THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS - underlines that free movement is a cornerstone for the EU's further economic and political development, opens professional and learning opportunities for EU citizens and creates closer bonds between Europeans and thus is a central element of Union citizenship; - observes that EU citizenship separates the concept of citizenship from the national state and shifts the emphasis from individual membership of a political community to residence, to equal protection of individual, political and social rights, and to free movement as a European citizen; - emphasises the importance of creating a real area of freedom, security and justice to serve citizens, in a world where people are more mobile, and notes that ensuring the smooth exercise by EU citizens of their right to free movement and residence is crucial, because it is the EU Treaty right which citizens value the most and see as the most important achievement of EU integration; - notes that the difficulties faced by EU citizens in exercising their rights are not so much due to a legislative deficit at European level as to issues of transposing and implementing legislation at national level and points out that regional and local authorities will be asked to play a key role in the participatory processes to be put in place, so as to implement a real bottom-up approach in which citizens can make a substantial contribution to defining EU policies that give positive effect to their rights; - commends the European Commission's proposal to use an e-training tool for local authorities to address the lack of knowledge of European citizens' rights at local and regional level and would like to work actively with the European Commission on designing and promoting this tool in the Member States; - calls on every single Member State to make it easier for their citizens to exercise the right to vote and right to stand as candidates in national elections, irrespective of whether they reside or are staying in the country in question and believes that the time is ripe to begin or continue dialogue on extending EU citizens' right to vote to include regional and national elections of the country of residence.