Citizenship and democracy : summary

2023 marks the 30th anniversary of the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty, which established the citizenship of the European Union. EU citizenship and the rights it confers lie at the heart of the EU. Any person who holds the nationality of a Member State is automatically also an EU citizen. EU citizenship is additional to and does not replace national citizenship of a Member State. In line with Article 25 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union, the European Commission reports every three years on progress towards effective EU citizenship. This year's report will take stock of developments in the area of EU citizenship since the last report was published in 2020. Securing free and fair elections and protecting democratic processes has also been a priority for the Commission's actions for years. The Commission President's new push for European democracy led in 2020 to the European Democracy Action Plan. In the 2022 State of the Union address, President von der Leyen announced a Defence of Democracy Package.