ABSTRACT
Over the last decade within western Europe a growing interest has been expressed in the idea of European citizenship within the context of the EC/EU. Such a view holds that as economic integration proceeds apace political and social integration should take on an increasingly prominent role and that economic, political and social rights ought to be formalised into and guaranteed by an EU ‘Bill of Rights’. At the same time the European Commission and many Member States have expressed a concern that significant sectors of the population have been, and are being, marginalized within European society threatening the breakdown of social solidarity and cohesion. These concerns have focused on the concept of social exclusion and the need to integrate/insert excluded individuals and groups. Citizenship has taken on a central role in these debates as the socially excluded have increasingly been identified with those for whom citizenship rights have either not been actualized or denied. A cohesive, and competitive, Europe is seen by many as one in which citizenship rights are realised for everyone. This of course leads us back to the issue of an ‘EU Bill of Rights’.
