Defining ‘Family Members’ of EU Citizens and the Circumstances under Which They Can Rely on EU Law

Abstract

The present article deals with the legal concept of family members of EU citizens in EU and national legislation. In particular, it examines the legal definition of family in Directive 2004/38, as well as the way the Court of Justice of the EU has interpreted the relevant provisions of the Directive. Not least, the present article focuses on the circumstances under which these persons may qualify as family members according to the case law of the CJEU. As for the research at national level, the present study examines the way the same issues are regulated in national implementing legislation of Spain. The article concludes that although the definition of family in Directive 2004/38 is still focused on a formal and traditional family model, the CJEU has quite progressively adopted a more expansive interpretation in relation to this concept. Regardless of this finding, this article argues that a more de facto approach is still necessary in order for the applicable rules to become more compatible with the reality of personal relations nowadays but also with the international human rights standards.