Is there such thing as a 鈥楨uropean identity鈥�?
This article by , Lecturer in Modern and Contemporary History at the School of History, Philosophy and Social Sciences is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the .
The outcome of the UK鈥檚 2016 referendum on EU membership has sent shockwaves across Europe. Among other impacts, it has prompted debates around the issues whether a or a 鈥淓uropean identity鈥� actually exist or whether national identities still dominate.
It would be wrong, in my opinion, to write off the identification of various people with 鈥淓urope鈥�. This identification has been the outcome of a long process, particularly in the second half of the 20th century, involving both the policies of the European Economic Community (EEC) and EU institutions and grassroots initiatives. Cross-border youth mobility since 1945 is a key example of the former: it was often developed by groups that were not formally linked to the EEC/EU. They still helped develop in several countries of the continent.
As political scientist Ronald Inglehart , the younger people were, and the more they travelled, the more likely they were to support an ever-closer political union in Europe. More recently, have also helped develop forms of identification with Europe.
Feeling 鈥淓uropean鈥�
Simultaneously, feeling 鈥淓uropean鈥� and subscribing to a national identity have been far from mutually exclusive. Numerous West Germans in the 1980s were passionate about a reunified Germany being part of a .
Attachment to 鈥淓urope鈥� has also been a key component of regional nationalism in several European countries in the last three decades, such as the Scottish or the Catalan nationalism. A rallying cry for Scottish nationalists from the 1980s on has been , and it continues to be the case today. Indeed, for the 2019 European Parliament elections, the primary slogan of the centre-left Scottish National Party (SNP), currently in power, is .
Diverse agendas
What requires further attention is the significance attached to the notion of European identity. Diverse social and political groups have used it, ranging from the far left to the far right, and the meaning they attach varies. For the SNP, it is compatible with the EU membership of Scotland. The party combines the latter with an inclusive understanding of the Scottish nation, which is open to people who have been born elsewhere in the globe, but live in Scotland.
By contrast, Germany鈥檚 far-right AfD party (Alternative f眉r Deutschland, Alternative for Germany) is critical of the EU, yet identifies with 鈥淓urope鈥�, which it explicitly contrasts with Islam. A clear example is a one of the that asks 鈥淓uropeans鈥� to vote for AfD so that the EU doesn鈥檛 become 鈥淓urabia鈥�.
Identification with Europe does exist, but it is a complex phenomenon, framed in several ways. and does not necessarily imply support for the EU. Similarly, European identities are not necessarily mutually exclusive with national identities. Finally, both the former and the latter identities may rest upon stereotypes against people regarded as 鈥渘on-European鈥�.
Publication date: 22 May 2019