Joint consular protection to reinforce sense of ‘EU citizenship’

EUObserver reports on a new decision adopted by the European Commission, on 23 March 2011, through which EU citizens can have special rights if they get into trouble abroad.

The idea is part of broader guidelines on EU consular protection adopted by the Brussels executive on 23 March. Passports from twenty EU member states already advertise the fact that if your own country cannot help you while abroad, any other EU consulate you can get to is legally obliged to step in.

• Primary Source

European Commission: Memo/11/185: Reinforcing EU citizens' rights to consular protection and assistance in third countries – frequently asked questions http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/11/185&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

European Commission: Press release, 23.3.11, IP/11/355: EU to reinforce citizens' rights to consular protection and assistance in third countries http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/11/355&format=PDF&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

Website: European Commission: Consular protection for EU citizens http://ec.europa.eu/consularprotection/index.action

---