One Size Fits All? European Citizenship, National Citizenship Policies and Integration Requirements

This article considers what is meant by the idea of ‘European citizenship’ and addresses the issue of converging citizenship policies. By comparing a number of data sets, the degree to which convergence is taking place is assessed. The article suggests that EU member states are, to a certain extent, harmonising. However, this is effected not so much through formal citizenship regulation (such as the rules on dual nationality), but rather through the increased use of ‘integration requirements’ and culturally specific criteria for naturalisation.