EU Citizenship: Rights, Scope, and Development
Citizenship of the European Union was introduced by the Treaty of Maastricht in 1992 and is now governed by Articles 18–25 TFEU. It confers a range of rights on nationals of Member States, supplementing rather than replacing national citizenship. Every person holding the nationality of a Member State is automatically an EU citizen. The status has been progressively elaborated by the Court of Justice of the European Union, which has treated it as “destined to be the fundamental status of nationals of the Member States” (Grzelezyk v Centre Public d’Aide Sociale d’Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Case C-184/99). EU citizenship embodies the individual dimension of European integration, transforming the relationship between the Union and the nationals of its Member States.
The Right to Move and Reside Freely
Article 21 TFEU grants every EU citizen the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States, subject to the limitations and conditions laid down in the Treaties and implementing measures. Directive 2004/38/EC codifies the exercise of this right, establishing a graduated system of residence rights. For stays of up to three months, citizens need only possess a valid identity document. For stays exceeding three months, economically inactive citizens must have sufficient resources and comprehensive sickness insurance not to become an unreasonable burden on the host state’s social assistance system. After five years of continuous legal residence, citizens acquire the right of permanent residence, which is no longer conditional on economic activity or resource requirements.
The CJEU has interpreted the right to reside broadly. In Grzelezyk, the Court held that a French student in Belgium who had become a burden on the Belgian social assistance system could not be automatically expelled. The Court introduced the proportionality test: Member States must assess whether the individual represents an unreasonable burden before taking an expulsion decision, and may not automatically refuse or terminate residence because the individual has recourse to social assistance. In Baumbast v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Case C-413/99), the Court held that the right of residence derived directly from Article 21 TFEU, even where the individual no longer satisfied the conditions of Directive 2004/38, provided the limitations and conditions of the Treaty were respected.
Electoral Rights
Articles 22(1) and 22(2) TFEU confer the right to vote and stand as candidates in municipal elections and European Parliament elections in the Member State of residence, under the same conditions as nationals of that state. Directive 93/109/EC (European Parliament) and Directive 94/80/EC (municipal elections) implement these rights, requiring only that the citizen be a national of another Member State and satisfy the same voting age and eligibility requirements as nationals. The rights facilitate integration by enabling citizens to participate in the political life of their host state, reinforcing the democratic legitimacy of the Union.
The right to vote in European Parliament elections in the Member State of residence rather than the state of nationality reflects the principle that the European Parliament represents the citizens of the Union as a whole, not the peoples of the individual Member States. Citizens must choose whether to exercise their voting rights in their state of residence or their state of nationality; dual voting is prohibited to prevent double voting and maintain electoral equality.
Diplomatic and Consular Protection
Article 23 TFEU provides that every EU citizen in the territory of a third country where the Member State of which he or she is a national is not represented is entitled to protection by the diplomatic or consular authorities of any other Member State on the same conditions as nationals of that state. This right reflects the principle of solidarity among Member States and ensures that citizens are not left without protection in third countries where their home state has no representation.
Council Directive 2015/637 implementing Article 23 TFEU establishes the practical arrangements for consular protection. Unrepresented citizens may request assistance in cases of death, serious accident or illness, arrest or detention, violence, and repatriation in emergencies. The right has been exercised in numerous contexts, including natural disasters, political crises, and consular assistance for detained citizens. Member States providing assistance may seek reimbursement from the citizen’s home state, but may not require prior authorisation from the home state before providing assistance.
The Right to Petition and Access to Documents
Article 24 TFEU confers the right to petition the European Parliament on any matter falling within the Union’s fields of activity that affects the petitioner directly. Petitions may be submitted individually or collectively and are examined by the Parliament’s Committee on Petitions. The right provides a direct channel of communication between citizens and the Parliament, enabling citizens to raise concerns about the application of EU law.
Article 24 also grants the right to apply to the European Ombudsman concerning instances of maladministration in the activities of EU institutions, bodies, offices, or agencies. The Ombudsman, appointed by the European Parliament, conducts inquiries on complaints and may make recommendations. The Ombudsman’s powers have been interpreted broadly to cover all institutions except the CJEU acting in its judicial role, and the office has become an important mechanism for ensuring administrative accountability.
Article 15 TFEU and Article 42 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights grant citizens a right of access to European Parliament, Council, and Commission documents, subject to public and private interest exceptions. Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 implements this right, requiring institutions to respond to access requests within specified time limits.
Citizenship and the Free Movement of Persons
The CJEU has extended the logic of citizenship beyond the economically active population that was the original focus of the free movement provisions. In Martinez Sala v Freistaat Bayern (Case C-85/96), the Court held that a Spanish national residing lawfully in Germany could rely on Article 18 TFEU (non-discrimination) to claim a child-raising allowance, even though her residence permit had expired, because she was an EU citizen lawfully resident. In Trojani v Centre Public d’Aide Sociale de Bruxelles (Case C-456/02), the Court held that a French national residing in Belgium under national law (not EU law) was entitled to social assistance under the non-discrimination principle, provided his residence was lawful under national law.
The citizenship provisions have also been applied to limit Member States’ power to expel citizens. In R (on the application of Bidar) v London Borough of Ealing (Case C-209/03), the Court held that a French student in the UK could not be excluded from student maintenance loans on the ground that he was not “settled” in the UK, applying the non-discrimination principle to the field of social advantages for students. The Court has recognised that EU citizenship requires a degree of financial solidarity between Member States in relation to the nationals of other Member States who have integrated into the host society.
Limitations and Contemporary Issues
The rights of EU citizenship are not absolute. Article 21 TFEU itself subjects the right to move and reside to “limitations and conditions laid down in the Treaties and by the measures adopted to give them effect.” Member States may restrict free movement on grounds of public policy, public security, or public health under Directive 2004/38. The CJEU has insisted that such restrictions be proportionate and based on the personal conduct of the individual, not on general preventive grounds.
The rights of EU citizenship depend on the nationality of a Member State. The Court confirmed in Rottmann v Freistaat Bayern (Case C-135/08) that while the determination of nationality is a matter for each Member State, Member States must have regard to EU law when depriving a person of nationality, particularly where the loss of nationality entails the loss of EU citizenship. The case establishes that EU citizenship rights constrain the exercise of national competences in nationality matters, reflecting the constitutional significance of the status.