TOWARD THE EUROPEAN UNION CITIZENSHIP

The Maastricht Treaty on the European Union of February the 7th 1992, modifying the Treaty on the European Union, introduced the new institution of the Union citizenship. This type of citizenship embraces the citizens of the member states. Also the citizens of the Republic of Poland shall be addressed by these provisions, irrespective of their will. The analysis presents unarguably that the Union citizenship does not have an identical status as the national citizenship. It is believed that it will not replace the national citizenship but the two citizenships will rather function in a parallel manner. Maybe, under Article 20 (8c) of the Maastricht Treaty, the list of the rights secured for the Union citizens will be expanded or developed, but at any rate a national citizenship holder will be granted additional rights by the virtue of becoming an EU citizen. The rights resulting from the EU citizenship may also be extended even at the expense of the rights resulting from the national citizenship. The Polish legislature is only partly consistent with the scope of rights resulting from the Union citizenship, in the remaining part it will have to be adapted to the Union law within the general process of harmonizing the two legal systems