The EU Citizenship Directive: A Commentary

Elspeth Guild · Steve Peers · Jonathan Tomkin

Jan 2014 · OUP Oxford

About this ebook

The EU Citizenship Directive defines the right of free movement for citizens of the European Economic Area. It applies to EU citizens and their family members who move to another Member State. This might at first seem like a straightforward definition, but immediately questions arise. Who determines if a person is an EU citizen at all? What about dual citizens of two Member States, or of one Member State and a non-Member State (a 'third State')? What is the position of EU citizens who move to one Member State, and then return to their home Member State? This book provides a comprehensive commentary of the EU's Citizens' Directive tracing the evolution of the Directive's provisions, placing each article in its historical and legislative context. Special emphasis is placed on highlighting the connections and interactions between the Directive's constituent provisions so as to permit a global appreciation of the system of free movement rights to which the Directive gives effect. Each provision is annotated containing a detailed analysis of the case-law of the Court of Justice as well as of related measures impacting upon the Directive's interpretation including European Commission reports and guidelines on the Directive's implementation. The authors have drawn on their combined experience in academia, practice and the EU institutions to provide an engaging and critical account of the Citizenship Directive, approaching it directly from an EU law perspective.

About the author

Steve Peers is Professor of Law at the Law School of the University of Essex. He is a specialist in EU law, including EU free movement and immigration law, on which he has written extensively. He is the co-editor of Commentary on the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (publication forthcoming) and of two editions of EU Immigration and Asylum law: Text and Commentary, and is also the author of three editions of EU and Justice and Home Affairs Law. He is also a consultant for EU institutions and NGOs in this field. Elspeth Guild is Jean Monnet Professor of law at the Radboud University, Nijmegen Netherlands and Professor of law at Queen Mary University of London. She is also Partner at the London law firm Kingsley Napley. She has written and taught widely on EU immigration and asylum issues. She is also a Senior Research Fellow at the Brussels based think tank the Centre for European Policy Studies. Jonathan Tomkin is a Member of the Legal Service of the European Commission. He is a qualified Barrister, former Référendaire (Legal Secretary) at the Court of Justice of the European Union and past Director of the Irish Centre for European Law, Trinity College, Dublin. He has written and lectured extensively in the field of Union citizenship, Immigration and Asylum law and has appeared regularly before national and European Courts in cases concerning the exercise of EU free movement rights and access to international protection.