Statelessness in the European Union must be achieved in order to reform EU citizenship to achieve the hypothesised benefits. Because the treaties currently do not provide for either, several substantive changes to the current provisions of EU law are required. This particularly holds true for both the founding treaties as well as relevant secondary legislation, such as the Free Movement Directive and the EU Charter, as these currently condition the acquisition of EU citizenship upon the possession of Member State nationality. The Treaties themselves provide for both simplified and ordinary revision procedures, although the former only provides for limited changes based on the nature of the change and are therefore unlikely to provide a basis for treaty revision for EU citizenship. 94 Yet, under the ordinary revision procedure, any amendments regarding the material content of the treaties may be proposed by the European Parliament, Commission or any of the Member States. 95 This includes proposals for expanding the scope of EU citizenship as well as the competences of the EU. Acting on a simple majority, the European Council determines whether or not to set the procedure into motion, and will convene a convention consisting of Member State representatives and Commission members, which will decide the fate of the proposed revision by consensus. 96 While there appears to be an opportunity for the EU to amend the treaties so as to allow for the grant of EU citizenship to stateless persons, an obstacle presents itself in the extensive involvement of the Member States. Because EU interference in affairs of nationality and citizenship has previously sparked controversy among the Member States, reaching the consensus required for revision remains improbable. 97 Considering the previous analysis, it appears that the legal modifications required for the EU to grant EU citizenship to stateless persons would call for significant political will and a creative and a flexible approach; something that may be difficult to achieve in the near future. However, these current obstacles to the implementation of the hypothesised measure should not, and do not, undermine the potential of EU citizenship to mitigate the impact of statelessness as well as fostering European integration and greater inclusion. CONCLUSION It is noted in the preamble to the EU Charter that, with the establishment of the institution of EU citizenship, the EU placed the individual at the heart of its activities. Indeed, in devising a framework of rights that transcends national boundaries, detached from economic objectives, a certain class of individuals came to occupy a privileged position within the EU: those in possession of the nationality of one of the Member States. In conditioning the grant of EU citizenship upon the possession of such nationality, this extraordinary framework of rights has acquired an exclusionary nature. The roughly half a million stateless individuals — who are unable to derive rights from any form of national or other citizenship — residing in the Member States of the EU, are unable to benefit from all that this institution has to offer. And yet, the value of EU citizenship may be 94 95 96 97 Bradley (n 81). TEU (n 48) arts 48(2)–(5). Bradley (n 81). Mark Dawson, ‘The Political Face of Judicial Activism: Europe’s Law-Politics Imbalance’ in Mark Dawson, Bruno de Witte and Elise Muir (eds), Judicial Activism at the European Court of Justice (Edward Elgar 2013). 41