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Although traumatic, the ongoing Brexit process does not fundamentally alter either the legal status of European citizenship or the debates about it within the European Union (EU). Citizenship and free movement are so fundamental to the European project that even the new status of an important state like the UK does not change the political dynamics surrounding them.

While Europe is celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Rome Treaty, there is much doubt about the extent of citizens' emotional attachment to Europe. In this article we examine whether young Belgians show a sense of European citizenship, using a range of questions about the European Union (EU) from a survey administered to more than 6000 secondary school students. We show that a genuine identification with Europe — one that is not purely based on a positive evaluation of the EU from a utilitarian point of view — is related to higher levels of tolerance towards ethnic minorities, Muslims and immigrants. In addition, we will provide an overview of the literature on European citizenship and its potential connection to a higher degree of tolerance towards different cultures.

International audience ; While Europe is celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Rome Treaty, there is much doubt about the extent of citizens' emotional attachment to Europe. In this article we examine whether young Belgians show a sense of European citizenship, using a range of questions about the European Union (EU) from a survey administered to more than 6000 secondary school students. We show that a genuine identification with Europe — one that is not purely based on a positive evaluation of the EU from a utilitarian point of view — is related to higher levels of tolerance towards ethnic minorities, Muslims and immigrants. In addition, we will provide an overview of the literature on European citizenship and its potential connection to a higher degree of tolerance towards different cultures.

Unified citizenship education is a must to stop democratic backsliding in the European Union.

Defense date: 08/02/2008 ; Examining Board: Rainer Bauböck (EUI), Richard Bellamy (University College, London), Fritz Kratochwil (EUI) (Supervisor), Antje Wiener (Univ. Bath) ; This thesis asks what kind of conception(s) of citizenship that have emerged over time within the European integration process. The starting point for this research aim is a critique of the existing literature on European citizenship. Research on European citizenship has tended to fall into a sceptical strand relying on the nation-state model of citizenship (often called the no demos position) or a more visionary strand which interprets the developments of rights on the EU level as a postnational disconnection of citizenship from nationality. These normative strands have tended to translate the question of 'what should it be?' into factual statements on what citizenship in the EU actually is. This thesis has sought to overcome this through a theoretically informed, yet empirically oriented study of how conceptions of European citizenship have developed. Theoretically, the thesis eschews the typical model approach of citizenship studies. It does so by focusing on citizenship as a status of individuals constituted through four analytically distinct, yet potentially inter-related dimensions: membership, rights, participation and identity. This provides a dynamic theory of citizenship where the appearance of and relationship between dimensions is not settled a priori, but rather needs to be scrutinised in practice. Empirically, therefore, these dimensions are utilised in order to ascertain how citizenship has been conceived on two levels of EU integrative politics. The first level is practices of policy- and law-making, starting with the founding treaties of the 1950s and ending with the post-Maastricht debates on Union citizenship. The second level is three instances of constitution-making importance within European integration: the Spinelli Project of the European Parliament, the Maastricht Process and the Convention on the Future of Europe. Methodologically, the analytical assessment of European citizenship discourse is provided on the basis of a process tracing exercise geared towards highlighting the crucial junctures of appearance, consolidation, and/or change with regard to the concept of citizenship. The main conclusion is that European citizenship discourse has created a conception of transnational citizenship, rather than postnational membership. This is visible on both empirical levels. The inherent transnationalism of European citizenship is found to have been initiated already in the founding ECSC and Rome Treaties. Citizenship elements in early European integration, such as free movement, market participation and, later, membership based on nationality in a Member State, created a frame upon which ensuing conceptions of citizenship developed. There were proposals for alternative conceptions based on a stronger notion of a more free-standing European status, for instance in elections to the EP, and more radical ideas of membership through dual European and national citizenship within constitution-making instances. Such proposals did, however, not significantly alter the conception of European citizenship as articulated around the border-crossing of Member State citizens. As much as this has highlighted - against the no demos view - that issues of citizenship are not incompatible with institution building and policy-making 'beyond the nation-state', it is also clear that one cannot detect a significant dissociation of citizenship and rights from nationality, as professed by postnationalists. Citizenship has evolved - mainly within policy practices - as a significant status of individuals within European integration through a transnational 'right to have rights' in second countries. Constitution-making instances have on the whole contributed to a consolidation of the basic tenets emanating from policy practices, rather than producing radical 'constitutional moments' of EU citizenship politics. The conceptual path of European citizenship discourse has, therefore, brought forward a conception based on a core principle of 'no rights without movement'; where elements such as political rights on the European and Member State levels, personhood as an additional condition for access to rights, and residence rights have been added as a consequence of evolving policies and practices of European integration.

Chapter 1. Introduction -- Part I. The Yardstick: The Concept and the Conception of Citizenship -- Chapter 2. The Conept and the Conception of Citizenship -- Part II. From the European Personal Status to European Citizenship -- Chapter 3. The Ambivalence of European Integration: Between Proto-Citizenship and a Shared Nationality -- Chapter 4. European Citizenship: Between Formal Status and Practice -- Part III. From European Citizenship to Citizenship? -- Chapter 5. From Practice to Theory: Academic Discourses on European Citizenship. Chapter 6. Conclusions

While Europe is celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Rome Treaty, there is much doubt about the extent of citizens' emotional attachment to Europe. In this article we examine whether young Belgians show a sense of European citizenship, using a range of questions about the European Union (EU) from a survey administered to more than 6000 secondary school students. We show that a genuine identification with Europe — one that is not purely based on a positive evaluation of the EU from a utilitarian point of view — is related to higher levels of tolerance towards ethnic minorities, Muslims and immigrants. In addition, we will provide an overview of the literature on European citizenship and its potential connection to a higher degree of tolerance towards different cultures.

