1. Ufficio Cittadinanza Europea: Activities

2. Ufficio Cittadinanza Europea The mission of the Ufficio Cittadinanza Europea is:  To communicate Europe to its citizens, promoting the knowledge and exercise of their rights, obligations, opportunities of membership, and strengthening the sense of European identity  To promote educational initiatives aimed at officials of the PA European issues  To promote partnerships, twinning projects, and technical assistance on matters of European interest  To operate the Solvit service to assist citizens

3. RECIPIENTS The targets of the Office of Citizenship are: 1. Citizens 2. Students (schools of all levels and universities) 3. Officials of both central, regional, and local government

4. INSTRUMENTS  Management partnership It is an instrument of inter-institutional cooperation between member state governments, the European Commission, and the European Parliament to carry out activities in the fields of European information and communication  Agreements with institutions and public and private institutions With the MIUR, to educate young people on European citizenship and strengthen the younger generation’s sense of European identity With SSPAL (School of Local and Public Administration) to carry out training courses on issues of European interest addressed to Municipal and Provincial Secretaries, Directors and Executives of Local Authorities Under the MFA, to finance scholarships for Italian citizens selected for the College of Europe in order to indirectly promote the representation of Italian citizens in EU Institutions

5. The Communication Plan for 2011 proposes the following areas: The future of Europe and the Lisbon Treaty: "A new Treaty for Europe: The Treaty of Lisbon” The crisis and development: reforms of the EU to address the crisis PA in Europe: the gap on European issues Meetings with MEPs: initiative in cooperation with the Commission and Parliament. Information campaign for European elections Europe and opportunities for young people: ›"The young journalists in Europe" ›"Lessons for Europe" on economic issues, food security and citizenship The European Year of Creativity and Innovation European democracy and citizens, Europe Day May 9th Education of Fundamental Rights Advantages of the single market: communication campaign of the benefits of the Single Market COMMUNICATION

6. One of the most important activities of the Ufficio Cittadinanza is informing young people about the opportunities the EU has to offer: Studying in Europesmartstudent.it Working in Europe EPSO competitions Background Information The Department has also created the site Vivieuropa (www.vivieuropa.it) designed as a portal with the websites of European public administrations, Italian and European institutions.

7. TRAINING The training activities are aimed at public employees, and include initiatives for:  teachers and school leaders (and indirectly to students)  staff of central government  local authority staff

8. TRAINING Training activities > The online course “Cittadini italiani, funzionari europei”, targeting leaders of PCM > Training activities, information on Directive Services and transposition measures directed at state and regional staff of the PA territories, (2006/123/EC), in collaboration with Formez > A course on "The participation of regional and local authorities in the process of European integration", made with the SSPAL and addressing the staff of the territorial PA > A Master's Degree in "Expert on EU funding”, in collaboration with the Universities of Rome (La Sapienza, Tor Vergata, Roma Tre and LUISS) > Support for Italian citizens selected for the College of Europe through scholarships and prizes > Support for Italian citizens who intend to pursue careers in the EU institutions, through informational activities, in particular those relating to new EPSO competition > Implementation of the initiative EUROPE = US

9. TRAINING Partnerships and twinnings The Department, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a National Contact Point for all activities related to community programs with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, promotes and participates in administrative staff twinning or "Twinnings" with the candidate countries to join the EU. The aim of the twinning projects is the transfer of acquired know-how and to ensure development of modern and efficient administrations in recipient countries. The activities are fully financed by the EU.

10. SOLVIT What is SOLVIT? SOLVIT is a network for solving online problems in which the Member States work together to solve practical problems caused by the misapplication of Internal Market rules by public administrations. SOLVIT is a free service. The SOLVIT office in Italy works at the European Policy Department of the Prime Minister.

11. SOLVIT The problems of citizens and enterprises that can be solved by SOLVIT include: Access to education and recognition of professional qualifications Residence permits and Border Control Electoral rights Social Security Registration of vehicles Employment rights Market access for goods and services Public procurement Taxation Right of establishment as self-employed or as a company Free movement of capital and payments

12. SOLVIT How does SOLVIT work? The local SOLVIT Centre considers requests from citizens in detail, to ensure that it relates to the misapplication of Internal Market rules and to prove that one has provided all the necessary information. The SOLVIT Centre should confirm within a week whether it accepts the case. The deadline for finding a solution to the problem is 10 weeks. The proposed solution will not necessarily be accepted, but can not be formally challenged through SOLVIT. If one is unable to find a solution, or the proposed solution is deemed unacceptable, one can begin legal proceedings before a national court or lodge a formal complaint to the European Commission.

13. WEB SITES www.politichecomunitarie.it www.vivieuropa.it