Government Issues: Travellers, Gypsies, Roma and Citizenship in the European Union
Since the issue of citizenship is often associated with immigration, asylum seekers and refugees, some people may feel that the concept of citizenship is not relevant especially if the Travellers/Gypsies in our projects are already citizens of our respective countries. I will try to demonstrate briefly why this framework is relevant for our discussions during this conference and in our ongoing work at project level.
Since the Treaty on European Union (or the Maastricht Treaty as it is popularly known) there have been increasing references to European citizenship. This stems from the fact that Art 8(i) of the TEU states:
- Citizenship of the Union is hereby established. Every person holding the nationality of a Member State shall be a citizen of the Union. Citizens of the Union shall enjoy the rights conferred by this Treaty and shall be subject to the duties imposed thereby.
- Citizens of the Union shall enjoy the rights conferred by this Treaty and shall be subject to the duties imposed thereby.
Many people interpret this as the cornerstone of the EU. What does this notion of European citizenship mean? In many ways the implications have not yet been worked out and it is important therefore to reflect on the meaning of this concept in order to engage in a constructive way with developments associated with it.
Citizenship originally meant belonging to a city and is associated with the "city states", such as Athens, long before the emergence of nation states. Each citizen had rights and duties which non-citizens were denied. With the emergence of the nation state the idea of nationality and national citizenship developed. Gradually the idea of belonging to a city and also to a nation became widespread. In all countries it is common for people to identify with their city, county, or region and also with their country although members of minority groups in particular, may identify firstly with other members of their ethnic group and secondly with their country. After Maastricht we are growing accustomed to the idea of European identity, to the notion of European citizenship alongside the idea of national citizenship.
One of the objectives of the EU according to the Maastricht Treaty is:
"to strengthen the protection of the rights and interests of the nationals of its members States through the introduction of a citizenship of the Union." The Treaty also states at the outset that: "The Union shall respect fundamental rights, as guaranteed by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights..."
The Treaty lists (arts 8a to 8d) specific rights of citizens of the Union related to: free movement, residency, voting, standing for election, protection of the diplomatic authorities, to petition the European Parliament and to apply to the Ombudsman.
This idea of European citizenship is still related to being a member of a nation state and national citizenship which involves:
- a legal status which confers a set of rights;
- an individual relationship with the state and with other citizens.
The following characteristics are associated with citizenship:
- Egalitarian;
- Involves duties and rights;
- National - involving culture as well as politics;
- Democratic - allowing for full participation in politics;
- Unitary - belonging to only one state.
"At its essence, the concept of citizenship suggests not that everyone should be the same but that there is some common floor or package of rights to which people are entitled and with respect to which they are equal because they are members ofthe same society. All democractic societies, through their political and legal frameworks, have made decisions about which rights are conferred on citizens. While there is no universal set of principles ordaining which rights and duties should comprise citizenship, two underlying principles would appear to be widely shared: justice and equality or fairness". (2)
Citizenship is often referred to in the context of belonging, identity, rights, equality and inclusion, but it is also about exclusion, lack of belonging and denial of identity. While equality and rights may exist in the formal legal sense, in reality, there are frequently huge inequalities and lack of rights. So, for example, while Irish Travellers are formally full citizens, in reality, they are denied many of the rights one normally associates with citizenship. Travellers, Gypsies, and other members of minority ethnic groups may have equal rights in the abstract but in reality be treated as second-class citizens. Citizenship therefore can become a site for struggle to meet basic needs and achieve human rights and equality. The women's movement has drawn attention to how traditional notions of citizenship could operate in an exclusive and patriarchal way by confining women to the private, rather than public arena, as wives, mothers and daughters.
In the European legal tradition there are two main criteria for citizenship: jus soli (dependent on one?s place of birth) and jus sanguinis (dependent on ones parents and ancestors). The former, or what is called the republican model, is associated with France, with the understanding of the nation as primarily a political community with a constitution. The latter, or ethnic model, is associated with Germany. It operates on the basis of the nation as a cultural community which is assumed to be ethnically homogeneous.
