"Fostering European identity in an enlarged European Union: Analysis and perspective"

The European Union is entering a new era with a proposed enlargement from its current fifteen states to twenty-five by 2004. This is both an enormous and ambitious undertaking for the European Union and for the individual acceding states. One of the socio-cultural issues associated with the enlargement is emerging European identity. This paper will examine the need for fostering European identity as a way to bring stability and viability to the Union, and the various problems associated with the forging of pan-European identity-in addition, and based on various national and cultural identities of the peoples of the European Union. On the other hand, fostering European identity cannot be achieved without citizen comprehension of main unifying characteristics, which help serve as a basis for their new identity. Furthermore, in light of the heightened sense of national sovereignty among several member states, efforts of some Eurocrats to foster this identity may become futile. New accession states may become a proving ground for the identity in the future, if the rise in ethno-nationalism there is countered by an increased level of educational campaigning by the EU and national governments.