Staatsbürgerschaft als Ware – von Goldenen Pässen und der Europäischen Union

Citizenship as a Commodity – of Golden Passports and the European Union “Golden passport” schemes are increasingly gaining popularity around the world. Meanwhile, this trend has also reached the European Union. It now threatens to lead to a partial commercialisation of both national citizenship and the European citizenship. This contribution examines the evolution of national citizenship law through “golden passports” and addresses the question of the compatibility of such programs with the law of the European Union. It thereby reveals the difficulty of reconciling the sovereignty of member states in matters of nationality with the principle of sincere cooperation in the EU.