In the early 2000s, the European Union has conceived the idea of the ‘Citizens for Europe’ Program, with the intention of popularizing and strengthening one of the most unique aspects of the Union: European citizenship. However, it also contains a historical-political dimension by including efforts to foster ‘Active European Remembrance’ aiming at the preservation of the memory of mass atrocities in Europe, whose legacy serves as the building block of European integration.

The efforts of the Union to connect citizenship with historical memory are not entirely unique. Its legal metamorphosis could stem from national guilt over the expulsion of minority groups as well as renewed attempts to safeguard and reshape national identity. The German Basic Law allows the reclamation of citizenship to those who have been stripped off of it between 1939 and 1945. Similarly, Portugal has introduced legal measures to award citizenship to the descendants of Sephardi Jews, expelled from these states as a result of the Catholic Inquisition. In contrast, Estonia restricts access to citizenship for Russians who have migrated to the country when it had been part of the Soviet Union. Meanwhile in Hungary, an intense debate surrounds a similar issue of granting access to those Hungarian-speaking minorities now living in neighboring countries, due to the historical rearrangement of local borders. In light of these developments, this panel intends to investigate the legal construction of citizenship, as a sign of transformation in national identity, politics of memory and the principles of democracy in different states of Europe.