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Uecker and Jacquet [1997]
June 9, 2007 |
In the Uecker and Jacquet cases, some of the oldest cases where the EU citizenship has been mentioned, two third-country national spouses of German nationals, who had resided and worked in Germany all their lives, attempted to rely on the same rights under EC free movement provisions as third-country nationals married to EU citizens who had previously exercised their right to free movement. With specific regard to the position of EU citizens, the ECJ held that:
“Citizenship of the Union, established by article 17 EC, is not intended to extend the ratione materiae of the Treaty also the internal situations which have no link with the Community”.
It is obvious that EU citizens have no right of free movement within their own Member State given that such a freedom necessarily pertains to wholly internal situations. It would be reluctant to admit that such a right exists.
In conclusion, a national of a Member State does not in effect become an EU citizen or able to exercise the rights that EU citizenship entails until he or she has crossed his or her own border and entered into another Member State. Even then, he or she is seemingly exercising rights of free movement that have always existed within and are dependent upon EC law. Is it any wonder that most fail to realize their status as EU citizens and in the few cases where they do, they question its relevance to their everyday lives? As was pointed out:
“Uecker has to be seen as a reminder not to overestimate the transformative effect of citizenship either.”
Text of the ECJ judgment
Text of the AG opinion