Citizenship of the European Union

Since the Maastricht Treaty, the European Union took a more socio-political stand, contrasting with the original idea of an economic community. The TEU and TFEU introduced the concept of European citizenship: a ‘People’s Europe’. The content of EU citizenship is however ambiguous: is it the primary legal status for Member States' nationals or is it supplemental or residual? The answer lays probably in between: it does not yet displace the centrality of national citizenship as EU citizenship is derived from the nationality of a Member State and EU law does not regulate conditions under which a Member State confers nationality.

Articles 21-25 TFEU elaborate on the rights summarized in Arts. 20(2)a-d. Those rights have had an impact on the existing body of EU law, including the Directive 2004/38 which implements some aspects of the Treaty provisions on citizenship. The Directive created a single legal regime for free movement and residence within the context of citizenship while maintaining the acquired rights of workers. The Directive discusses it several contexts:

the initial 3-month period of residence
the general right of residence
the right of permanent residence
the reduction in formalities required for entry and residence
the general right to equal treatment (to all EU citizens)

Art. 20 TFEU created an autonomous and directly effective right of movement and residence.

Art. 20 changed the previous legal situation: it created the autonomous and directly effective right of movement and residence, regardless of whether the person concerned falls within any of the previously existing EU law status category (worker, former worker, job-seeker, protected family member) as well as other categories: students, retired workers, and catch-all category of non-economically active citizens.