EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP

Comenius Regio SAVE EUPisa International Meeting

4th-6th February 2014

Flaviana Sortino-Liceo “A.Pesenti”-Cascina-Pisa

European Citizenship

European Societies

Jus Sanguinis

•Latin, right of blood

•Blood relationship is the basis for the determination of citizenship

•Citizen from birth are called natural-born citizens.

Different models of citizenship across Europe

Citizenship debate became a debate about who is entitled to belong to the national community

Germany: blood descent (jus sanguinis)

France: citizenship by birth (jus soli)

Italy: jus sanguinis

New concepts of citizenship

• Neo-liberal challenge – citizen is individual, not associated with social rights

• Emphasis on responsibilities rather than rights (active citizens)

• Emphasis on market society

Different kinds of citizenship in Europe

Variety of levels of citizenship:• Members of national community (passport)• Non-resident members of national community• EU nationals• Third country nationals• Favoured members of the national group• Guest workers• Students/ visitors• Business people• Refugees and asylum seekers• Illegal migrants

EU citizenship• EEC (European Economic Community) 1957 Treaty of Rome• Single Europe Act 1986 European Political community came into being

(European Community)• 1992 Treaty of Union (Maastricht Treaty) Established freedom of movement

for workers. Social policy started to come into being (European Union)• 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam consolidated EU and EC. Rights of citizens

included, European Parliament strengthened, common policy on immigration (for some countries) and on foreign policy and security

• 2000 Charter of Fundamental Rights• 2001 Treaty of Nice. Citizenship rights consolidated comprising:

dignity,freedom, equality, solidarity, justice

European Court of Justice becoming more and more important as rights established on a case-by-case basis (e.g. rights of non-workers)

Rights of EU citizen mainly those of nation state in reciprocal agreements, but these have been gradually enlarged.

Concepts of Citizenship: universalistic vs particularistic

• Universalistic model: human rights are universal. Habermas. Guaranteed by constitution. We should jettison particularistic affiliations and ally ourselves to the constitution “constitutional patriotism”

• Particularistic model: citizenship important part of construction of nation state and democracy (voting and participation). Also our sense of belonging. EU citizenship should be minimal with citizens constructed through national affilations.

• These views are in tension in the EU

3 Perspectives (Bellamy 2006)

• Liberals: citizenship as set of rights• Communitarians: citizenship as belonging

to a particular community• Republicans: citizenship as participation –

need for social capital and avenues of participation

• Cosmopolitan citizenship (Dellanty) which takes into account national differences within a universalistic framework.

EU citizenship• EEC (European Economic Community) 1957 Treaty of Rome• Single Europe Act 1986 European Political community came into being

(European Community)• 1992 Treaty of Union (Maastricht Treaty) Established freedom of movement

for workers. Social policy started to come into being (European Union)• 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam consolidated EU and EC. Rights of citizens

included, European Parliament strengthened, common policy on immigration (for some countries) and on foreign policy and security

• 2000 Charter of Fundamental Rights• 2001 Treaty of Nice. Citizenship rights consolidated comprising:

dignity,freedom, equality, solidarity, justice

European Court of Justice becoming more and more important as rights established on a case-by-case basis (e.g. rights of non-workers)

Rights of EU citizen mainly those of nation state in reciprocal agreements, but these have been gradually enlarged.

Your rights as an EU citizen

“Citizenship of the Union shall complement and not replace national citizenship” (Article 17 Maastricht)

1. Right to residence and free movement2. Right to vote or stand in local and European

elections (not national ones)3. Right to diplomatic and consular protection in a

third country4. Right to petition European parliament, right to

Ombudsman and EU institutions in your own language.

Case study: youth

• Young people have different rights to adults – but messy transition between youth and adulthood (sexual rights, voting, economic rights, property, smoking, drinking, driving car, joining army etc.)

• Different rights in different countries and even within different countries

• Attempt to create rights for youth in EU (under Open Method of Co-ordination) EU White Paper in 2001. Based on participation.

Ambiguous rights of youth• Age of majority: 18 most countries, 16 Scotland• Age of vote: 18 most countries (since 1971 in UK)• Age of marriage: most countries 18 without parental consent, 16

with parental consent, 14 Russia. 16 Scotland• Age of consent: Scotland 16, NI 17, France 15, Lithuania and

Hungary 14, Finland 16 • Homosexual age of consent: 18 England, 18 Romania, 15 France• Age of criminal responsibility: USA 7, UK and Ukraine 10, Poland

13, Italy and Germany 14, Finland 15, France 13• Alcohol mostly 18, but in some countries 18 for hard alcohol, 16 for

other alcohol, Nordic countries 20 for purchasing alcohol, USA 21• Years of school and University

3 important European challenges

• 1. Creation of a shared set of rights and duties

• 2. Creation of the same system of acquiring citizenship all over Europe

• 3. Creation of a European people with a shared set of values