Stateless Roma in the European Union: Reconciling the Doctrine of Sovereignty Concerning Nationality Laws with International Agreements to Reduce and Avoid Statelessness

Part I of this Note discusses the historical and legal background of Roma in the EU, as well as the nature of the EU legislation and international agreements that comprise the legal substance of Roma statelessness. Part II examines the doctrine of Member State sovereignty concerning nationality laws and the viewpoint, shared by many scholars and politicians, that this sovereignty is eroding and the Court of Justice of the European Union (”Court of Justice”) should continue to limit it. Part II also discusses several solutions to the problem of Roma statelessness in the EU in light of the erosion of the doctrine of sovereignty. Part III analyzes the adequacy of the solutions in Part II, rejects them, and then offers a new solution-an affirmative mandate for Member States to confer Member State nationality, and thereby EU citizenship, on Romani individuals who fall within the purview of the international agreements, which these Member States have signed, to reduce and avoid statelessness. STATELESS ROMA IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: RECONCILING THE DOCTRINE OF SOVEREIGNTY CONCERNING NATIONALITY LAWS WITH INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS TO REDUCE AND AVOID STATELESSNESS