The EC has designated 2013 as the «European Year of Citizens» to mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the European Union Citizenship under the Maastricht Treaty. Major European civil society organizations and networks have joined their forces and created the EYC2013 Alliance to put forward proposals aimed at placing European citizenship at the heart of the EU political agenda. The European Year of Citizens it’s about engaging citizens on all sorts of topics, from questions regarding free movement and different rights to their expectations from the European Union. There is a real lack of knowledge amongst Europeans about what the EU does. The high visibility event organized by the DG Communication and EYCA served as a raising awareness event and an official launch of the Year. BCSDN activily participates in EYCA and is commited to raising awarness to the Pre-accession and Accesion countries of the European Year of Citizens.
