The Maastricht Treaty of 1992 introduced the concept of a
“European Union citizenship” into the legal framework of the EU,
extending the European integration – which had, until then,
mainly focused on economic affairs – with a political dimension.
Since Maastricht, every citizen of any of the EU member states
automatically also holds European Union citizenship. This
European citizenship is not intended to replace the national
citizenship but to provide EU citizens in their every day
activities with additional rights which have been guaranteed by
the EU Treaties. It is one of the EU’s objectives to strengthen
and reinforce the rights of its citizens. These citizen’s rights
are listed in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. In the
Lisbon Treaty from 2009, the EU confirmed its commitment to a
common European citizenship for all citizens of the individual
EU countries. New regulations and new instruments in the Lisbon
Treaty have been designed to strengthen the European
citizenship, mainly by extending the EU co