The European Parliament,

-having regard to its resolution of 22 November 1990 on Parliament's strategy for European UnionOJ No. C 324, 24.12.1990, p. 219,

-having regard to its resolution of 12 December 1990 on the constitutional basis of European UnionOJ No. C 19, 28.1.1991, p. 65,

-having regard to its resolution of 12 April 1989 adopting the Declaration of fundamental rights and freedomsOJ No. C 120, 16.5.1989, p. 51,

-having regard to its numerous resolutions on the matter, in particular the resolution of 16 November 1977 on special rights to be granted to citizens of the European CommunityOJ No. C 299, 12.12.1977, p. 26 and that on the memorandum on adhesion to the European convention on human rights and fundamental freedoms of 29 October 1982OJ NO. C 304, 22.11.1982, p. 253,

-having regard to the proposals put forward by the Member States and the Commission in connection with the Intergovernmental Conference on European Union, and the general report tabled by the Presidency of the Conference on Political Union,

-having regard to the motion for a resolution on Community citizenship (B3-1680/90),

-having regard to the interim report of the Committee on Institutional Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Citizens' Rights (A3-0139/91),

A.having regard to the urgent need for Parliament to spell out and lay down the proposals it will make to the Intergovernmental Conference on Political Union on the question of citizenship and to the need to probe more deeply into this essential aspect of European integration,

B.having regard to the close link that exists between a new form of citizenship and the developing European Union and to the fact that the two must advance and be expanded in parallel,

C.whereas further progress in European integration can be brought about only on democratic bases and whereas it is therefore essential to alter the balance of power between the institutions and their relationship with the citizens of the Union to faciliate their effective participation in decision-making on matters concerning them,

D.whereas citizenship, and the bond inherent therein, must necessarily be subject to criteria for acquiring and forfeiting it and whereas those criteria may, for the time being, be made to tally with the conditions under which the nationality of the different Member States may be acquired or is forfeited,

E.whereas Community citizenship is at all events to be regarded as additional to nationality of a Member State and whereas the rights and obligations attaching to it will apply in addition to the rights and obligations existing at national level,

F.whereas, however, Community citizenship must be defined as a concept in itself and in such a way as to constitute a genuine form of status, deriving from full recognition and protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all persons, as defined in the European Convention on Human Rights, both as individuals and in social units, in particular the family,

G.whereas the concept or status of citizen implies the following essential conditions:

-government must derive its legitimacy from a mandate given by citizens, and, in particular, laws must stem from institutions democratically elected by citizens;

-the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all persons must be respected and guaranteed, inter alia in the courts; social, economic, political and cultural rights must be recognized and properly protected;

-the banning of all discrimination on grounds of race, creed, political and trade union views, sex, nationality or any other personal situation;

-citizens must, in their own right, enjoy specific rights - including political rights - vis-à-vis the institutions of the Community and each of the Member States; those rights must enjoy full protection of the courts in the Member States and, by extension, at Community level;

-vis-à-vis third countries, citizens must be accorded full protection by the Community as a whole and each of the Member States as well as by the state of which they are nationals,

-with a view to protecting these rights vis-à-vis the Community institutions and each of the Member States and in relations with third countries, all citizens must have the option of lodging a complaint with a European institution,

H.whereas in a multiracial society, as the Community is becoming to an increasing extent, resident aliens must be accorded not only fundamental rights and freedoms, but also the rights required in order to carry on an economic, occupational, or social activity under the terms of the applicable provisions and the civil and political rights and guarantees essential to enable the human personality to find fullest expression,

I.whereas Union citizenship may be based on the sense of solidarity with and belonging to a Community in which the different cultures of the peoples therein are brought together, fostered and safeguarded and the common values and interests shared by European citizens are recognized,

J.whereas while the proposals from the Spanish Government and the Commission highlight major aspects of union citizenship and are essential for European integration, they do not provide an adequate basis for establishing the status of full citizenship,

K.whereas the articles relating to citizenship contained in the general draft submitted by the Presidency of the Conference on Political Union do not in fact institute Union citizenship but simply set out a number of special rights of a partial nature, the effective exercise of which is subject to unanimous intergovernmental agreement or, in the case of the right of petition, interinstitutional agreement,

