An Analysis Of The Consular Protection Directive: Are Eu Citizens Now Better Protected In The World?

In the context of an increasing number of unrepresented EU citizens travelling and residing outside the EU, and changes to the EU’s and Member States’ external representations, this article explores the added value of the Consular Protection Directive, for EU citizens in third countries and, more broadly, for EU citizenship policy. The Directive is one of the most controversial instruments in the field of EU citizenship; it was adopted after four years of intense inter-institutional negotiations and more than two decades after the Maastricht Treaty conferred an EU citizenship right to equal protection in third countries.The article explores the main causes for this long and difficult road to the Directive’s adoption; it then examines the main innovations introduced by the Directive to the implementation of this EU citizenship right, and whether it can, in fact, deliver a better protection for EU citizens outside the EU. It concludes by identifying remaining challenges in implementing the Directive.