Project Idea: What actually is the European Union? -ZS

Project Idea: What actually is the European Union?

Over break, I had the privilege of interning at the EU office in Washington D.C.  With the future of the EU up in the air; Brexit and the EU elections coming throwing curve balls left and right, the continent is sailing into uncharted political waters. With Britain most likely leaving the EU, member states have been forced to ask the question, “what are we actually doing?” Does being European stand for merely a geographic connection or is it a more substantial cultural and economic link? While interning at the EU, it was particularly interesting to see the diversity in the office, with the staff composed of Italians, French, Portuguese, British, and Czech colleagues all working together towards a shared goal. However, I began to wonder what this goal actually was. When the EU was officially created in 1993 (acknowledging the different European community organisations prior to it in the 1950s), the ambition was to form a shared economic and legal community in which laws and borders could be applied uniformly to all member states. While the EU accomplished this, it seems a larger entity was born from these member state alliances: a European identity.

Though some would argue they are more partial to their national ties than European origins, the case can be appropriately made that the European identity as of 2019 is in jeopardy. With Britain leaving individuals have been forced to question whether they are  for example, German or European? Noting that one can be both German and European, my point is that before Brexit, many people did not take issue or even think about the title “European.” If one lives in Germany, they are part of an EU member state and therefore European. However, now with the world changing at a fast pace these political decisions pose more personal dilemmas.  What does it mean to be European? Is it merely living in the territory? Is it cultural link? An attitude? An atheistic questions becomes a more cogent issue as the questions continually generate from each other.

My hope in this class is to do my final project on the EU identity. I think it would be really interesting and prove a beneficial exercise to trace the genealogy of the EU from its early ties in the 1950s to its more recent trials and tribulations with Brexit and even Turkey attempting to join a few years back. Why is it that Britain wanted to leave? Why were the member states so opposed to having Turkey join? Was it purely economic reasons or were their more subtle cultural qualms involved in the decisions? These questions have been weighing on me since my internships and I would really enjoy the chance to explore them further, bouncing ideas off the class through discussions and posts.

I plan to completely embrace the irony of an all American girl writing about European politics and identity.  While some will say I am out of my league and need stay in my lane, I think that studying Europe as an outsider might give me an advantage. For example, a European writing about the concept of European identity might have a better grasp of one’s personal connection to the alliance, but, they will unavoidably be harbouring a bias. Whether the individual is a supporter of the EU or sceptical of it, they will inevitably have opinions regarding what it means to be European. While I may still have opinions or inklings as to how others feel, at the end of the day I’m American and am not a member of the EU. Therefore, though I may have a bias within the realm of American identity issues, my bias cannot really extend into the realm of the European identity. So, this in mind, I think my quest to dive into the history of the European identity is one that is seasoned with optimism and potential.

My three main question I would want to focus on:

• The genealogy of the EU from 1950s ties to the present
• The different cultural, economic, and political factors that contribute to the European identity (what they are and why they matter)
• How the outcome of the current EU elections will affect the future of the global European identity.  

I am eager to hear everyone’s thoughts and look forwarding to learning about all the different projects going on.