The EU: Power(less) in Statelessness? The Case of the Baltic States

Abstract

Oleksandra Zmiyenko – MA Law, European Interdisciplinary Studies – College of Europe; Academic Assistant at the College of Europe, EU International Relations Department, Bruges, Belgium. Email: Oleksandra.zmiyenko@coleurope.eu

Despite still being an emergent research area, statelessness has come to attract growing attention both from academics and among policy-makers. So far, this legal vacuum, that represents a violation of the right to nationality, and has consistently been perceived through the prism of other human rights-related issues. To avoid oversight, statelessness needs to be perceived as a distinct phenomenon and to be addressed as such on the policy-making agenda. The European Union has two overt examples of statelessness among its Member States: Latvia and Estonia. In these post-Soviet countries, statelessness emerged in conjunction with debates over state continuity and state succession. The main question to be asked is to what extent does the EU have leverage when it comes to addressing the problem of statelessness? In its Member States, where questions of citizenship fall under the national competences, the EU influence in this regard seems limited, which is even more apparent outside of the EU. However, for the countries with 'European aspirations', there are different ways to have an impact: either before or after accession. Given its terminological ambiguities and that possible solutions to statelessness may be offered from a diverse range of academic fields, the research methodology of this study is interdisciplinary: from legal to historical analysis. While conditionality imposed on the aspiring members has a clear outcome in terms of legislation changes, once these states have acceded, the EU tends to have less influence. Conditionality might serve as a possibility to address statelessness among the countries with 'European aspirations', while increased pressure to fulfil international obligations may be crucial in dealing with Member States.