‘An Ever Closer Union Among the Peoples of Europe’: Union Citizenship… 49 it is parasitic, and which are needed to deliver those rights agreed upon between them at the EU level. Moreover, two of the main channels of political representation within the EU’s own political system – namely, national parliaments and the European Council – are explicitly based on member state citizenship, while even the supposedly direct channel of the European Parliament is based on constituencies designed to give adequate representation to each member state, with elections largely reflecting domestic concerns. So it is important that citizens should be represented through these channels, but not be doubly represented and only to the extent they can commit their representatives to pursuing sustainable policies that show equal recognition to the peoples of Europe. Two concerns need to be addressed as a result of this multilevel arrangement, therefore, when considering the acquisition of national voting rights in another member state. It must be consistent with: 1). those exercising these rights regarding the national laws as applying equally to all and undertaking the reciprocal obligations needed to sustain the public policies on which the continued enjoyment of rights by all citizens within the member state depend, and 2). the mutual recognition of the citizenship regimes of all member states and their consequent equal representation within the EU’s political system. David Owen’s fifth option in his contribution more or less meets these conditions, if read alongside the caveats noted by Rainer Bauböck in his intervention. Thus, all ‘second country nationals’ (SCNs) should have a fair opportunity of acquiring nationality and hence voting rights in another member state after a minimal period of residence, while all SCNs who do not have nationality in their member state of residence should be eligible to vote in national elections of their member state of nationality. Meanwhile, though dual citizenship should be possible, its holders should only be able to exercise national voting rights in one country. This formula does constrain to some degree member state autonomy over citizenship rules, but only to a minimal degree in ways that in many respects preserve its integrity. On the one hand, it seeks to ensure that those who do vote in national elections are committed to the obligations needed to promote rights equally for all, on the other hand it ensures that there is no double voting for elections that impact on EU policies, so that all are treated equally. It might be argued that naturalisation should not be necessary. Certainly, I can see a case for those within the European sphere to be exempted from citizenship tests, with naturalisation automatic should they so choose. But the choice needs to