Transnational Citizenship in the European Union: Past, Present, and Future by Espen D. H. Olsen

Author:Espen D. H. Olsen [Olsen, Espen D. H.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781628926798
Google: KH_7wQEACAAJ
Goodreads: 18374156
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Published: 2014-01-16T00:00:00+00:00

Post-Maastricht Politics: The “Meaning” of European Citizenship

The Maastricht Treaty was signed by the heads of the member states on February 7, 1992. Would this become another big date of European integration reminiscent of, say, the signing of the Treaty of Rome on March 25 or Europe Day on May 9? The last two decades have given a resounding “no” to that question. In the immediate aftermath of the signing, it was the issues of EMU, as well as the aim of a common foreign policy that received widespread attention (Dinan 2004: ch. 7). Commentary on European citizenship was initially less frequent and mostly related to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society actors seeking influence in the EU’s “network governance” (see Warleigh 2000). But this would soon change. The dynamic character of EU politics would again show its face, by “domesticating” the issue of what general impact the new Treaty would potentially have and its collision with symbols and institutions of the nation-state, such as citizenship and identity. While the EU/domestic linkage had been relatively modest and indirect in the policy and legal discourses over citizenship in the first 40 odd years of European, this would be at the core of post-Maastricht developments.

Establishing a European Union with an explicit citizenship was controversial in political terms. In Denmark, for instance, it was cited as one of the main reasons for the widespread skepticism of the Union and the Treaty’s subsequent failure in ratification, and it was later included as one of Denmark’s four exceptions to the Treaty. While one should make too much of a narrow referendum vote,1 the Danish “no” (as well as the petit oui in France) would, nevertheless, have a strong impact on the integration discourse in terms of bringing the notion of the democratic deficit to the surface. This democratic “turn” in political and scholarly debates on European integration also linked up with citizenship discourse. Indeed, the built-in tensions of the “in-between” character of European citizenship that this book has consistently highlighted came to the surface of political and public debates in the period after the Maastricht celebrations had faded.

According to Kostakopoulou (2001: 67), Union citizenship was seen as a potentially “dangerous supplement,” not only in Denmark, but also among national elites and populations: “If European citizenship impacts upon traditional conceptions of citizenship and community, then arguably national fears that it may lead to a parallel Euro-nationality and/or question the very foundations of national citizenship are not misguided.” This interpretation is somewhat surprising if we take into account the conclusions of the previous chapter on citizenship in the Maastricht IGC. Citizenship had been consolidated in a legal sense in terms of rights and membership in the Maastricht Treaty. Its transnational clout was advanced by linking the concept of citizenship with already existing rights of free movement and political participation in other member states. In short: Union citizenship did, in fact, not add much more to an already existing and functioning citizenship acquis in European integration.

Citizenship is, however, not only a “dry” legal construct.

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