Državljanstvo Europske unije.

Citizenship of the European Union, known also as European citizenship, was established by the European Union Treaty signed in Maastricht on 7 February 1992 and it has been in force since 1 November 1993. Citizenship of the European Union is supplementary to national citizenship acquired by all citizens of the European Union in their home countries. For semantic reasons, the notion of citizens of the European Union will be mentioned frequently in this paper, however, European Union is neither a super-state nor it consists of classical elements of a state; it is a political union without a state - a non-state entity. The introduction of the citizenship of the European Union, the acquisition and loss of the said citizenship, differences between the national and EU citizenship will be shown in the paper. We will learn of the EU citizens' rights and obligations and of the way in which the European Court of Justice has assessed these rights in its individual judgements. Relations between EU citizens and institutions will be analyzed and bodies will be mentioned that may be contacted by disgruntled citizens. The idea of a citizen is associated with the individual who is loyal to the community of his/her residence and expects protection, assured respect for human rights and the right to participate in the decision-making process of such community's public affairs. This paper will be made also in an effort to defuse most frequently expressed fears of the Croatian citizens in terms of full membership, which will happen in the following months, such that the process of joining the EU may be accepted with the least possible amount of doubt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]