'An ever closer union among the peoples of Europe' : Union citizenship, democracy, rights and the enfranchisement of second country nationals

Abstract

A key feature of the very idea of Union citizenship which, as a political scientist, I find can be lost in the predominantly legal analysis of this topic, is the reliance of citizenship rights, including those associated with Union citizenship, on politics in general and the state – in this case the member states – in particular. It is this political context that makes voting rights such an essential part of citizenship, yet one, given the complexities and peculiarities of the EU’s political system, that raises a number of difficulties in the European context. The Initiative raises a key issue but proposes a misguided solution, at odds with the very nature of the EU. For it overlooks how Union citizenship necessarily presupposes member state citizenship.