The Social Dimension of EU Citizenship – A Castle in the Air or Construction Gone Wrong?

Abstract

This year is designated the “European Year of Citizens”. It marks the 20thanniversary of the establishment of the European Union citizenship under the Treaty of Maastricht. It is important to ask what exactly will be celebrated on this occasion. Specifically, which rights did the European peoples gain by virtue of their so-calledfundamental statusof EU citizenship, and were the guarantees embedded in those rights satisfactory? This article will address these questions by focusing on the social rights field, a field which has been dramatically affected by the development of the European Union citizenship concept.