JY v Wiener Landesregierung: Adding Another Stone to the Case Law Built Up by the CJEU on Nationality and EU Citizenship

Abstract

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2022 7(1), 399-408 | European Forum Insight of 20 July 2022 | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. Facts and background of the case. - II.1. The JY case: acquisition of nationality and EU citizenship. - II.2. The background of the case: the relationship between EU citizenship and nationality of a Member State. - III. Analysis. - III.1. The scope of EU law. - III.2. The proportionality test. - III.3. Reflecting further: the condition of British nationals after Brexit. - IV. Conclusion. | (Abstract) In case C-118/20 JY v Wiener Landesregierung ECLI:EU:C:2022:34, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice addressed another preliminary question regarding the relationship between nationality and EU citizenship. The case builds on the two previous cases Rottmann and Tjebbes. This time, the Court was confronted with the decision to revoke an assurance of naturalisation to a citizen who had already lost the nationality of another Member State. The Grand Chamber ruled that the situation at stake falls within the scope of EU law and offered a demonstration of the proportionality assessment that national authorities must undertake in such cases. In this Insight, I argue that this case constitutes another step in the case law progressively built up by the Court on EU citizenship. I also address the question whether this case may be relevant in the context of Brexit, given that British nationals have permanently lost the rights attached to EU citizenship as a consequence of the UK's withdrawal from the Union.

Keywords

• eu citizenship
• loss and acquisition of nationality
• rottmann
• tjebbes
• proportionality assessment
• brexit