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The chapter analyses the formation of European citizenship from a historical perspective. Compared to the transition of citizenship rights from the local to the national level in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, EU citizenship can be characterised as a unique project. Never before in history was an attempt made to forge more than two dozen highly developed nation states into a new supranational entity. The formation of citizenship in Europe was a two-stage process. During the medieval and early modern periods, a robust form of urban citizenship developed. In 1789, that urban model of citizenship was overturned by the French Revolution, which introduced a national model of citizenship. At the beginning of the 21st century the further integration of EU Member States has already resulted in the transfer of some national citizenship rights (especially civil and economic rights) to a higher – European – level. From a historical perspective, the chapter asks what alternatives Europe’s own history can offer.

From its inception, the European Union (EU) has tried to copy the historical route some of its Member States followed in the 19th and 20th centuries when they built national citizenship; civil (economic) rights came first, social and political rights would follow. Yet in this chapter, it is claimed that ‘effective’ citizenship cannot be accomplished by only granting EU habitants with rights. Both in the pre-modern European cities and towns as well as in 20th-century European nation states, economic rights were complemented by mechanisms that guaranteed the effectuation of citizenship rights in real-life situations. In 20th-century European nation states, these mechanisms were enforced by intermediary associations. By applying their power resources, they were able to build institutional arrangements – ‘polities’ – resulting in a ‘social liberal’ type of citizenship with elements of three basic normative citizenship approaches: liberalism, communitarianism and republicanism. In this chapter it is argued that ‘effective’ EU citizenship can only be accomplished if the formation of new class-based and identity-based ‘communities’ on a local, national and European level is actively stimulated and the building of new and vibrant polities on all three levels is aimed for.

One of the main assumptions of the bEUcitizen project has been that barriers to the exercising of EU citizenship are inter alia caused by the multi-dimensionality of rights: the diversity of rights at EU and national levels. This contribution addresses the question of how EU citizenship rights may come into conflict with each other and whether these conflicts may lead to obstacles to the exercising of EU citizenship, in particular within the multilevel context of the EU. The way in which citizenship rights are normally balanced within the Member States, where certain citizenship rights may be given preference over others, may be jeopardised when the EU and EU citizenship require changes in preferences and a different way of balancing conflicting rights. The authors draw on specific examples of clashes between economic, social, civil and political rights of EU citizens.

The concept of European citizenship had the potential to transform EU politics and policy and thus increase democratic participation. This new concept has been responsible for raising expectations for democratic empowerment beyond the EU institutions and leaders’ capacity to deliver. This chapter discusses the new opportunities for, and barriers to, the extension of the political rights, especially those that extend the right to participate. It examines the options for democratic empowerment and analyses the options for a broader understanding of the concept of EU citizenship, emphasising a participatory perspective. The chapter claims that by developing new forms of participation, the EU has rather enhanced the empowerment of its citizens. This claim builds upon some basic assertions on the concept of EU citizenship and its role in the discursive and political controversies around citizenship and democracy. The chapter asserts first that EU citizenship is meaningful because it exists as a legal construct, as an object of public discourse and as a policy idea. Secondly, the idea of EU citizenship helps to advance the discussion on the processes and outcomes around the concept of citizenship and democratic reforms in Europe and elsewhere.

This chapter, going beyond EU citizenship sensu stricto, examines the broader legal framework of EU membership to show that European citizens benefit from an ever-growing corpus of civil rights and liberties, which the EU institutions and Member States must respect and protect. It offers an alternative, more substantial and inclusive, approach to EU citizenship, based on a liberal notion centred on equality and liberty. This alternative EU citizenship remains nonetheless limited in scope, and fragmented, and suffers from enforcement challenges, which put under threat its very notion and practice. The chapter exposes the official notion of EU citizenship and its limited scope, before revealing a broader EU civil rights acquis, including specific EU legislation and the EU system of protection of fundamental rights. It then outlines core civil rights which those who live in the EU enjoy, including not only free movement but also a general protection against discrimination, the right to effective judicial protection, and the right to the protection of personal data, although not historically important civil rights, such as freedom of expression. It concludes on a call for a greater recognition and consolidation of this alternative vision of EU citizenship.