Download This PaperEU Citizenship for Latvian 'Non-Citizens': A Concrete Proposal
Houston Journal of International Law, Vol. 38, 2016, pp.1-40
Jean Monnet Working Papers (NYU Law School) No. 14/13, 2013
45 Pages Posted: 7 Nov 2013 Last revised: 7 Mar 2018
Date Written: 2013
Abstract
This contribution embraces a purely utilitarian view of European Union law in suggesting a viable way to enlarge the horizon of opportunities of the holders of the so called “non-citizen” status in the Republic of Latvia, which is reserved for some ethnic minorities in that country and does not amount to the possession of full Latvian citizenship. It is argued that the extension of EU citizenship to the holders of this status can be helpful in the context of an ethnically divided society. It is demonstrated that such an extension is legally feasible and is in line with the doctrine of continuity on which the statehood of the Latvian Republic rests, implying virtually no economic or political internal cost.
Keywords: Non-citizens, Latvia, EU citizenship, Russian minority, Ethnic minorities, EU law, discrimination, baltic states, nationalism, EU law, Latvian constitution, Latvian citizenship, state continuity, statelessness
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