Legal status of the citizens of third countries in the European Union

The law of the European Communities regulates legal status of individuals pursuant to the goals establishing EC as a regional international organization and in the scope of activities set for achieving those goals. Therefore personal scope of application of the community law relates primarily to the citizens of the Member States. Their legal status has been determined and regulated since the Roman Treaty establishing European Economic Community through the freedom of movement, freedom of residence and freedom of services, and since the Mastricht Treaty on European Union and European Community through the freedom of movement and residence for the citizens of the European Union. The citizens of third countries are not included in the scope of application of the community law rationale personae except in extraordinary circumstances: (1) the capacity of a family member of the citizen of the Member State makes them derivative participant and their status depends on the status of the original participant who is exercising one of the above mentioned freedoms; (2) international agreements on cooperation, association, accession which are concluded between the EC and certain third countries are the sources of the special legal status for the citizens of those countries. Amsterdam Treaty on EC, as a primary source of the community law, establishes for the first time legal basis for adoption of the measures of secondary law in the field of legal status of the citizens of third countries, and in particular: (1) in respect of conditions to enter and reside, issue of visa and resident permits issued by the Member States for the longer period of time; (2) in respect of rights and terms under which the citizens of third countries, who are legal aliens in the Member States, can reside in other Member States. Although those community measures do not prevent Member States to keep or to introduce national measures in these fields they set minimum basis for broadening the number of citizens of third countries who can acquire the status of the community law participant.