The 'European (Union) Identity': An Overview
Ugur Tekiner2020, E-IR
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Abstract
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The paper provides a comprehensive overview of the concept of European Identity as it has evolved within the context of European integration. It outlines how European elites have used this identity to navigate the challenges posed by geopolitical dynamics, democratic legitimacy, and the cultural implications of enlargement. Key motivations for the development of European Identity include establishing a coherent international position for the EU, addressing democratic deficits, countering Euroscepticism, and managing cultural diversity. The narrative indicates that European Identity remains a fluctuating construct influenced by various political and cultural forces throughout its history.
Key takeaways
- Whilst constructing the European Identity, European elites did not only seek to increase the low levels of public trust in European institutions.
- In such a political climate, the European Identity was once again conceived as key to eliminating the divisions between Eastern and Western Europeans and unifying them on the culturally secure ground of 'being European'.
- As of the late-1940s, when the idea of European integration emerged, European identity had already drawn attention as a contentious issue.
- Together with establishing the European Union, the Treaty formally constituted the 'European citizenship' in a way of guaranteeing the rights of the European citizens within a legal framework (Jacobs and Maier, 1998).
- Shifting to a culturalist discourse, the Commission led practising European cultural identity politics from the mid-1980s, which saw the introduction of many symbols as main component elements of the European Identity.
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