ABSTRACT
Article 8 of the Maastricht Treaty introduced the notion of European citizenship, with the definition of certain political rights. This article serves as a legislative response to the growing concern of EU authorities about the democratic legitimacy of the European project. By institutionalizing the notion of a European citizenship, they aimed to create a symbolic, legitimating status, with the objective of narrowing the gap between the citizens of Europe and European integration (European Commission 1993a; Marias 1994; Wolton 1993).
