ABSTRACT
EU citizenship has evolved over the years. At the beginning of the 1990s, the Advocate General in Micheletti stated that “at the present stage of development of Community law an independent definition of Community citizenship does not exist”.1 One can argue that there have not been major changes and an independent definition of EU citizenship still does not exist. However, the treatment of EU citizens in certain respects is no longer the reserved domain of the Member States. The CJEU has incrementally strengthened the status of EU citizenship on the basis of Articles 20 and 21 TFEU. By arguing that EU citizenship has over the years obtained fundamental status of EU law, the Court has opened further debate over the concept of EU citizenship and the functions attached to it. In addition, specific secondary legislation has evolved over time to codify the judgements of the CJEU.
