Cetăţenia între naţional şi internaţional. Discuţii pe marginea unui caz
Citizenship, between the National and the International: Notes on a Case

Summary/Abstract: The application of EU law to cases involving the granting and loss of the citizenship of a member state is a delicate issue, now considered for the first time by the European Court of Justice. While member states do enjoy sovereignty in deciding who is a national, are these powers unlimited? Being an EU member confers each of the 27 states a special legal identity, which makes it necessary to answer the question concerning the limits of this power. The Rottmann case, which is the starting point for this discussion, shows why it is necessary to reassess the distinction between situations that pertain to domestic law and situations pertaining to international law. Specifically, the illicitly obtained German citizenship of a former Austrian national was rescinded after he automatically lost the citizenship of his country of birth. This immediately leads to a loss of European citizenship as well. In reaching the conclusion that community law is applicable in this case, the Court decided to enforce the community principle of proportionality at national level.

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