IS THERE AN EUROPEAN IDENTITY?

WHICH EUROPEAN UNION CONSTITUTION?

CIM - November 2005

Clement Serge, FRA Martin Jencik, CZEGregor Kopriva, SLOAnders Lindahl, SWEAlessandro Valere, ITA

CIM - November 2005

DEFINITION OF “EUROPEAN IDENTITY”

• European-in this case we will consider the European Union (the 25 countries)

•Identity - the spirit of this community. The very source of cohesion. What do we share?

CIM - November 2005

TWO POINTS OF VIEW

• “Não sou nem Ateniense nem Grego, mas sim um cidadão do mundo”- Socrates

• “No soy Español, pero soy un Basco”-Un basco…

CIM - November 2005

THE POLITICAL DEFINITION

The European citizenship - Since Maastricht (1992)

• Every citizen who is a national of a Member State is also a citizen of the Union

• This citizenship vests new rights in Europeans

CIM - November 2005

THE SYMBOLS OF EUROPE

As a country we have:

• The flag

• The European hymn

• The Euro

CIM - November 2005

WHAT MAKES EU MEMBERS SIMILAR

“some common roots”

• Greek philosophy (way of mind)

• Roman Empire (presence)

• Christianity (religion and values)

• History together (experiences)

CIM - November 2005

Greek philosophy:

• they first take care about Soul: the human being is the centre of the reality, his essence corresponds with his psyché , therefore with his capacity of want and understand

• thinking through concept (conceptualization), allowed the technical and scientific development, instead of the primitive way of thinking through images and myths or legends

CIM - November 2005

ROMAN EMPIRE

• infrastructures ( cities still alive, urban system, aqueducts, roads still used...) ;

• law as a codified system accepted and shared by everybody , still common in the studies of law all over the continent;

• language: Latin scattered by Romans through the Europe is the root of many languages.

CIM - November 2005

CHRISTIANITY

…the concept of human being, not only as an individual being (one in a mass of people), but as a person with his dignity, precious just because a living being, in relation with other ones in a society; only Christianity has conveyed the absolute value of person.

CIM - November 2005

HISTORY TOGETHER

• trade

• migratory flows

• wars

• epidemic diseases

• scientific and technical development

CIM - November 2005

Because of this unique mix only in Europe could born and develop:

• the occidental way of modern democracy based on law as a codified system accepted and shared by every citizen

• our common sense of human rights

CIM - November 2005

WHAT MAKES EU MEMBERS DIFFERENT

• National issues – temperament

• Political issues – expectations of membership

CIM - November 2005

NATIONAL ISSUES

• Language

• Historical experiences

• Relations to authorities

• Values

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POLITICAL ISSUES

• Foreign affairs

• Budget

• Importance

• Motives for joining

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HOFSTEDE`S SCALE IN EU

COUNTRYPower distanc

e

Uncertainty

avoidance

Individualism/

Collectivism

Masculinity/

Feminity

Denmark 18 23 74 16

France 68 86 71 43

Germany 35 65 67 66

UK 35 35 89 66

Italy 50 75 76 70

Netherlands 38 53 80 14

Portugal 63 104 27 31

Sweden 31 29 71 5

CIM - November 2005

EURO-SCEPTICISM • Identity based

• Cleavage based

• Policy-based

• Institutionally based

• National interest-based

• Experience-based

• Party-based

• Atlantic-based

• Practice-based

CIM - November 2005

CREATING AND FOSTERING EUROPEAN IDENTITY

(three basic strategies)

• to construct a common culturally defined European identity in a similar way as national identities have been constructed

• supra-national legal system was built

• a new (embryonic) form of European

supranational citizenship has been

introduced

CIM - November 2005

THE EU’S CONSTITUTION “the enlarged Union in search of coherence and

solidarity”

• The European Constitution is still a relatively large document and consists of four main parts:

 • Part I; covers the definition and objectives of the Union,

fundamental rights and citizenship of the Union, the Union's competences and how they are exercised, its institutions, the democratic life of the Union, the Union's finances, its immediate environment, and membership of the Union. 

 • Part II; of the Constitution contains the Charter of

Fundamental Rights.  • Part III; sets out in detail the Union's policy areas and other

technical issues, • Part IV deals with the Treaty establishing the European

Constitution, including arrangements for ratification and future amendments.

CIM - November 2005

People are frightened but…

• All different but “Unity in diversity” Edy Korthales Altes.

• In term of identity- “The present identity of the European Union is not robust but rather confusing. It resembles a Picasso Portrait…” Edy Korthales Altes.

CIM - November 2005

WHO FEEL THIS UNITY?

• Erasmus-We share time together, apartments...We will go back very opened minded.

• Erasmus is strongly connected to education, coordination, exchanges of ideas, discoveries…

CIM - November 2005

Maybe tomorrow…

• We need more time, more coordination, more Erasmus, more information…

• And may be we will present our self as European and no as you usually do.