The concept of citizenship in relatively new legal order of the European Union has its own meaning and dynamics compared to national citizenship. One of the important questions regarding this transnational form of citizenship is how to place this European citizenship in a constitutional context in the European Union. In that context, this thesis, examines the main research question: How does European citizenship affect the process of constitutionalisation of the European Union? This question implies that European citizenship is of a constitutional nature and affects the characteristics of the European Union, transforming from an international organisation cooperating on economic aims towards a more constitutional legal order. Constitutionalisation of the European Union is regarded as the process in which the European Union acquires more features that are commonly found in a constitution, and which is explored through the prism of four constitutional elements: the vertical division of powers, the existence of a common ideology (democracy and fundamental rights), justiciability and constitutional primacy. The effect of European citizenship on each of these constitutional elements is analysed in this thesis.

Bu tez, Avrupa Birliğini oluşturan halkların ortak noktalarda birleşerek tek bir Avrupa toplumu hedefine ulaşma, özellikle de demokrasi ve anayasa kavramları etrafında ortak bir anlayış geliştirebilme olasılığını ve nasıl bir geleceğe doğru ilerleyebileceklerini araştırmaya çalışmıştır.Demokrasi, halkların özgür ve açık tartışmalar sonucu, kendilerini ilgilendiren önemli konular hakkında siyasi karar alma yöntemi olarak adlandırılabilir. Ancak, bu tanımın AB'nin bugünkü yönetim şekline -saydam olmayışı, teknokrat egemenliği, üye ülkelerin kendi çıkarlarını ön planda tutması nedeniyle- tam uyduğu söylenemez. Bunun yanısıra, AB kuruluşlarının daha iyiye yönelik üst düzey bir demokratikleşme çabasında oldukları da göz ardı edilemez. Bireyler, çeşitli referandumlar veya oylamalarla AB dahilinde söz sahibi olmaya başlamışlardır. AB'ye ilişkin konulara halkın daha fazla ortak edilerek, müzakereler, kamuoyu tartışmaları düzenlenmesi ve basının da bu yöndeki ilgisinin artması, demokrasinin gelişmesini sağlayacaktır. Burada söz konusu olan, devlet-halk sınırlarını aşarak, halklarüstü, AB'ne uygun mutlak bir demokrasinin nasıl gerçekleşeceğidir. Bu çalışmada, AB'ninkilerle kıyaslanarak, demokrasi ve devlet kavramları üzerinde özellikle durulmuş, AB'nin belirli konulardaki demokratik eksikliği ve yönetim şekli tartışılmıştır.Hükümetlerüstü bir anlayışla donanmış, AB kurumlarının saydamlığını gözeten, Temel Hak ve özgürlükleri kapsayan demokratik bir anayasa, AB'ne duyulan ilgiyi arttıracaktır. Müstakbel bir AB anayasası sadece federalizm taraftarlarınca benimsenmeyecek, gerek bugüne dek katedilen mesafeyi gerekse varılmış ve varılacak olan ortak anlayışları bünyesinde barındırmak suretiyle, hükümetlerarasıcılık yandaşlarını da memnun kılacaktır. Gittikçe genişleyerek bir yandan çoğulculuk, çokkültürlülük, öte yandan birliktelik öğelerini bağdaştırmak gibi aşılması zor engellerle karşı karşıya kalsa da, geri dönüşün neredeyse imkansız olduğu globalleşen dünya ortamında, geleceğe meydan okumak kalıyor AB'ne.This thesis is trying to analyse whether the peoples of the EU can be unified on common purposes to form a single European people and, the possibility to develop a common notion on democracy and constitution in order to be able to advance towards the same future.Democracy is the political tool in which citizens take part in the decision-making after having discussed in public debates on issues concerning themselves. Compared to its actual governance, this definition is not fully in effect in the EU due to the lack of transparency, the sovereignty of eurocrats and the MS's decisions on behalf of their national interests. We should however bear in mind that the EU's institutions are always being reshaped in search of a more perfect democracy. Citizens are being associated, even if on limited domains, to the decision-making process by referenda and elections. The EU's democratic evolution will be more remarkable if the issues concerning the Union would be discussed in public and if the media would take part in these debates. How will it be possible to attain a supranational democracy by surpassing the limits of the state-nation? In this paper, by giving the general definitions of democracy and state, comparison has been made to the present governance of the Union and hence its democratic deficit is emphasised. A Constitution taking into account the supranational aspect of the Union, the principle of clarity in decision-making, the separation of powers between institutions and including the Charter of Fundamental Rights, would be more attractive for citizens. Federalists as well as intergovernmentalists would agree on such a constitution which underlies the objectives attained so forth and the ones to be reached. The EU is a unique type of entity in world, facing the following challenges: the balancing of pluralism, multiculturalism on the one hand and unification on the other, enlargement versus deepening, integration versus differentiation in a world where globalisation makes its way.

Viewed either as a limited undertaking or a process in the making, European citizenship appears to be caught at an impasse. While the dominant approaches fail to break from the confines of the demos/no demos thesis, the challenges confronting Union citizenship ironically converge with those posed to citizenship discourse. Can European citizenship escape from this impasse? To address this question the article shows how the agonistic emphasis on contestation opens the way for a different reading of European citizenship. On this reading, Union citizenship is not simply taken as a means to participation, but as a channel for political mobilisation. Constructed out of an affective identification with the negative, with that we oppose rather than endorse, the agonistic conception, argues the article, insightfully shifts the terms of debating Union citizenship.