The European Union
| Author | John Erik Fossum |
| Date | 01 July 2003 |
| Published date | 01 July 2003 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1474885103002003005 |
| Subject Matter | Journal Article |
The European Union
In Search of an Identity
John Erik Fossum ARENA, University of Oslo
abstract: The purpose of this article is to discuss the type of attachment and
allegiance propounded in the recently proclaimed Charter of Fundamental Rights of
the European Union. Charters such as Bills of Rights are generally held to be
reflective of and evocative of a rights-based constitutional patriotism. The EU is not a
state; there are widely different conceptions of what it is and should be, one of which
is the vision of a Europe of nation states. Is the spirit of the Charter thus instead that
of deep diversity, i.e. reflective of a wide diversity of views, visions and values as to what
the EU is and ought to be? The article contrasts constitutional patriotism and deep
diversity as alternative underlying philosophies of the Charter and also briefly
examines the Charter’s presumed ability to produce either type of sentiment of
allegiance.
key words: Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, constitutional
patriotism, Convention on the Future of Europe, deep diversity, fundamental rights
Introduction
The European Union’s nature and status are highly contested. One of the most
hotly contested issues pertains to whether the EU can develop a sense of alle-
giance that is sufficient to sustain it as a legitimate entity. In the treaties it is
asserted that: ‘The Union is founded on the principles of liberty, democracy,
respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law, princi-
ples which are common to the Member States’. These are central requirements
for democratic legitimacy and are universalistic. The quest for a set of values that
is reflective of, and that can be seen as the embodiment of, a particular European
identity, a uniquely European sense of self and conception of the good life, has
met with strong opposition. Committed nationalists defend their national identi-
ties and their nationally based conceptions of the good life. The EU thus appears
trapped between the Scylla of universalism and the Charybdis of difference and
distinctness.
319
article
Contact address: John E. Fossum, ARENA, University of Oslo,
PO Box 1143, Blindern 0317 Oslo, Norway.
Email: j.e.fossum@arena.uio.no
EJPT
European Journal
of Political Theory
© SAGE Publications Ltd,
London, Thousand Oaks
and New Delhi
issn 1474-8851
2(3)319–340;033671
EPT 2/3 articles 9/6/03 10:11 am Page 319
The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union that was pro-
claimed in December 2000 has been presented as a step in the process of con-
stitutionalizing the EU, so as to found it on a set of fundamental values and
principles that will assure public support. In the preamble it is stated that:
The peoples of Europe, in creating an ever closer union among them, are resolved to share
a peaceful future based on common values.
Conscious of its spiritual and moral heritage, the Union is founded on the indivisible,
universal values of human dignity, freedom, equality and solidarity; it is based on the
principles of democracy and the rule of law. It places the individual at the heart of its
activities, by establishing the citizenship of the Union and by creating an area of freedom,
security and justice.
This quotation is reflective of the general view that Bills of Rights or Charters
establish or entrench fundamental rights, democracy and the rule of law. The
relevant sense of allegiance and attachment would then be akin to Habermas’s
notion of constitutional patriotism, a type of support that does not derive from pre-
political values and attachments but from basic rights. A charter, the German
Minister of Justice argued in 1999, would be an important means to foster consti-
tutional patriotism.1The question is whether the European Charter rests on con-
stitutional patriotism as its basic philosophy.
This issue of allegiance is compounded by the fact that the EU is not a state
and further that there is still no consensus as to what it is or ought to be. The
member states play a vital role in determining its future and have privileged access
to the formation or shaping of its underlying principles and philosophy.
Given the prominent role of the member states, it is not surprising that the
preamble of the Charter also espouses support for the protection and preservation
of national and cultural diversity of Europe:
The Union contributes to the preservation and to the development of these common
values while respecting the diversity of the cultures and traditions of the peoples of Europe
as well as the national identities of the Member States and the organisation of their public
authorities at national, regional and local levels.
Is the Charter more attuned to ‘diversity awareness’2and its spirit of Taylor’s deep
diversity than that of constitutional patriotism? Deep diversity denotes multiple
different collective goals and conceptions of the polity. Different groups
and collectives can have different relations to the overarching entity – including
differentiated citizenship rights. Some of the members of the Convention that
drafted the Charter saw it as a means of delineating, and by implication of cur-
tailing, the role of the EU so as to ensure the protection of the national identities
and cultures of the member states.3There were also proposals for group-based
rights and other provisions for the protection and promotion of national, ethnic,
cultural and religious minorities.4Contemporary charters can accommodate con-
siderable difference and diversity.5Many analysts claim that today’s world is
marked by complex affiliations, considerable scope for ‘disembedding’,6and a
European Journal of Political Theory 2(3)
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