Citizenship and Civilness in the European Union

Abstract

Celebration of the 20th anniversary of the EU citizenship in 2013 was a good occasion for reflection on this institution. Has anything changed during this period in the status of European citizens and their role in the EU’s political system? Do they have opportunities to participate in the European decision-making process and to influence the European law and the direction of the EU’s development? Is the EU citizenship only a symbolic project that brings no added value? Can it be called “citizenship”? The article is devoted to answering these questions. The institution of the EU citizenship was analysed in two aspects: 1) citizenship as formal status connected with some rights and 2) civilness as mechanisms that guarantee participation in decisions on the future of a political community. The conclusion is that after 20 years the importance of the EU citizenship has been significantly increased, but only on declarative level – in the wording of treaties and institutional acts. However, this change has not caused the factual increase of citizen participation in the shaping of the European Union politics. It is the effect of a discrepancy on the EU level between citizenship as formal status and civilness as real empowerment of individual in the political system.