Our MAIN STRATEGY
ETTW : Overall Strategy
1. Millions of European citizens are today living and working in another
country than their own. About 14 million live in other EU countries.
And between 60 and 80 million live outside. The figures increase all
the time. It is more than 15 % of all European citizens
2. It is very important that these people have the possibility to continue
to take active part in the democratic life and activities in our
countries. This is an essential European value, which – of course –
should also be valid for citizens, who live outside their country of
3. This is not at all the case today.
4. ETTW is a pan-European organisation working to change that. Our
main aims are the following:
• To ensure that each citizen in the EU member states has the right
and the possibility to vote in the European elections every five years
• To work actively for the right of every European citizen to vote also
in national and regional elections – either in their country of origin
or in the country, where they stay
• To push for the possibility for dual (or multiple) citizenship in all
countries. Today it is possible in 21 out of 28 EU member states.
• To inspire and motivate expat communities in each country to
network and work closer together than is the case today
• To lobby for more practical support to Europeans living outside the
European Union – in addition to the consular protection, which
exists today for EU citizens
• To make a particular effort to help young European expatriats
wherever they are.
• To ensure that the possibility of complementary education is
extended to all children of EU expatriates, allowing them to
preserve the knowledge of their mother tongue and culture
• To work for the creation an active European emigration policy
(in parallel to the existing immigration policy) dealing with all
important challenges facing European citizens living outside the
5. ETTW is working for these strategic aims by:
• Enlarging its membership to important associations in all
European countries (national, regional and others working for the
same purposes). It is also possible to have individual members, esp.
in countries where no national association exists.
• Working closely with the different European institutions to make
our views well known, to collect and disseminate information
and get actively involved in events and initiatives of importance
to European expats. We are a member of the EU Transparence
Registry and are therefore automatically asked for our opinions
• Assisting its member associations in their work for our common
Niels Jørgen Thøgersen February 4, 2014
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