European citizenship and the regions

Abstract

This paper examines the role of regions in the development of European citizenship. First, the concept of European citizenship is outlined, emphasising both the rights-based and the practice-based aspects of citizenship. It is suggested that the generic term 'European citizenship' carries two possible meanings: 'citizenship of Europe' (membership of a European polity) and 'citizenship in Europe' (the multifarious webs of citizenship relations in which Europeans are enmeshed). Regional differences are limited in the case of the former, which is unsurprising since it is primarily a supra-national phenomenon. However the broader category of 'citizenship in Europe' has a complex geography in which the regional scale plays an important role. After reviewing the significance of regions for the process of European integration, the paper investigates this relationship between regions and European citizenship drawing on four regional case studies: Catalonia, Scotland, Upper Silesia and Veneto. The paper concludes that there is no uniform pattern of 'multilevel' European citizenship, but that regionalist mobilisations and institutions are nonetheless playing an important role in shaping the landscape of citizenship in contemporary Europe.