Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - DynamInt

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin | Faculty of Law | DynamInt | Events | Conference: Windy Roads 2026

Announcement: Windy Roads

The ambivalent relationship of Union Citizenship and Member State nationality

28 - 30 of January 2026

 

 

The DFG Research Training Group DynamInt cordially invites you to the “Windy Roads” conference at Humboldt University Berlin. From 28 to 30 January 2026, we will explore the ambivalent relationship of Union citizenship and Member State nationality with participants from academia and practice.

The conference will open on the evening of 28 January with keynote speeches by Advocate General Tamara Ćapeta and Professor Daniel Thym. The closing address will be delivered by President Koen Lenaerts on the afternoon of 30 January. In between, we look forward to stimulating discussions with over 30 renowned experts, who will delve into the ambivalent, at times even contradictory developments of Union citizenship and Member State nationality. The conference is organised by our Postdoc Dr. Luke Dimitrios Spieker.

Introduced with the Maastricht Treaty some 30 years ago, Union citizenship is deeply intertwined with the Member States’ nationalities. Following the letters of the EU Treaties, it is no freestanding, but a derived status: Union citizens are those who possess the nationality of a Member State (Art. 9 TEU). While the Court of Justice ascertained already in 2001 that Unions citizenship is destined to become the “fundamental status” of the nationals of the Member States, the past decades have demonstrated that Union citizenship follows no linear development towards this destiny. Instead, the relationship of Union citizenship and Member State nationality is ambivalent and subject to many, sometimes contradictory trajectories. Some have strengthened the Status of Union citizenship (e.g. Ruiz Zambrano or Commission/Malta), others have reinforced the relevance of Member State nationalities (e.g. Dano or Préfet du Gers). With other words: these concepts travel on windy roads.

 

Panels and Participants

 

Part I: Weakened Union citizenship, strengthened nationality?

Panel 1: The long-term impact of Dano and its progenies

Panel 2: The long-term impact of Brexit 

  • Hannes Krämer, Director (Team External relation and International Law) & Principal Advisor (Legal matters related to EU_UK relations and to Ukraine), European Commission
  • Susanne K. Schmidt, Universität Bremen 
  • Oliver Garner, City St George's, University of London 
  • Maarten Vink, EUI 

 

Part II: Strengthened Union citizenship, weakened nationality?

Panel 3: Shrinking autonomy? EU impact on the acquisition and loss of Member State nationality

Panel 4: Declining relevance? The impact of fundamental freedoms on Member State nationality

Panel 5: Opening participation? EU impact on national political rights            

 

Part III: Outlook

Panel 6: Derived, decoupled, displaced? What future for Union citizenship and nation-ality in the EU?

Panel 7: What role for Union citizenship and nationality for the emergence of a European society?

 

Programme

The programme can be found here. 

 

Registration

Registration for the conference is closed. In exceptional cases, please write an e-mail to: windyroads.conference.rewi@hu-berlin.de.

Please note that a separate registration for the keynote speech by Prof. Dr. Koen Lenaerts is necessary via this link. 

 

Contact and organization: 

 

 

We kindly thank the Körber Stiftung for their financial support!