Beyond being Maltese, as EU citizens we get to enjoy lots of perks we often take for granted or simply don’t know about. And yes, travelling with your ID card is certainly a breath of fresh air, but it barely scratches the surface of the benefits table. Here are our top nine picks. 

1. You get free or reduced healthcare costs across the board

Keep your E111 card handy at all times. Also known as the European Health Insurance Card, it can save you a buttload of fees should you need medically-necessary state-provided emergency care while travelling in the European Economic Area and Switzerland too! You get all the benefits of the people insured in that country of travel, including cost and conditions. 

2. Food labelling is a must

In an age where we’re all that little bit more conscious of what we’re putting in our bodies, clear food labelling has never come at a better time. EU legislation now establishes citizens’ rights to access to safe food with honest and informative labelling, ensuring that consumers can make informed choices on what to buy and eat. 

3. Bye, roaming charges, bye

This one may be old news by now, but using your mobile phone while travelling to other EU countries just got a whole lot easier! Additional roaming charges are now a thing of the past – making calls, sending an SMS and using data service all come at the exact same tariffs as the ones you get back home. And if that’s not enough, MEPs are even looking into cheaper international phone calls, meaning you’ll be able to call that one pen-pal you had back in primary school without a ridiculously high tariff. 

4. Working rights are a must

As an EU national you not only have freedom to work in, search for a job, or even retire in other EU countries – you are also protected by strict health and safety regulations, entitled to equal pay, and freedom from discrimination against gender, age, race, sexual orientation, religion and disability. Current EU legislation also mandates a minimum of 14 weeks of maternity leave, of which 2 weeks are mandatory, as well as varying legislation on paternity and parental leave across different states. 

5. You’re welcome to all EU embassies

Consular protection comes along with the EU citizen package, making you a welcome guest in all EU embassies. If you need help while travelling, and do not have access to your country’s embassy, you can visit an embassy of a separate EU country and be granted the same rights and protection as nationals of that embassy. 

6. Its circular economy is helping you and the environment

In the age of being woke, after striving for dropping Europe’s overall carbon footprint, the European Parliament is now pushing a circular economy. This means doing away with the old style of take-make-use-dispose and instead pushes for systems that embrace reusing, recycling, repairing and repurposing. In this way, your products have extended life, raw material use drops, and waste levels are decreased – the long-term aim being to move away from large scale systems of waste disposal and do away with places like the old Magħtab landfill once and for all. 

7. There are a bunch of volunteering and training programmes to sign up for

Platforms like ERASMUS+ allow us to emphasise European cooperation and ensure that both students and staff get to experience training in institutions both locally and abroad. Besides, who doesn’t want an excuse to travel and dive into a whole new culture?

8. You can travel Europe for free!

As part of their #DiscoverEU campaign, the European Union is offering free Interrail tickets to 20,000 students on their 18th birthday! Interrail tickets are available to European citizens and allow unlimited travel across participating countries by train for a set period of time. 

9. You have a right to make your voice heard outside your own country

As EU citizens we have a right and duty to vote and participate in the political scene, both locally and at the EP level, wherever you may live in the European Union. With European Parliament elections just around the corner in 2019, it’s important to become aware of representatives (aka, the MEPs) that will represent you in EU matters – at the end of the day, they will be the voice for over 500 million people, and that includes you!

Any other benefits we’ve forgotten? Let us know in the comments section below!

Matthew Baldacchino

Self-titled resident SJW and expressionless in-house Head of Internal Marketing. Matt loves prepping vegan and vegetarian food, consumes way too much coffee, and has an unhealthy penchant for storyboarded Instagram Stories. When he's not trying to figure out social media policies, marketing strategies or cracking SEO conundrums, you can catch him as the host of Basically, Livestream Of Consciousness or Lovin Daily. Hit him up if you've got a story about the environment, arts and culture, health, politics and activism, or LGBTQI+ issues. He's also a doctor, but we don't talk about that.