Constitutional Provision on EU Citizenship – The Case of Croatia

Abstract

Croatia is the first State to adopt a provision concerning European citizenship in its Constitution: None of the current EU Member States’ Constitutions include such an article. Three issues concerning this provision are of interest. First, what is the legal effect of the inclusion of such a provision in the Constitution within the present context of European integration? Second, what were the reasons for Croatia to include this provision in the Constitution? Third, what consequences will this provision likely generate in the future? The article analyzes these questions and concludes that the adopted constitutional provision on European Union citizenship may turn out to be much less benign than would first appear.

Keywords: constitutional amendment, European Union citizenship, primacy of EU law, EU membership