Towards a Citizenship of the European Union

1998

2006

The development of the EU citizenship concept within the current boundaries of the Union is incompatible with some of the terms of enlargement, namely the policy of transition periods, outlined in the Act of Accession. While the ECJ has tried to interpret EU citizenship as a 'fundamental status', the 2003 Act of Accession introduces limitations on the freedom of movement-a core citizenship right-thus undermining the European citizenship concept and the idea of equality for all Europeans. Unfortunately, this situation is made possible by the wording of Article 18 EC itself, which allows for conditions, thus opening the door for the creation of 'second class' citizens. This paper argues that the most recent enlargement offered an opportunity to bring about a new understanding of equality at the European level and give real meaning to the European citizenship concept, completing rather than undermining the achievements of the ECJ, and taking into account the lessons of previous enlargements. In light of this, the Articles of Accession represent a missed opportunity.

2006

The recognition of European citizenship by the Treaty on European Union (Treaty of Maastricht) introduced a novel legal institution into the European construction, hitherto unknown in international law. Its historical importance and nature will be analysed through different perspectives. The analysis of the structure of European citizenship reveals main advantages and disadvantages of the current concept. However, in its current form, it offers a very limited list of rights. Until recently, citizens’ rights were neglected and invisible at the level of the European Union. This is especially visible in the policies towards the candidate and accession countries, which are obliged to follow certain human rights standards in order to meet the conditions for membership. The importance and meaning of European citizenship for third country nationals has been emphasised over the last few years.

2020

EU member states have different nationality laws. Those with overseas dependencies control access there to European Parliament voting rights. Gibraltar and French Polynesia are two dependencies in which the existing situation is contested. Gibraltar's British citizens live on EU territory and therefore resent their exclusion from European elections. French Polynesia on the other hand is outside the European Union. Its citizens regard voting for the EP as at best irrelevant; its leaders wish to create a category of French overseas citizenship exclusive of European voting rights. This article compares the two situations and suggests some possible solutions.

3 Romanian Journal of Political Science, 2003, pp. 71–97., 2003

The current development of the EU citizenship concept is incompatible with some of the terms of enlargement, namely the policy of transition periods, outlined in the Act of Accession. While the ECJ has tried to interpret EU citizenship as a 'fundamental status', the 2003 Act of Accession introduces limitations on the freedom of movement - a core citizenship right - thus undermining the European citizenship concept and the idea of equality for all Europeans. Unfortunately, this situation is made possible by the wording of Article 18 EC itself, which allows for conditions, thus opening the door for the creation of 'second class' citizens. This paper argues that the most recent enlargement offered an opportunity to bring about a new understanding of equality at the European level and give real meaning to the European citizenship concept, completing rather than undermining the achievements of the ECJ, and taking into account the lessons of previous enlargements. In light of this, the Articles of Accession represent a missed opportunity

Innovation - The European Journal of Social Science Research, 1999

The purpose of this contribution is to try to identify certain generic features of political order that would necessarily characterize any future Europe, and to try to draw some conclusions from them. Whether the idea of generic features of political order as such makes sense is far from clear. If, however, one introduces the additional, fairly reasonable consideration that any future Europe will give normative significance to the principle of democracy and invoke some form of liberal representative government, things become easier to handle. Henrik Kreutz's concern about the question of citizenship is well known. He was among the first thinkers advocating dual citizenship and thus granting rights to migrants. Henrik Kreutz's visions about a common Europe and his warnings against an imperialistic attitude in this respect are very challenging and an incentive for further research. Without going into depth on these questions this article might contribute to further discussions.

18(1) Columbia Journal of European Law, 2011, pp. 55–109

The reach of the law of the European Union (EU) is strictly limited. It only applies to the situations falling within its scope. Until very recently, in the case of EU citizens, in order to fall within this scope, a so-called “cross-border situation” was required – a demonstration that their situation had a Union dimension and was not confined to one of the Member States. This is no longer always the case. Under the new approach, it is the intensity of the Member States’ interference with the rights of EU citizens, and not the borders, which trigger the application of EU law. The consequences of the recent case law of the Court of Justice of the EU, including the Rottmann, Ruiz Zambrano, and McCarthy cases, which brought about this change, are truly groundbreaking. The new legal paradigm amounts to a tectonic shift in the border dividing the material scopes of the EU and the Member States’ legal orders, with clear implications for the status of EU citizenship and the sovereignty of the Member States. This article provides a first analysis of this fundamental development, discussing the reasons for, and the limits of the new approach as well as anticipating its consequences for a number of key elements of EU law, including citizenship, territory and the principle of equality. We are witnessing the creation of a real European citizenship by the Court.