European citizenship and the protection of rights for European residents

Résumé du document

The Treaty on European Union, also called the Maastricht Treaty, created the European Union on 7 February 1992 and introduced the concept of a single European citizenship for its member states. Since the Treaty of the European Union, European citizenship has developed considerably, notably in the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam, which amended the Treaty of the European Union and included a number of issues related to citizenship and individual rights. But what have these developments created for Europe in terms of citizenship? In general, citizenship creates a sense of belonging and even attachment to a place while giving rights to citizens. These rights can take the form of both social and political rights. Espen D.H. Olsen says that citizenship is of four parts, membership, identity, rights, and participation.

Extraits

[...] The member states that belong to the European Union do automatically give their citizens the benefits of European citizenship; however, they must also respect the European citizenship of foreign citizens residing in their countries. The EU citizenship may give rights that the member states do not grant and do not wish to grant. For example, the right to free movement goes against national sovereignty. European citizenship rights do not have to be aligned with national interests. The purpose of EU citizenship is to give rights to citizens of the European Union residing in other member-states. However, these nations would not always extend the European rights to their own citizens by choice. [...]

[...] Since the Treaty on European Union, European citizenship has developed considerably, notably in the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam, which amended the Treaty on European Union and included a number of issues related to citizenship and individual rights. But what have these developments created for Europe in terms of citizenship? In general, citizenship creates a sense of belonging and even attachment to a place while giving rights to citizens that it denies non- citizens. These rights can take the form of both social and political rights, and are frequently exclusive to citizens. Espen D.H. Olsen breaks citizenship into four pieces, for example: membership, identity, rights, and participation. [...]

[...] As such, it does not fairly protect rights for all European residents. Possible issues to consider for the future include the possibility of extending either rights or full European citizenship to full-time third-country residents and ensuring that the member states do not lose their national sovereignty. Bibliography “Citizenship and the European Community” de Elizabeth M. Meehan (20 mai 1993) “Limits Of European Citizenship: European Integration And Domestic Immigration Policies” de Maarten P. [...]

[...] European Citizenship Creates a Stronger European Identity European citizenship may also create a stronger European identity that can then protect European residents. The European identity may become stronger than the national identity if the European citizenship is linked to European identity if it does so European citizenship will become ever more important. It would be more meaningful to be a European citizen than it would to be a national citizen. Although this seems like a long shot at best, as the individual countries have so far seemed content to maintain European citizenship and identity as entirely separate from national citizenship, if this scenario ever does occur the European citizenship would be necessary to guarantee a full set of rights because the European identity would take precedence over the national one. [...]

[...] In fact, citizenship for the European Union has been criticized as “passive and rights based as opposed to active and duties oriented.” This is not necessarily a bad type of citizenship to have as European citizenship, however, since it works in accordance with national citizenship. National citizenship, especially in Europe, often takes a strongly political orientation. European citizenship may not need to give political rights to foreigners, disregarding the previous statement that they can participate in local elections, since they can participate actively in their own national governments. The national state does not lack for political rights, so the “passive and rights based” European citizenship enhances the social rights for European citizens. [...]