The Common Background of Citizenship as the “Core” of European Federalizing Process. A comparison with the American Experience (original) (raw)

European Union citizenship in the federalist perspective

Polish Journal of Political Science, 2019

The article analyses the importance of the existence and func-tioning of European Union (EU) citizenship institutions for ma-terialization of federal concepts of European integration. In the first place, the evolution of this institution and legal foundations of its functioning have been analysed. The second part of the article is aimed at answering the question to what extent EU citizenship may be regarded as a federal institution. Then the issue of the importance of this institution for building political identity of Europeans should be considered.

Some Thoughts on Theorizing European Citizenship

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.

Which Citizenship? Whose Citizenship? The many paradoxes of EUropean citizenship

The three central theses of this article are as follows. First, “European citizenship” is an unhappy misnomer. Those holding the status of “European citizens” do enjoy a certain number of rights and have a number of obligations as European citizens. But such rights and obligations fall widely short of those proper of citizenship in a normatively demanding sense (or what is the same, in the sense that is proper of the Social and Democratic Rechtsstaat). So European citizenship is no citizenship. Second, the “gap” between European citizenship and citizenship in a normative sense has been customarily accounted by reference to the “embryonic” character of European citizenship. European citizenship will be a citizenship in the making. misnomer “European citizenship” is an increasingly dangerous one. Some of the rights that make up “European citizenship” do undermine the very ground on which citizenship (normatively demanding citizenship) rests. The economic rights that are a crucial component of European citizenship (the four economic freedoms as constructed by the European Court of Justice and applied by the European Commission) undercut the collective goods that constitute the backbone of the Social and Democratic Rechtsstaat. .. Third, it is urgent that European citizenship is redefined in line with the normative ideal of citizenship in the Social and Democratic Rechtsstaat.

The Promotion of 'SYMMETRICAL' European Citizenship: A Federal Perspective

Journal of European Integration, 2003

This paper contributes to the ongoing debate about symmetrical citizenship at the European level by searching out new areas for consideration, in particular the judicial politics of European citizenship. Using a federal comparative perspective, it sheds light on the potential role the European Court of Justice (ECJ) could play in promoting symmetrical citizenship through the comparison with the experience of the early United States and of its Supreme Court. This paper proceeds to discuss why the ECJ has not acted in a way similar to that of the US Supreme Court, and concludes by offering some recommendations for a possible role of the ECJ as a critical agent in the promotion of Union citizenship beyond the economic sphere.

The concept of European citizenship

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.

Citizenship in Europe: The Main Stages of Development of the Idea and Institution

Studia Europejskie - Studies in European Affairs, 2021

This paper identifies and synthetically demonstrates the most important steps and changes in the evolution of the idea and institution of citizenship in Europe over more than two thousand years. Citizenship is one of the essential categories defi ning human status. From a historical perspective , the idea of citizenship in Europe is in a state of constant evolution. Therefore, the essence of the institution of citizenship and its acquisition criteria are continually being transformed. Today's comprehension of citizenship is different from understanding citizenship in Europe in earlier epochs of history. In some of them, the concept of citizenship existed only in the realm of ideas. In others, the idea materialised, and membership in the state (or city) and civic rights and obligations found a formal, legal expression. The formation of the idea and institution of citizenship is a long and multi-phase process.

A New Citizenship? National and European Legal Identities from a Historical Perspective.

This is a report on the emerging notion of European citizenship, considered primarily as a legal status. It begins by surveying the current law of European citizenship and by reviewing recent discussions of this concept in the relevant legal and political literature. In particular, there is a focus on the relationship between what is today viewed as the traditional citizenship of a nation-state and the apparently new invention of a transnational European citizenship. Historical genealogies of both ideas provide the background for a broader case that European citizenship is a more coherent and less novel notion than previously thought, and that it is able to co-exist with continuing membership of a nation-state in a two-tier system. This argument draws inspiration from the continental Roman (civil) law tradition, which provides a historical parallel to contemporary developments. The report concludes with the proposition that, if the aim is to create a united European state, then it is necessary to increase the significance of European citizenship, which should become the primary status of citizens of the proposed union, yet exist side-by-side with a meaningful national citizenship in any final constitutional settlement.