Statelessness Working Paper Series 2016/03 “[the Union] places the individual at the heart of its activities, by establishing a citizenship of the Union and by creating an area of freedom, security and justice”.27 One observes that the phrase “[c]itizenship of the Union shall be additional to and not replace national citizenship” may limit its legal development. Officially, one shall not understand EU citizenship as a step towards a European federal State, despite some failed attempts to adopt a constitutional treaty in 2004.28 EU citizenship is supposed to complement national citizenship by transferring ‘additional’ rights. However, according to Kay Hailbronner there is an inherent link between EU citizenship and national citizenship, because the first one has changed the perception of the second one. EU citizenship already implies some political rights and is gradually replacing important elements of the nationality of the MS. 29 Moreover, the shaping of an EU citizenship has contributed to enhancing individual rights, with the crucial contribution of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) jurisprudence that ensures implementation of these rights. According to the CJEU, “Union citizenship is destined to be the fundamental status of nationals of the Member States”.30 In the context of the Grzelczyk case, the Court confirmed the obligation for MS to accord EU citizens who find themselves in the same situation the same treatment, irrespective of their national citizenship. In the Zhu and Chen case,31 the CJEU stated that EU citizens are fully entitled to reside in another MS.32 In the Eman and Sevinger case, the Court ruled that a member state may determine who is entitled to vote and to stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament, provided that it observes the principle of equal treatment.33 More specifically on statelessness, the Ruiz Zambrano case gave the CJEU the opportunity to make a breakthrough in the field of rights based on EU citizenship, when Belgium was condemned for having prevented “the genuine enjoyment of the substance of the rights attaching to the status of European Union citizen”. In this case, Belgium had refused right of residence and work permission to third country nationals who were parents of minor children, themselves EU citizens.34 In the Rottmann case, the Court established that a situation that would cause the loss of EU citizenship falls, by its nature and its consequences, under EU law, and that MS should have “due regard to community law [when laying down] the conditions for acquisition and loss of nationality”. 35 In that same case, the CJEU also affirmed the need to evaluate and balance the proportionality of a decision that would leave the person stateless. In the Thierry Delvigne case, the Court stated that there are limits to national legislation depriving individuals of the right to vote in European Parliament election.36 Undoubtedly, the CJEU has played and will continue to play a role in the progress of European integration, including in the shaping of EU citizenship.37 Moreover, with the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon in December 2009, the Charter of Fundamental Rights became legally binding on the EU institutions and on national governments. Since the Court no longer hesitates 27 See the full text of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights at <www.europarl.europa.eu/charter/pdf/text_en.pdf> accessed 1st March 2016 28 See the full text of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe <http://europa.eu/eu-law/decisionmaking/treaties/pdf/treaty_establishing_a_constitution_for_europe/treaty_establishing_a_constitution_for_europe_en.pd f> accessed 1st March 2016 29 Kay Hailbronner, ‘Nationality in Public International Law and European Law’, in Rainer Bauböck (ed.), Acquisition and Loss of Nationality: Policies and Trends in 15 European Countries, Amsterdam University Press, 2006, p37 30 CJEU, Grzelczyk v Centre public d'aide sociale d'Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, C-184/99, 20 September 2001, par. § 31 31 CJEU, Zhu and Chen v Secretary of State for the Home Department, C-200/02, 19 October 2004 32 See the European Commission report ‘EU citizenship - Dismantling the obstacles to EU citizens’ rights’, 2010 p2 <http://ec.europa.eu/justice/citizen/files/com_2010_603_en.pdf> accessed 1st March 2016 33 CJEU, M. G. Eman and O. B. Sevinger v College van burgemeester en wethouders van Den Haag, Case C-300/04, 12 September 2006 34 CJEU, Gerardo Ruiz Zambrano v Office national de l’emploi, Case C-34/09, 8 March 2011 (para. 45) 35 CJEU, Rottmann v Freistaat Bayern, C-135/08, CJEU, 2 March 2010 (para. 39) 36 CJEU, Thierry Delvigne v Commune de Lesparre Médoc et préfet de la Gironde, C-650/13, 6 October 2015 37 Laura von Waas, Addressing the human rights impact of statelessness in the EU's external action, Policy Department DG External Policies, European Parliament, November 2014, p20 4