91998E0190

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0190/98 by Cristiana Muscardini (NI) to the Council (6 February 1998)

Subject: Dual citizenship for Italians in Belgium

The Strasbourg Convention of 6 May 1963 regulates instances of dual citizenship and, in practice, provides for the reacquisition of citizenship even when it has been given up voluntarily, since it establishes that the various positions set out in international agreements remain unaffected.

Thus the Protocol to the Strasbourg Convention has, for example, made the agreements between Italy and France and Italy and the Netherlands, which allow dual citizenship, operational.

In order to remove the obstacles to freedom of movement and ensure the free movement of citizens, can the Council introduce the appropriate measures to extend the Strasbourg Protocol to cover the European countries in which there are large numbers of Italians?

Can it also, in view of the sizeable Italian community in Belgium, extend the Strasbourg Protocol, as a matter of urgency, to relations between Belgium and Italy, so as to allow the Italians living in Belgium who want to complete the formalities for reacquisition of their original citizenship, to do so, whilst keeping the Belgian citizenship which they acquired by means of voluntary naturalization?

Answer (7 April 1998)

The Council would draw the Honourable Member's attention to the fact that it is up to each Member State to determine rules for the granting of nationality. It would point out that Declaration No 2 annexed to the Final Act of the Treaty on European Union stipulates that 'wherever in the Treaty establishing the European Community reference is made to nationals of the Member States, the question whether an individual possesses the nationality of a Member State shall be settled solely by reference to the national law of the Member State concerned. Member States may declare, for information, who are to be considered their nationals for Community purposes by way of a declaration lodged with the Presidency and may amend any such declaration when necessary.'