CITIZENSHIP OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Citizenship of the European Union

Citizenship of the European Union

Introduction

When the founding fathers created the European Community (EC), they set up a hybrid institutional system based on the intertwining of several logics and objectives. The rule of law was to ensure coherence and efficiency, to further European integration, to be the Community's common language and to regulate inter-institutional relationships. Thus the European Court of Justice (ECJ), with the task of interpreting and implementing EC law, has played a key role from the start. It has also given rise to conflicting interpretations and opinions. Some political actors and specialists, among the most fervent adversaries of supranational integration, denounced the 'drifts' in the ECJ's jurisprudence and the very 'free' way judges interpreted the Treaties to serve the objective of European construction, ensure the independence of its institutions and enforce Community law (Alter and Meunier-Aitsahalia 1994).

Judges were accused of openly promoting European integration with no consideration for the still existing nation-states and the opinions of the actors most concerned, i.e. citizens. Conversely, the most fervent supporters of European integration immediately opposed such an accusation of 'judicial activism' and insisted on the prominent part played by the ECJ in the incorporation of EC doctrines into domestic constitutions, and the respect of their obligations by member states and economic actors arising out of the Treaties. They also credited the ECJ with the 'democratization' of the EC's institutional system - notably through the strengthening of the European Parliament's prerogatives and influence - and the recognition of citizens' new rights.

The controversy over the merits and shortcomings of the ECJ1 has somewhat abated in recent years (Mattli and Slaughter 1998; Alter 1998). The significant contribution and impact of the ECJ's judgments are no longer a matter of contention, all the more so as the Court's decisions have not been as 'dramatic' as in the past. The numerous debates and reports about the future of the Union and the reform of its institutions in the late 1990s have not addressed the question of a reform of the ECJ's legal capacity and working methods. On the contrary, the ECJ is now seen as a resource and a base for further progress in European integration or, conversely, as an instrument to check its excesses. However that may be, the Court is one of the pillars of the European Union (EU)2 not only guaranteeing the respect of Community law but also ensuring the mutual limitation of the powers of its actors - Community institutions, national governments and individuals. The Court is not the only authority that investigates the disputes which divide these actors but it gives opinions which are often binding in the last resort, and thus contributes to some form of 'mutual checks and balances'.

As a potential consequence of the existence of European Union standards of protection, a process of convergence may occur, namely a process of change towards an increasing similarity of the legal systems (Schwartze 2000). More strikingly, however, this process of convergence may ...