From EU Citizens to Third Country Nationals: The Legacy of Polydor

This article considers the possible effects of ‘Brexit’ on British nationals who would no longer be EU citizens. Any Member State withdrawing from the Union is unlikely to cut all ties to the Internal Market. It is almost inevitable that a departing State would need to set up a bilateral or multilateral arrangement for the purpose of continuing to participate in the Internal Market. The analysis compares the legal status of the citizens of a withdrawing state vis-à-vis EU citizens and examines whether and under what conditions third country nationals are conferred rights and obligations in the EU Internal Market which are equal to those enjoyed by EU citizens. In this context, the possibility of using the Polydor doctrine to empower third country nationals to an extent comparable to EU nationals is explored.