The recent rejection of the European Union constitution by France and the Netherlands brings to the fore once again the question "what does it mean to be European?"
The question has often been asked but perhaps the lack of a compelling answer has been at the heart of the disquiet between member nations and the European Union. On the other hand if we ask the question "what does it mean to be Irish, English or Spanish?" we would arrive at some broadly agreed and strongly held consensus. Although my own sense of nationhood has diminished since leaving Ireland I would say that I still have more certainty regarding it than I do regarding being European. If Europe wants to move forward together then we need to arrive at some definition our identity as Europeans. One way we could do this would be to contrast Europe with the US or the Middle East.
In contrast to the US, as Europeans we will continue to be a mosaic rather than a melting pot. Our identities as Irish, English or Spanish will not be lost or subsumed by a European identity. We may have a European identity but it will be in addition to our national identities. Immigrants to America are driven through social and cultural mores to lose their national identity and assume the American way so as to achieve the American Dream. I don't see people losing their national identities to pursue a European dream anytime soon.
In contrast to the Middle East, a hallmark of modern Europe has been the secular and humanistic influences on government and society. In the Middle East religion is an integral part of the social and cultural fabric. There are some potential battle lines that we can see developing in this regard within Europe (e.g. the wearing of the veil in French schools or the use of sharia law) but overall I believe Europe will remain secular and humanist.
So to be European may mean to be nationally distinct but loosely integrated by common values such as secularism and humanism. It is likely that any definition of what it means to be European will be loose and politicians advocating greater integration through the mechanism of the E.U. need to be aware of that. It would seem to me that an E.U. constitution would be a good place to enshrine some of the commonly held values but the constitution as it reads now perhaps goes a little too far when it wants to codify foreign and defence policy amongst other things.
So if you are European, what does it mean to you? And if you are not European, does it mean anything to you?
For more information ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2950276.stm
4 comments:
What it means to be European?
Not an awful lot yet, TBH. Perhaps it may have more meaning for the next generation when integration is the norm as opposed to the novelty that it is now.
However I can not see us raising the European flag outside the house anytime soon and "Living the European dream!
Interesting to hear that you still regard it as a novelty, is that because the euro is still a new thing?
No the €uro is not a new thing as such. Indeed I believe the Irish are very open to change, and most of us have totally forgotten about the pound.
But the novelty is more how European and integrated our society is becomming. My next door neighbours are polish and there is a big eastern european community living locally. The different cultures are very evident here now.
It's just a pity how we feel about the travellers.
The €uro certainly is handy for travellers to Europe. Previously you always ended up with a whole lot of change in different currencies that never got spent and ended up gathering dust in some jar.
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