Research Papers

Ever since the notion of the Union Citizenship was introduced at EU level, the concept’s perception has varied from a mere declaratory status to a more substantial, fundamental status attached to Europeans. Regardless of whether one views Citizenship as the latter or the former of the above construes, this concept is undoubtedly intriguing and is still the subject of discussions, debates, and studies. This paper wishes to contribute to the debate regarding the concept of Union Citizenship and its future and relevance in today’s EU. The scope of the notion has been enriched considerably since its conception, as a result of the work of the Court of Justice although the Treaty provisions have not reflected this and they remain largely unchanged since 1993. Owing to said case-law, different constructions of Citizenship have been proposed in the academic literature; this paper focuses on the nature of the relationship between Union Citizenship and the pursuit of an economic activity and the relative independence the former enjoys as a result of the recent CJEU case-law, which includes genuinely ground-breaking decisions which establish something close to a new European space which is not merely the sum of the geographical territories of the Union but an area of rights and common values. The aforementioned independence will be assessed in three parts, covering this content of Citizenship which supports the latter’s independence, its arguably receding association with the common market and its aims, and the support which the Lisbon Treaty’s new stance on social values could potentially offer.