The little-known agreement that sets Europe's citizenship guidelines

"An important but hardly-known international agreement signed by 29 European countries has established common principles for citizenship rules, rights and duties associated to multiple citizenship, explains Claudia Delpero. It's called the European Convention on Nationality. The agreement also clarifies the military obligations for people with multiple nationality, a topic becoming increasingly relevant as countries like Germany and France are discussing the reintroduction of military conscription. Last Friday, the German parliament approved a landmark law that brings back the military service on a voluntary basis, with the possibility to extend it to needs-based recruitment."

"The European Convention on Nationality is an international agreement signed in 1997 under the Council of Europe (not an EU institution). It was designed to provide a general framework on the acquisition, retention, loss, and recovery of nationality, also in the context of geopolitical changes occurring in the 1990s. The 1997 Convention built on a previous one, dating back to 1963, which was based on the idea that multiple nationality was undesirable and should be avoided as far as possible."

The European Convention on Nationality, adopted in 1997 under the Council of Europe, establishes common rules on acquisition, retention, loss, and recovery of nationality across 29 European states. The Convention shifted from a restrictive 1963 approach to a neutral stance on multiple nationality, reflecting increased labour migration, mixed-origin families, EU freedom of movement, and gender-equal transmission of citizenship. The Convention clarifies rights and duties linked to multiple nationality and specifies military obligations for people holding more than one nationality. Clarity on military duties has become more salient amid debates over reintroducing conscription in states such as Germany and France.

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