ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by looking at what the European Union (EU) says about its citizenship. In terms of EU citizenship, particularly in the context of students and education, the most promising perspectives are those of the Treaties, the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, and the Commission. The conceptualisation of EU citizenship and how it may be created informs the interview questions asked of students who have undertaken Erasmus study mobility. An exploration of EU citizenship and how it is played out and shaped on the stage of Erasmus student mobility must start with the Treaties. EU citizenship is therefore defined at a normative level by an inherently exclusionary construction. The events of 1989 had particular resonance in all European countries, refocusing attention on the active role of the citizen and thereby the notion of civil society.
