European Citizenship through the Lens of EU Values

Is EU citizenship compatible with European values? In the wake of the Convention on the Future of Europe, and against the backdrop of the many challenges facing the EU (security, economic, migration, health, climate, digital, etc.), this book aims to take stock of the scope and content of European citizenship and its capacity to embody the values of the Union. Seen as the culmination of a political project, EU citizenship is also regularly criticised as a mere market citizenship whose rights only benefit the mobile and wealthy.

The first part of the book therefore focuses on assessing the values of the Union in the light of European citizenship (with an emphasis on dignity, equality, democracy and respect for human rights), while the second part analyses the ways in which European citizenship can truly embody the values of the Union. The aim is to rethink the Union’s capacity to ensure the effective dissemination of the values underlying the European social contract and to anchor them in a democratic project underpinned by European citizenship.

This book is the result of an international academic conference held at the University of Lyon 3 at the end of 2023 and is part of the Jean Monnet Chair’s research project on the promotion and preservation of the values of the Union.