The Citizenship of the Union is established by the Treaty of Maastricht thus amended the EC Treaty.
Every person holding the nationality of a Member State shall be a citizen of the Union. Citizenship of the Union shall complement and not replace national citizenship. The EU citizenship does not replace national citizenship, it is supplementary and grants extra rights, as follows.
Every citizen of the Union shall have the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States, subject to the limitations and conditions laid down in this Treaty and by the measures adopted to give it effect. Every citizen of the Union residing in a Member State of which he is not a national shall have the right to vote and to stand as a candidate at municipal elections in the Member State in which he resides, under the same conditions as nationals of that State. This right shall be exercised subject to detailed arrangements adopted by the Council, acting unanimously on a proposal from the Commission and after consulting the European Parliament; these arrangements may provide for derogations where warranted by problems specific to a Member State. Every citizen of the Union residing in a Member State of which he is not a national shall have the right to vote and to stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament in the Member State in which he resides, under the same conditions as nationals of that State. Every citizen of the Union shall, in the territory of a Third country in which the Member State of which he is a national is not represented, be entitled to protection by the diplomatic or consular authorities of any Member State, on the same conditions as the nationals of that State. Member States shall establish the necessary rules among themselves and start the international negotiations required to secure this protection. Every citizen of the Union shall have the right to petition the European Parliament. Every citizen of the Union may apply to the Ombudsman. Every citizen of the Union may write to any of the institutions or bodies of the Union in one of the official languages of the EU and have an answer in the same language.
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