German politicians share 'EU passports' online

Pro-European lawmakers and Twitter users in Germany have been signaling their support for the European Union by posting their own versions of an EU passport.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, Justice Minister Katarina Barley and comedian Jans Böhmerman are among those who have posted their own images of a mock-up of the information page of a European passport.

The passport shows the person's name, date of birth and sex alongside a field listing their nationality as "European."

Austrian band Bilderbuch began the initiative "#Europa22" on February 17, shortly after they released a song with the same name.

The song lyrics (roughly translated) describe the European project as "A life without borders / A way to spread freedom / A freedom, unthinkable / I better open my eyes."

The action comes ahead of European parliamentary elections in May. Mainstream parties fear they could endure losses to nationalist and euroskeptic parties, which have seen their support increase in many European countries in recent years.

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