Is European Union at the Heart of Citizens' Identity?

• Author: Mihaela Carausan
• Position: Senior Lecturer, PhD, Faculty of Public Administration, Bucharest, National School of Political Studies and Public Administration, 6 Povernei Street, Sector 1, Bucharest, Romania
• Pages: 65-80

Abstract:

The departure poi

community needs a co mmon

and to endow t hese with

legi

best describing the aims of

understood.

That is why we

t

ogether almost 60 years ag

which are the European citiz

values. For that we will put

end to which value European

that European Union citizens

it important to

find an answ

values?

Keywords: shared values;

E

1. Creating

Europea

Culture is the shared

n

assumptions that have

standards governing app

exist around issues suc

conflict resolution. Valu

are desirable (Romm e

works and cause/effect r

1

Senior Lecturer, PhD, Fac

Studies and Public Admin

+4021.318.08.97, fax: +40

21

J

Is European Union at the Heart of

Identity?

Mihaela CRUAN

1

point of many discussions on European identity is the idea th

on set of values and references to ensure its cohe

rence, to gui

egitimacy an

d meaning. The motto “unity in diversity”

is gen

of the European Union; opin ions differ widely as to ho

w

we will try to identify those values which b rought the Europ

ago. And we will continue to see, based on the Eurobaro m

itizens’ values and what Eu ropean Union represents for them

ut together the items obtained in the

last five years and we w

ean Union sh ould pay more attention in the future. Even the

ens continue to identify first of all with th eir own countries and

swer to the following question: Is European Union a commun

European identity

; citizens’ opinion; European culture;

people

ean

Culture or “Unity in Diversity”?

norms, attitudes, values, beliefs, expectations, cu

ve emerged over time. Norms are a set of au

appropriate or inappropriate behaviours for a group

such a

s quality, performance, flexibility, output

alues are preferences for ultimate end conditions

or

et al., 1991).

Beliefs include facts about the wo

ct relations

hips. (Romm et al., 1991)

Faculty of Public Administration, Bucharest,

National Schoo

ministration

,

6 Povernei Street, Sector 1, Bucharest, Ro

21.312.25.35. Corresponding author:

mihaelacarausan@gmail

AUDJ, vol. VII, no.

JURIDICA

65

of Citizens'

a that a political

guide its actions

enerally seen as

w it should be

ropean countries

rometers results,

em, in terms of

e will see in the

he surveys show

and we consider

unity of shared

ple

-happiness

customs, and

authoritative

oup and often

t levels, and

or ideals that

world, how it

ool

of Political

Romania,

tel.:

ail.com

.

no. 1, pp.

65-80

ACTA UNIVERSITATIS DANUBIUS Vol. VII, no. 1/2011

66

Culture acts as a social control system that powerfully shapes the behaviour of

individuals and groups. Cultures are supported and maintained by the people

(Romm et al., 1991; Barber, 1990; O’Reilley, 1989 and Scheider et al., 1994).

Goffee (1996) defines culture as, “Culture, in a word, is community. It is an

outcome of how people relate to one another. Communities exist … They are built

on shared interests and mutual obligations and thrive on cooperation and

friendships”. The tensions recorded in defining the concept of culture have been

very well synthesized by the French Academy Dictionary “socially culture today

bring-together the intellectual, moral, material aspects, the systems of values, the

lifestyles that characterize a civilization”.

Value is the operative word; it transcends the world to legitimize it. The dictionary

defines value as being “the quality or the fact of being reliable, useful or

desirable.” Values play a significant role in determining what is possible.

Creating a European Culture attempts to merge the goals of the individual with the

goals of the EU. A competent culture has the knowledge, attitude and skills to

facilitate transformation. This culture is characterized by the constant desire of

people to learn and develop critical thinking skills (Spitzer et al., 1994). In most

cases, when transformation begins, the culture does not have the knowledge,

attitude and skills to transform. Transformation requires knowledge of concepts

and principles that are beyond the requirements for most trades within the EU.

Thus, a competency in transformation should be developed. According to

Blumenthal, “competitiveness depends on new competencies, skills, and behaviour

that must be infused into the organization.” (Blumenthal et al., 1994) Developing a

competent culture is a process (Flanagan, 1995) which requires a planned approach

that supports the transformation plan.

“Europe needs a new reason for its existence” (Mahony, 2006) said the German

chancellor Angela Merkel. Therefore we have to recognise that the values which

were promoted by the Treaty of Rome, peace, reconstruction and the concept of

community have been changed and we have not created new ones yet. The “Plan D

– Debate, Democracy and Dialogue” seems to be for now the one which tries to re-

connect the citizens with EU, to make possible the project of “living together in

Europe”. The European Communities reached their next level in ’92 (with the

Maastricht Treaty) when they were shaped in a “bigger and stronger” Union. The

new Union increased its members during the years and through them its territory