WRITTEN QUESTION E-2278/03 by Roger Helmer (PPE-DE) to the Commission. National citizenship.
Date: 2003-07-09
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Union membership, European citizenship

C 65 E/124

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

13.3.2004

Provisions on employee information and consultation are contained in Council Directive 94/45/EC of
22 September 1994 on the establishment of a European Works Council or a procedure in Community-
scale undertakings and Community-scale groups of undertakings for the purposes of informing and
consulting employees (1), Council Directive 98/59/EC of 20 July 1998 on the approximation of the laws of
the Member States relating to collective redundancies (2) and Council Directive 2001/23/EC of 12 March
2001 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the safeguarding of employees’
rights in the event of transfers of undertakings, businesses or parts of undertakings or businesses (3).
Another key instrument in this context is Directive 2002/14/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 11 March 2002 establishing a general framework for informing and consulting employees in
the European Community (4), which the Member States should implement no later than 23 March 2005.

However, the Commission is responsible for monitoring and, where appropriate, enforcing the application
of the relevant directives by the Member States. The Council is consequently not in a position to comment
on this specific case.

(1) OJ L 254, 30.9.1994, p. 64.
(2) OJ L 225, 12.8.1998, p. 16.
(3) OJ L 82, 22.3.2001, p. 16.
(4) OJ L 80, 23.3.2002, p. 29.

(2004/C 65 E/137)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2278/03

by Roger Helmer (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(9 July 2003)

Subject: National citizenship

Does the Commission recall the words of Our Lord, to the effect that no man can serve two masters, since
either he will love one and hate the other, or vice versa?

By what right do the EU institutions imagine that they can foist a new and additional ‘citizenship’ upon the
citizens of EU Member States, who for the most part have not wanted or requested or consented to such
an additional citizenship?

What mechanism is available for citizens of Member States to reject and repudiate this so-called
‘citizenship’, and to affirm that their citizenship, their identity and their loyalty remain wholly and
undividedly invested in their own country?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(18 September 2003)

The Treaty on the European Union (Maastricht Treaty) (cid:1) drafted by a Conference of representatives of
Member States’ governments and ratified by all the Member States in accordance with their constitutional
rules (cid:1) introduced a provision into the EC Treaty which runs as follows:

Citizenship of the Union is hereby established. Every person holding the nationality of a Member

1.
State shall be a citizen of the Union.

Citizens of the Union shall enjoy the rights conferred by this Treaty and shall be subject to the

2.
duties imposed thereby (Article 17 of the EC Treaty).

The Amsterdam Treaty (cid:1) drafted and ratified in the same manner (cid:1) added the following sentence to the
first paragraph:

Citizenship of the Union shall complement and not replace national citizenship.

This provision was incorporated without substantial changes into Article I-8 of the draft Constitution
prepared by the European Convention, which was composed to a very large degree of representatives of
national parliaments and national governments.