Page 33 - Demo

The main procedural issues concern the discretion of each Member State toestablish the conditions for acquiring and losing citizenship, with the exerciseof the prerogatives of granting citizenship to be carried out in a spirit of loyalcooperation, as provided for in the treaties.The comprehensive approach to the concept of European citizenship enjoysextensive debate in the specialised literature. On the subject of citizenship, theinadequacy of a purely legal concept, where citizenship is defined solely interms of legal belonging, has been widely recognised. Theorists havehighlighted the need for a more comprehensive understanding of citizenshipthat includes rights, belonging, and participation. Citizenship can be describedboth as a set of practices (cultural, symbolic, and economic) and as a series ofrights and duties (civil, political, and social) that define an individual%u2019smembership of a political entity. It is a composite concept, a socio-culturalcategory that necessarily encompasses both legal and political dimensions, aswell as subjective, emotional, and cultural aspects (Shore, 2004). In its broadestsense, European citizenship can be understood as an innovative form of transscalar, post-national citizenship of a portfolio-type. It includes participation inflexible, overlapping, and multi-level ordered institutions. European citizenshipcan be described as a %u201cportfolio%u201d. It is fragmented as it involves a combinationof various rights, obligations, and practices linked to a variety of territorialjurisdictions or levels or (in the case of some practices) to no particularjurisdiction at all (Painter, 2008).Citizenship is multidimensional and involves practices as well as belonging,rights, and obligations. One intensely debated aspect refers to the fact that,although the obligations of citizens are included in the characterisation ofEuropean citizenship, they have never been specified, while on a national level,they hold significance. The national-multinational paradox is also characteristicof this concept. Conventionally, citizenship, defined as an individual%u2019s belongingto a political entity, pertains to membership in a nation-state; however, there isno reason not to extend membership to a transnational, supranational, or evensubnational political entity (Painter, 2008). It holds a post-national, postgeographic nature (Lashyn, 2021).The three levels at which the impact of European citizenship can be analysedare:%u25aa EU as countries: differences, stereotypes; Hofstede model/dimensions(Zai%u021b, 2002);%u25aa EU of regions: specific development needs;%u25aa EU of citizenship: personalised treatment, empathy, communication %u2013 %u201cWemade Europe, but how do we make Europeans?%u201d331.2 European Citizenship Aspects