Should the EU citizenship be duty-free? A debate

A forum debate that argues for the strengthening of EU citizenship in order to make it not only attractive for mobile Europeans but also for ‘stayers’ who feel left behind in processes of globalization.


From Maastricht onwards, EU citizenship has coincided with the people’s right to enter the citizenship spaces of other Member States. Increasingly over time, the freedom of movement has been perceived as a source of strain on the nation-based welfare state.

From a potential problem, EU citizenship can become a building block of the emerging European Social Union, by balancing the rights of the movers with reforms that aim broadly at empowering the stayers.

In this Report, high-level academic figures discuss how much of this strain is real, and what possible EU solutions can be implemented.

Download the Report

Photo credits CC Flickr European Parliament

Subscribe to our newsletter

«»