Limits of European Citizenship: European Integration and Domestic Immigration Policies

Abstract

This paper studies the distribution and legitimisation of civil, political and social entitlements to non-citizens resident within the territory of EU member states. Is national citizenship indeed no longer imperative to membership in the national political community? Apart from trying to assess the meaning of European citizenship, it is also a test-case for the effect of 'Europe' on the domestic incorporation of migrants. By analysing parliamentary debates from the 1990s on the status of Union citizens and third country nationals in the Netherlands, the paper demonstrates the accidental and arbitrary nature of European citizenship.European citizenship; European elections; European identity; Europeanization; free movement; immigration policy; implementation; minorities; Netherlands; reverse discrimination