L.whereas, despite decades of well-established Community case law and the European Parliament's particular interest in this area culminating in the Declaration of April 1989, the general draft forwarded by the Presidency of the Conference on Political Union completely ignores these developments in respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms and simply refers to the European Convention and national legislation,

M.taking the view that refusal to establish Union citizenship demonstrates a political refusal to make its citizens and respect for their rights the central concern of the Union and, on the contrary, a determination to maintain and further develop an intergovernmental system with a heavy bureaucratic bias,

1.Considers it essential that a list of human rights and fundamental freedoms, based on that adopted by Parliament on 12 April 1989OJ No. C 120, 16.5.1989, p. 51, be enshrined in the Treaties, applied to all persons and suitably protected by law; to this end, undertakes to draw up this list, in due cooperation with the parliaments of the Member States, to be submitted for final approval by the parliaments;

2.Calls for Union citizenship to be established and enshrined in the Treaties in a separate title;

3.Calls for nationals of the Member States to be considered Union citizens in every respect and for the Treaties to make citizens directly responsible for exercising their basic rights of citizenship;

4.Considers that the Union, in pursuing its own objectives, should set itself the fundamental aim of facilitating the exercise and development of citizen's rights and fulfilment of their duties, in parallel with progress toward the achievement of European Union;

5.Points out once again the need for social rights to be fully recognized and respected on the basis of a substantial widening of the proposals contained in the Social Charter, and protected in accordance with the relevant international agreements, especially the declaration by the Council of Europe; stresses in particular the right of citizens to equal opportunities and full development of their potential within their habitual surroundings; stresses the importance of equality between men and women;

6.Stresses that attainment of this objective requires Community initiatives in the form of active policies defined and implemented in collaboration with the Member States;

7.Calls for citizens to be given complete freedom to take part in the political life of Member States and the Union, by joining associations, political parties, or trade unions, or in any other way compatible with respect for fundamental rights and freedoms;

8.Calls for every citizen to be granted the right to vote and stand for election in European elections in the Member State where he lives or, if he so prefers, in his country of origin, subject to conditions to be laid down in a uniform electoral law;

9.Renews its request that, subject to the appropriate conditions, citizens living in a state other than their country of origin should be granted the right to vote in local elections, as should all resident aliens;

10.Requests that no law may be imposed on citizens by the Community institutions without the consent of the appropriate elected representatives;

11.Calls for the free and unlimited right of movement and residence in the territory of the Union for all citizens, and all persons residing legally in the Community, and for the last vestiges of discrimination, in particular on grounds of nationality, to be outlawed;

12.Calls for all activities having a bearing on the freedom of citizens and persons in general, in particular those related to internal security, and entering and leaving Community territory, to be made subject to the proper degree of parliamentary control; calls in particular for the police and judicial cooperation agreements concluded to provide a counterpart to free movement, including the right of residence, to be made part of Community law and for the provisions concerned, as well as their implementation, to be governed by acts of parliament, subject to parliamentary control and suitably protected by law;

13.Calls for citizens to be guaranteed fair, transparent and efficient administration;

14.Calls for citizens to be guaranteed diplomatic protection, where appropriate, not only by their country of origin but also by the other Member States of the Union;

15.Calls for resident aliens to be granted the rights required in order to carry on a lawful economic occupational or social activity, and for any form of discrimination to be prohibited and subject to sanctions once they have been given permission to exercise such activities;

16.Calls for the concept of 'persons residing legally in the Community' to be clearly defined;

17.Calls in addition for resident aliens and citizens to be given recognition of the rights, freedoms and guarantees essential to enable the human personality to find fullest expression, as an individual or within a social, in particular, family unit;

18.Stresses the need for the rules laid down by the Community and its Member States on freedom of movement for persons to take special account of the extreme poverty affecting several million Community citizens (the 'Fourth World') and preventing them from exercising their social and political rights including freedom of movement and establishment.

19.Calls on its appropriate committee to probe more deeply into the specific questions of acquiring and forfeiting citizenship, electoral rights, and the rights and obligations of residents other than citizens;

20.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Intergovernmental Conferences, and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.