Granting member state nationality to third country nationals : naturalisation issue in the EU

Thesis

This introductory chapter will deal with 1) the background to the nationality issue within the EU, 2) the purpose of this paper and how it is structured, 3) the review of relevant literature and the contribution this thesis hopes to make, 4) the theoretical frameworks to be used, and 5) the sources.

I. 1. The Background

The 1930 Hague Convention on Certain Questions Relating to the Conflict of Nationality Laws, Article 1, stipulates that ‘It is for each State to determine under its own law who are its nationals.’ This recognition that states have the autonomy in defining who are their nationals appears to have been directly transposed into the framework of the European Union. The 1992 Declaration on Nationality, which was annexed to the Treaty on European Union, more commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty (hereinafter referred to as the TEU), paragraph 2, says, '...the question whether an individual possesses the nationality of a Member State shall be settled solely by reference to the national law of the Member State concerned...’.

The recognition at the EU level of the Member States’ competence in defining their nationals, however, has increasingly been the target of criticisms. There has been a number of literature calling for the restriction of Member States' competence in this sphere.’ These criticisms are often based on the following line of argument: Given the fact that the term ‘nationality of a Member State’ or 'Member State nationals’ has increasingly been invoked in Community law, it is inconsistent and unjustifiable that this term has not yet acquired any Community definition while another term which is equally important within the legal framework of the Community, ‘worker’, has been repeatedly defined at the Community level.

Continued in thesis …

Authors: Asahi, Y

• Type of award: MPhil
• Level of award: Masters
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: third; EU; naturalisation; country; citizenship; naturalization; European Union; Union; nationals; nationality
• Subjects: Citizenship -- European Union countries; Naturalization -- European Union countries