Summary:

The citizenship of the European Union inserted into Maastricht Treaty on the European Union is a new legal conception which compared with the classical citizenship   affords the natural and legal persons a participation in the life of modern European community based on solidarity, social justice and commonly acknowledged values. The European citizenship is a political conception of belonging to the integrated Europe which forms a closer link between the nations of Europe and allegiance to the institutions of the Union. By virtue of European citizenship equal rights and duties are enjoyed by the citizens of the Member States and guaranteed by the Law of the European Union at its whole territory.

The TEU of Nice and the acts of European institutions provides the catalogue of fundamental rights and duties of “Eurocitizen”. The competence of the Council to release the legislation in cooperation with other institutions of the Union seems to be as substantial one in the process of implemention of citizens´ rights and freedoms.

The judicature of the Court of Justice inspired by the standard of human rights protection developed by the European Court of Human Rights contributes certainly to implementation of citizens´ rights and to their effective legal protection.

Despite some doubts of the teorists the citizenship of the Union seems to be a perspective conception which may form the citizens´ legal status by developing the catalogue of their rights and their active participation in achieving the integration goals. Having that in mind the Lisabon Treaty on EU and Charta of Fundamental rights are promising.