2013 is the European Year of Citizens. This event marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of Union citizenship under the Maastricht Treaty that entered into force on 1 November 1993. As a consequence of this new legal status “constitutionalized” in the legal order of the European Union (EU) through its inclusion in the Maastricht Treaty, every person holding the nationality of an EU Member State is automatically a citizen of the European Union. It is worth recalling that EU citizenship does not replace national citizenship, but rather it confers upon all EU citizens an additional set of rights, guaranteed by the EU Treaties.
Despite the initial scepticism of many scholars and politicians, the last twenty years have seen a remarkable development of the citizenship of the Union. A key role in revealing the potential of Union citizenship has been played by the Court of Justice of the EU which has stated that EU citizenship is destined to be the fundamental status of Member States' nationals, enabling those who find themselves in the same situation to enjoy within the scope of the Treaty the same treatment in law irrespective of their nationality (see case C-184/99 Grzelczyk). Furthermore, the Court has stated that citizens are entitled to reside in another Member State purely as a consequence of their status of citizens of the Union, thus recognising EU citizenship as a source of free movement rights (see case C-413/99 Baumbast and R).
Also very important is the role played by the Treaty and EU legislature which should not be overlooked. In this respect, following the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the rights of EU citizens are specifically mentioned, in a non exhaustive list, in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). In addition, the right of EU citizens in third countries to enjoy protection by the consular and diplomatic authorities of all Member States is enshrined as a clear individual right in Article 20(2)(c) TFEU. Moreover, the Lisbon Treaty complements citizenship rights by introducing a new right, the Citizens’ Initiative. Finally, according to the preamble of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, the Union “places the individual at the heart of its activities, by establishing a citizenship of the Union and by creating an area of freedom, security and justice”.
Against this background, the release of Nascimbene and Rossi Dal Pozzo’s book could not be any timelier and is a most welcome addition to the expanding literature on EU citizenship. Moreover, the book does not limit the analysis to EU citizenship but also covers free movement rights. The analysis is delivered into five chapthers that can be divided into two parts.
The first part (chapters 1 and 2), written by Professor Nascimbene, is devoted to EU citizenship. In chapter 1, after presenting the evolution of the concept of EU citizenship, the author provides the readers with an overview of the main features of the Union citizenship (such as the acuisition and loss of it) and of the competences of EU institutions and Member States in the field. Chapter 2 provides an overview of the rights conferred by the legal status of EU citizen. Among the many rights discussed in this chapter, worth mentioning here is the new right introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, the Citizens’ Initiative, which enables one million citizens to invite the Commission to bring forward legislative proposals.
The second part (chapters 3 to 5), due to Francesco Rossi Dal Pozzo, deals with free movement of citizens under different angles. In chapter 3, which is one of the most interesting and challeging chapters of the book, the author provides an overview of free movement and residence rights in the light of EU citizenship. This is a particularly sensitive topic on which the Court of Justice has delivered some of its most controversial judgments in recent years (such as case C-34/09 Ruiz Zambrano and case C-434/09 McCarthy). Chapter 4 focuses on free movement and migrant workers. Particular attention is given to the Court of Justice case-law concerning migrant workers’social security. The final chapter 5 deals with free movement and residence rights of EU family members.
Although the level of analysis in general is not too detailed, the authors have managed to provide, in a mere 228 pages, an informative and comprehensive overview of a complex subject keeping the style of writing highly readable. This makes the book ideal for students. However it is warmly recommended also to practitioners and academics as it gives a very clear update of the state of the case-law on the subject and provides some ideas for further analysis.
Riccardo Sciaudone
Head