In France the emphasis is on political unity but there is a strong assimilationist tendency which puts pressure on minority ethnic groups to conform to the dominant culture. Naturalisation is available and is seen as an important route (rather than ethnicity) to full civil, political and social rights. In Germany the nation preceded the state and citizenship is open to ethnic Germans regardless of place of origin while being closed to immigrants. Immigrants may have civic and social rights but not political rights therefore. Variations on these two models can be found which attach different levels of importance to the idea of a multi-ethnic society (e.g. the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Ireland, and the Netherlands).
This division of rights is associated with Marshall(3) who described the emergence of :
- civil rights in the 18th century, e.g. free speech, fair trials, equal access etc.
- political rights in the 19th century, e.g. voting, access to a parliamentary process, political parties.
- social rights in the 20th century, e.g. social welfare entitlements.
The recent report of the Comite des Sages entitled "For a Europe a civic and social rights" (4) is intended to act as a catalyst for a consultation process and debate on rights within the EU. The Report proposes that the EU Treaty should incorporate certain fundamental social and civic rights and should reflect the Union?s determination to formulate a bill of rights for the future. It calls for a strengthening of the sense of citizenship and democracy in the Union by treating civic and social rights as indivisible. The Report recommends that there should be a participatory process to formulate a modern list of civic and social rights and duties. "The Committee considers that institutions or experts can no longer hold a monopoly of discussion on subjects such as fundamental rights, which affect the individual?s day-to-day life. Europe?s citizenship is not merely a collection of rights: it is also a way of living, of recognising one?s obligations to others, of participating in society through a multiplicity of relationships with its members. A simple list of rights does not properly reflect this dimension of citizenship, whereas a sufficiently lengthy process of collective formulation of rights would make it possible to give expression to citizenship and to arrive at a more balanced view of rights and duties. Moreover, society has become more complex: democratic consultation must give due weight to the traditional social partners but cannot be restricted to them alone. It must also encompass new players, and in particular non-governmental organisations, and this will inevitably take time". It is essential that Travellers/Gypsies and their support groups engage in this process and contribute to the debate on citizenship and the struggle for human rights. But it is also important that we do not over-rely on the liberal tradition of citizenship with its emphasis on abstract rights while ignoring the reality of power and inequalities related to ethnicity, class, disability and gender. The approach to citizenship must acknowledge the reality of inclusionary and exclusionary practices based on unequal power structures. The approach to citizenship therefore should be based on the notion of needs which are essential for full human development and this implies not only a set of abstract rights but the capacity to achieve these rights by having access to the resources necessary to live a life in accordance with what are commonly accepted as decent standards based on equality and justice. Some of these basic needs are directly related to accommodation, income, health, education/training and employment - issues we will be exploring during these days together.
Whether we like it or not the issue of citizenship and European citizenship is on the agenda. That poses a challenge to Travellers/Gypsies and their support groups. There is also a challenge to examine some of the ambivalent attitudes and feelings of Travellers/Gypsies towards citizenship. If we decide to pursue a human rights approach then there is a need to examine what we mean by active citizenship and a challenge to define citizenship in a way which is relevant and appropriate in a multicultural society.
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1 Terms used to denote a broad range of groups e.g. Tsiganes, Sinti, Voyageurs, Ciganos, Woonwagenbewoners, Kalderask, Tattare, Jenish, Zingari, Gitanos, etc
2 Combat Poverty Agency, Making Social Rights a Reality, Submission to the Minister for Social Welfare on the 1992 Budget, p.2.
3 T H Marshall, Citizenship and Social Class, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1950.
4 Report by the Comit? des Sages, For A Europe of Civic and Social Rights, European Commission, Luxembourg, 1996.
References
R. Lister, The Exclusive Society: Citizenship and the Poor, London: Child Poverty Action Group, 1990.
C. McConnell (Ed), A Citizens Europe: Community Development in Europe Towards 1992, London: Community Development Foundation, 1990.
I would like to acknowledge and thank Dr. Liam O?Dowd, Queens University, Belfast for his contribution and unpublished notes.
John O?Connell
1 November
1996