The  foundations  of  EU-citizenship: Liberal  or  Republican? : An analysis of the mores of citizenship promoted by the Court of Justice

Abstract: European citizenship is a concept whose importance has increased since it was introduced in the Maaastricht Treaty. One significant actor, perhaps the most significant actor, for making EU-citizenship into more than a symbolic concept. However, the Court has been criticised, most notably by Fritz Scharpf (2009), for undermining national sovereignty and legitimacy of the Member States and strenghtening the EU’s liberal character, at expense of the republican element in national democracies. This study takes a stand against Scharpf’s portayal of the EU-as an extremely liberal polity by examining six of the Court’s rulings on Union citizenship. It  answers  the  research question:  how closely does  the  EU-citizenship  align with either a  republican or liberal  understanding of citizenship? The results points towards a greater presence of republican mores in EU-citizenship than one might expect and that the Court takes an active role in strengthening republican elements.