European and national citizenship : compatibility or mutual exclusivity?

Abstract

Following the ratification of the Treaty of Maastricht of 1992, nationals of the European Union Member States were conferred the additional legal status of European Union Citizens, meaning that they were, as from then, the beneficiaries of a number of political and economic rights, namely 1. the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States, 2. the right to vote and to stand as a candidate at municipal elections and in elections to the European Parliament in the Member State in which they reside under the same conditions as nationals of that state, 3. the right to enjoy the protection by the diplomatic or consular authorities of any Member State, on the same conditions as the nationals of that state, and the right to petition the European Parliament and to apply to the Ombudsman appointed by the European Parliament. This thesis establishes that National and European Citizenship are not, in fact, mutually exclusive. Moreover, it also analyses the various rights conferred to the different categories of persons residing in the European Union, and the basing of European Citizenship on the prerogative of Member State nationality, with the result of excluding many millions of third country residents who contribute to the European Union economy and evolution in the same way as the "citizens". A case is made for the abolition of such requirement, and for the progression of European Citizenship into a status that is separate from that of Member State nationality that will allow a more inclusive, democratic and efficient European Union.