Toothless European Citizenship / Šimon Uradnik

of citizenship of the Union towards its derivative nature, which later resulted in the provisions of the Treaty of Amsterdam that limited this institution and partially imprisoned it in a cell of complementarity. In spite of these facts, the Treaty of Maastricht may be genuinely considered, as W. Maas remarked, the ‘‘constitutional moment’ that created European citizens’, 41 whereby European integration was about to wander in a new direction. 1.2 (Non-)Adjustment Brought up by Treaty of Amsterdam The outcomes of the Birmingham Declaration and the resistance of the ‘nationstates’, especially the United Kingdom and Denmark, against deeper integration, if not federalisation, materialised indeed in the provision of the Treaty of Amsterdam, 42 which came into force in 1999, as follows: Citizenship of the Union is hereby established. Every person holding the nationality of a Member State shall be a citizen of the Union. Citizenship of the Union shall complement and not replace national citizenship. 43 1.2.1 Behind ‘Complement and not Replace’ Although the wording of the article concerning citizenship of the Union was not revolutionary and was only augmented by the explicit ‘complement and not replace’ phrase, several proposals of the Member States before the Treaty of Amsterdam was enacted could be seen as ground-breaking if not even radical. Apart from extending rights, 44 all of which Portugal contained in its draft of a European Citizens Charter, 45 a peculiar idea appeared amongst the Liberal Forum, by 41 Willem Maas, Creating European Citizens (Rowman & Littlefield 2007) 45 based on Bruce Ackerman, We the People, Volume 1: Foundations (Harvard University Press 1991). 42 Which amended the Treaty establishing the European Community, which later became the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. 43 Emphasis added by the author. Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty on European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts [1997] OJ C 340 PART ONE Article 17. 44 Exempli gratia , Ireland proposed ‘a right to vote in referenda and non-municipal elections’, and ‘a right to petition the European Commission’; Italy and Austria suggested ‘a right of association in European trade unions, and a right of education in at least one second language’; for this purpose, see Willem Maas, Creating European Citizens (Rowman & Littlefield 2007) 68. 45 Ibid 69. W. Mass cites C. Marinho here: ‘To provide citizens a clear picture of the advantages and added value of European citizenship.’. For this purpose, see Clotilde

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