at home. These issues were already examined in 2018, when the first version of this research was conducted by Dr Andrea Broderick. In the meantime, the COVID-19 pandemic spread over the borders of Asia to Europe and other continents within few weeks of the end of 2019, enormously changing the way of life in Europe and all over the world, including the closure of borders and the possibilities of taking part in political meetings and electoral gatherings.
