After Brexit: Protecting European Citizens and Citizenship from Fragmentation

Abstract:

This paper takes the normative position that the fragmentation caused by the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union requires legal solutions to protect the rights and status of EU citizens in the United Kingdom, and UK citizens in the European Union. The suitability of international law, domestic law, and European Union law measures are analysed on the basis of how comprehensive protection would be, and how practicable the solutions.

The paper concludes with the observation that the upheaval of Brexit has prompted radical reconsideration of how the EU legal order and EU citizenship may develop in the future. Accordingly, constituting a core European citizenry would insulate European citizens and citizenship from fragmentation in the EU legal order.