To achieve this, integration policies must be directed in a meaningful way towards strengthening their rights relative to those citizens of the member states. This will include family members of citizens of the Union as well as third country nationals who have been born and have lived in the Union all their lives. It is unjust and wrong that they should be excluded from both the economic benefits of free movement rights in the Union and the political rights conferred on citizens of the Union, specifically the right to vote in municipal and European Parliament elections. Equality could be achieved in a number of different ways, for instance liberalisation of naturalization across the Union or the granting of citizen ship of the Union to Europe's third country nationals. As regards a harmonisation of naturalization laws in the member states, the criteria for granting citizenship varies considerably from one member state to another.
Some member states permit admitted immigrants to naturalize after five years residence.
Others require double this period of residence as a minimum and impose additional stringent requirements. In international law states have the right to determine who are their nationals. Most member states are, understandably, reluctant to relinquish their national sovereignty and to bring these matters within Community competence. For these reasons it may not be realistic to hope that equal rights for third country nationals can be achieved across the Union by easier access to naturalization in individual member states. The European Union Treaty introduced a new concept, namely that of citizenship of the Union.