Implementation of Directive 2004/38 in the context of EU enlargement: a proliferation of different forms of citizenship?

This paper assesses the impact and potential effects of inadequate domestic transposition of Directive 2004/38 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States and the effects of the transitional arrangements secured in the latest rounds of enlargement on the status and practice of European citizenship in an enlarged EU. The authors argue that one of the major consequences of these processes has been the proliferation of different forms of European citizenship whose normative framing and implementation by the nation-states foster differential treatment that sometimes conflicts with fundamental rights. They also highlight that the narrow national interpretations of the scope of rights conferred by European citizenship are subject to supranational guarantees provided by the EU legal system.