Free movement / public documents

Key points:

The EESC recommends the following:

• future simplification exercises with regard to public documents should target important public documents such as those relating to intra-EU mobility of workers or vulnerable persons such as persons with disabilities in so far that such public documents are not accounted for by other EU Directives;
• a citizen or a business should have the maximum degree of certainty with regard to the extent that public documents presented are exempted from all forms of legalisation or similar formality;
• in case of an official request with regard to reasonable doubt, the relevant authorities of the Member State where the document were issued, should explicitly inform the person or business on the reasons of why such a request is being made;
• a balanced system of accountability achieved through the carrying out of annual benchmarking by the EC directed to assess the extent to which MS are effectively implementing the proposal;
• the maximum period for a response under the administrative cooperation mechanism should be reduced to two weeks. This will send a strong message that the EU is truly making EU citizenship effective and that it is placing citizens at the heart of EU policies;
• the exchange and transmission of information and documents by MS pursuant to the proposal should reflect the EU’s principles with regard to data protection.

Other relevant EESC opinions:

• Opinion on the Internal Market Information System (IMI)
• Opinions on administrative cooperation

For more information please contact the INT Section Secretariat.