The Influence of EU Citizenship on International Family Law. – European Union cit-
izenship is a multifaceted concept. It vests a formal status in the citizens of member
states and grants them individual rights. In addition, it symbolically affirms the ide-
al of integration. The different facets of EU citizenship are mirrored in the various
ways in which the concept influences international family law. First, the rights con-
nected to the status of EU citizenship shape the outcome of international family law
cases. Second, art. 21 para. 2 TFEU bestows a competence on EU legislators to har-
monize international family law. Third, EU citizenship is invoked to support the
ideal of mobile citizens roaming freely within the EU, an ideal which for its part le-
gitimizes habitual residence as a central connecting factor in EU international fam-
ily law regulations.