Citizens’ Perception of EU Identity GLOBAL GOVERNANCE POLICY SERIES
22 MINUTES
Keywords: EU vision> EU future> citizens’ perception> EU identity> EU citizenship> globalisation> branding> The Euro> nation states> EU members states> EU enlargement> Turkey> EU debate> Lisbon Treaty> Maastricht Treaty> European culture> EU status> EU development.
2 GOLD MERCURY INTERNATIONAL Global Governance Policy Series: Citizens’ Perception of EU Identity
Creating a Vision of Europe Project EU citizens are not excited, not emotionally involved, but bored, despondent and uninspired by the union’s institutionalism. Is there a shared vision for Europeans, a European identity? European citizens are or the most part disenfranchised and distant from the overall EU project. Having successfully accomplished several goals such as preserving peace, increasing human rights, and solidifying democracy, the now larger EU is in need of a vision and brand that clearly communicates its future role, purpose and value to its citizens. A vision that connects with the needs and requirements of the European and global civil society and responds to the challenges facing a globalised world. GOLD MERCURY EU PROJECT SERIES
aims to analyse and create the basis for a larger debate about Europe, the EU and its future vision and identity. Following the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, this series aims to reveal the often underestimated issues that need to be taken into account to start a constructive debate about the future of the EU which includes creating a future EU identity and brand. By analysing the current citizens’ perception of Europe, this series will include: an exploration of the meaning and significance of EU identity today, and an analysis of current citizens’ perception of EU. It showcases what the EU has done in the past and what it is doing now to create a European identity. This series aims to present a new framework to understand the complexity that lies behind the EU identity, suggesting new standards to start a constructive debate on EU citizenship and EU identity and drawing on new insights regarding the current situation of EU identity. The EU PROJECT SERIES shines a new spotlight and revitalizes the debate on the EU’s vision and future, suggesting new grounds and parameters to build a fresh paradigm for the EU to clarify its role on the world stage.
3 GOLD MERCURY INTERNATIONAL Global Governance Policy Series: Citizens’ Perception of EU Identity
Introduction The EU is a political, social and cultural reality and has a daily impact on the life of the citizens within its member states. Yet owing to the complicated way in which the EU came about, it is difficult to identify the constituent parts of an EU identity and what its influence, as an idea, is on the day to day life of citizens. This article considers the nature of an EU identity — why it is so difficult to isolate, what its key factors are and why it is of such significance. It is split into three sections. The first section is a consideration of the problems within the debate of an EU identity, conceiving that the difficulty in considering an EU identity stems largely from the discrepancies and difficulties in tracing what the EU is, in addition to the difficulty in isolating reference points in light of the speed and complexity of developments in both the model itself, as well as background developments that have allowed and facilitated its current manifestation. The second section argues that, following on from the issues of categorisation there is such a thing as an EU identity, and considers what this identity looks like as a form in itself, as well as compared to other types of identity. In addition, this section considers the significance of this identity in terms of how it sheds light on the development of the EU project itself, and what it can tell us about the developing nature of identity-formation within the EU. The third section considers the role the EU itself has played in shaping this identity.
4 GOLD MERCURY INTERNATIONAL Global Governance Policy Series: Citizens’ Perception of EU Identity
Problems Isolating EU Identity When considering citizens’ perception of EU identity it is easy to assume that there is one unified entity that is being considered, that is to say, an idea or set of easily isolated ideas that are then considered in synergy with an individual’s perceptions. This is not the case. The EU itself, as well as its development and the background to its development are very confusing concepts, impacting different people in different ways.
Identity is an umbrella term used throughout the social sciences to describe a person’s conception and expression of their individuality or group affiliations (such as national identity and cultural identity).