Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Empowering businesses and citizens in Europe’s single market: an action plan for boosting Your Europe in cooperation with the Member States

The single market is a key driver for growth. This growth potential can only be unleashed, however, if businesses and citizens know and understand what rights and opportunities they have and are able to make effective use of them.

Your Europe offers practical and user-friendly information on EU rights in the single market, in 23 languages. Its target audience are citizens and businesses interested in exploring the many opportunities the EU has to offer them: people wanting to study, work, do business, travel, get healthcare or live abroad, as well as people staying at home but shopping on-line, looking for a bank account, for telecom services, etc.

People coming to Your Europe should find all the information they need to understand their EU rights and what it takes to exercise them in any Member State of the EU. Your Europe also aims to direct people to any further assistance or help they may need, as well as to relevant e-government services.

Your Europe was launched in 2005 and entirely revamped in 2010, in line with the Communication "Towards a Single Market Act" and the 2010 EU Citizenship Report on dismantling the obstacles to EU citizens' rights. As it is essential for people to find out about EU rights but also how to exercise them in a particular country, Your Europe is a joint project of the Commission and the Member States. The portal has become an important reference point for citizens and businesses. Its content is expanding continuously, and the number of visits it receives is steadily increasing, to about 16,000 visitors a day.

There is, however, more that can and should be done. Evidence shows that people are still in need of more and better information about their EU rights, in particular about what it takes to exercise rights at national level and in a cross-border context. In line with the 2012 Communication on Better governance for the Single market and in response to repeated calls from the European Parliament and the Council, this Action Plan sets out concrete measures to help overcome this gap.

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)636: Follow the progress of this communication through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:636:FIN

European Commission: Your Europe http://europa.eu/youreurope/

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