| Rights | Examples |
| Right to stand for and vote in European Parliament elections | Each citizen of the European Union has the right to stand as a candidate and vote in elections to the European Parliament in the member state where he or she lives. For example: Marcus lives in Sweden, so he is allowed to stand as a candidate to become the Swedish Member of European Parliament (MEP). Click HERE for more information. |
| Right of free movement and residence in the territory of member states | Each citizen of the EU has the right to reside and move freely in the member state of his or her choice, as well as within the territory of all EU member states. This means that one can be a German citizen, live in Belgium, and work in Luxembourg. |
| Right to diplomatic protection in third countries (Non-EU countries) | Each citizen of the EU, when in a non-EU state where his or her own state has no diplomatic representation, has the right to the diplomatic protection of any other EU member state. This means that a citizen of Latvia traveling in a country where Latvia has no embassies or consulates, can consult the embassy of France, or the embassy of any other EU country. |
| Right to petition the European Parliament | Each EU citizen has the right to petition the European Parliament. This also applies to legal residents in any EU member state. |
| Right to bring complaints before the European Ombudsman | Each EU citizen has the right to bring forth complaints to the European Ombudsman, if he or she feels that there is maladministration in the activities of the bodies and institutes of the European Community. |
| Right to information | Each EU citizen has the right of access to documents from the European Parliament, Council, and Commission. This allows each citizen to be informed about the activities of the European Union. |
| Right to address any of the EU’s institutions in any of the official languages, and to receive information in the same language | Each EU citizen has the right to address the institutions of the European Union in any official language of the EU, and to receive information in the same language. A citizen from Greece can write to the European Commission in Greek, and receive his response in Greek. (The EU has 24 official languages: Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish and Swedish. The European Union publishes information in all of these languages because it is the right of all citizens to receive documentation in the language of their choice. Click here for more information!) |
(Source: Charter of Fundamental Rights)