SCENES OF FUTURE OF UNION CITIZENSHIP

The quite new construction of Union citizenship introduced into the EC Treaty by the Treaty of Maastricht is still under debates. Is it a ‘pie in the sky’ (Jessarun d’Oliveira) or a ‘purely decorative and symbolic institution’ (Carlos Closa)? Which aspects of the citizenship of the Union can be developed? And what kind of changes and characteristics will be the outcome of the enlargement of the Union and the constitutionalising process? In this paper I will try to give answers to these questions. I will group my findings into two parts: first of all, in order to imagine its future, we must understand the past of Union citizenship, and, especially, its meaning and role, including the recent developments of this institution, the effects of the ‘Citizenship Directive’. In the second part of my paper I will focus on the impacts of the enlargement and the emergence of so called ‘second class Union citizens’ (Dimitry Kochenov). Modifications introduced by the Lisbon Treaty also will be presented in this paper