The withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, which has now taken place, has highlighted, amongst many other aspects and issues, the importance of the status of Union citizenship and the free movement rights conferred by the Union legal order. Much of the debate, discussions and conflicts between the UK and the EU Member States during the negotiations were, indeed, based on this status and the limits on free movement rights that a withdrawal would cause. Many thousands of EU citizens living in the UK, and vice versa, are going to suffer some heavy changes to a freedom of movement that seemed, until recent times, hardly limitable. Needless to say, Brexit has had the effect also to “remind” EU citizens and Governments of rights that are often taken for granted and not taken into due consideration.

This exceptional event makes the book under review timely as it illustrates the importance of the status of EU citizenship in the construction of the EU and in the everyday life of EU citizens. This second edition also covers the major judgments of the Court of Justice since the first edition, for example Zambrano (Case C-34/09) and Rendón Marín (Case C-165/14).

The book is a detailed article-by-article commentary of Directive 2004/38, which gives the right to EU citizens to move to and reside in any Member State of their choosing and also regulates the legal status of nationals of the European Economic Area (EEA) states (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein). It has been written by two leading academics (Elspeth Guild and Steve Peers) and a member of the European Commission’s legal service (Jonathan Tomkin).

 

Each chapter offers an overview of the legislative background to the Directive’s provisions and also highlights the connections between specific provisions. Analysis of each provision takes into due consideration the case law of the Court of Justice and other European Commission soft law instruments.

The book is very practice-oriented, identifying issues likely to emerge in the application of Directive 2004/38 and provides views on dealing with such issues. This quality, together with the thorough research and analysis, makes the book the leading text on the EU Citizenship Directive and essential reading for academics and practitioners interested or involved in this area of law.

Reviewed January 2020

Head of the European Law Observatory