The EU and Its Challenge 'To Act Like One'

ABSTRACT

"Zollverein' ce n'est pas un patrie"

The EU is working toward social unity and cohesion. Her efforts are bound to become more challenging with new members from east Europe and perhaps Muslim Turkey. The EU claims, in the Lisbon Treaty, that the only way Europe can meet the challenges of globalization, demographic shifts, climate change, the need for sustainable energy sources and new security threats in the 21st century is by "acting as one." That is, by acting like a nation in solidarity, unity, and accord. The question is to what extent can the EU member states act like a nation? In other words, the question is to what extent can we talk about the formation of an EU nation?

This study explores three answers to the question of the extent that we can talk about the formation of an EU nation: The first one is that we can talk of the formation of an EU nation to a great extent because it has a lingua franca, a flag, a monetary unit, and decision-making institutions. We can say that the EU is like India, which incorporates a multitude of nations, religions, and languages under one roof.

The second answer is that we cannot really talk about the formation of an EU nation in its classical meaning since the EU community of peoples will never feel like they belong to a nation because of their heterogeneous character, undefined borders, and diverse cultures. Moreover, the different peoples making up the EU will never act in unison and solidarity expected of a nation.

The third answer is that we can talk about the formation of an EU nation to some extent if we consider that the EU may be laying the grounds of a new form of political formation in the era of globalization. This answer integrates the ambivalence prevailing in the "nation-state" outlook on society and politics and the possibility of another alternative. I describe here a nation as a modern democratic nation-state with relatively developed market economies. I opt for the third answer.

The plan of the work is as follows: The study is in three parts and the first part consists of an overview of the European Union and the Lisbon Treaty and different approaches to what makes a nation. The second part explores the various answers to the question of the extent that we can talk about the formation of an EU nation, and the third part is the conclusion, where the answer deemed most suitable is explained.

Esther Tina Pesah
2009