Citizenship policies in the European Union

This chapter surveys recent developments in citizenship policies across the european union over the past twenty-five years. Despite the contradictory impact of the instrumentalization and politicization of citizenship policies, and the fact that countries have different citizenship traditions and migration experiences, there are six broad trends in eu citizenship policy development. These relate to the descent-based transmission of citizenship by women, men, and emigrants; the jus soli provisions for second- and third-generation immigrants; the acceptance of multiple citizenship; the introduction of language and integration requirements for naturalization; the avoidance of statelessness; and the increasing relevance of eu membership. The chapter describes the background and core features of each of these six trends and provides empirical examples from citizenship policies in the twenty-seven member states of the european union and three associated states.