Participation in EU policy-making and European identity

17 February 2015

Time: 1:00 - 2:00pm
Venue: Francis Bancroft Building, Rm 3.27, Mile End Campus

Speaker: Dr Mihalis Ragkousis (Hull)

The project of European identity has been one of great importance to the EU, particularly in periods when the support of the citizens for European integration has been doubted upon. The EU has funded research, publications, events, projects for the creations of symbols etc. Yet, in terms of policies, the Commission itself has focused mainly on the cultural field in order to help a European identity emerge through techniques of national identity building. Although academics followed for long this ‘cultural trend’ of the Commission, later studies have shown that a European identity can emerge also through different mechanisms. The majority of these studies have focused exclusively on elite actors. The Open Method of Coordination which was introduced in the Lisbon strategy in 2000 has provided for non-elite actors to participate particularly in the European social policy-making process. This paper shows evidence of European identity among these new actors. The emergence and endurance of such an identity nevertheless, has been depended upon their socialisation in the EU policy-making process and/or on their rational evaluation of costs and benefits that their participation has generated.