THE FUTURE OF EU CITIZENSHIP STATUS DURING CRISIS-IS THERE A ROLE FOR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS PROTECTION?

This article assesses whether there is a future for the status of European Union (EU) citizenship and fundamental rights. It operates from the premise that rights associated with EU citizenship are inherently underlined by fundamental rights protection. The context within which this question is answered is that of the four recent "crises" faced by the EU since the Treaty of Lisbon, namely, the Eurozone, migration and rule of law crises and Brexit. These examples serve to highlight how the Court of Justice of the EU's apparent choice not to fully integrate fundamental rights into EU citizenship case law affects the fundamentality of EU citizenship status, as it was originally hailed to be. It argues that there is a case to be made for a stronger role for fundamental rights protection as part of the future of EU citizenship's status.