This paper considers the interface between events transpiring at the level of the European Union and the Luxembourgish state in order to understand the timing of recent citizenship legislation and the introduction of language requirements in multiple European Union member-states at the turn of the twenty-first century. Functioning like a kaleidoscope, the discourse of integration is central to this process as it facilitates the presentation of learning the ‘language of the country’ as the solution to the migration ‘problem’ and also to the ‘problem’ of implementing more harmonized forms of citizenship legislation within the European Union. The analysis shows how the discourse of integration is central to the negotiation of social practices informed by nationalist ideologies and the accelerated processes of globalization.