Seeing the Wood Despite the Trees? On the Scope of Union Citizenship and its Constitutional Effects

Abstract

The article looks at the impact of the introduction of Union citizenship on the scope of application of the Treaty. In particular it considers how the citizenship provisions have affected the personal and the material scope of the Treaty. By virtue of Article 17 EC the personal scope of the Treaty is expanded so that any Union citizen, and not only the migrant citizen, now falls within the personal scope of the Treaty. The significance of this finding then depends on the definition of the material scope of the Treaty, i.e. on the identification of the rights that Union citizens can claim qua citizens. In this respect, it is clear that Union citizens have a right to move; and a right to reside in any of the Member States (subject to limitations and conditions). Union citizens have also a right to equal treatment deriving from Article 12 EC. In this respect, the article argues that such a right to equal treatment is not merely an ancillary right which is conditional upon migration; rather, Article 12 EC is a self-standing right pertaining to all those who fall within the personal scope of the Treaty. As a result, Article 12 EC is capable of being invoked by static union citizens to challenge reverse discrimination.