Layered European Identity

Countering Populism

Some cultural institutes, such as the British Council and the Goethe-Institut, have gained extensive experience with projects to support civil society and freedom of speech in challenging environments, and in some countries (such as Turkey) they work well together to promote these causes. However, such cooperation is not yet standard practice, and there remains considerable scope for joint or coordinated projects to support civil society in countries such as Hungary and Romania.

There is much the EU could do to support such initiatives, notably by strengthening its policies and budgets for citizenship, education, and culture. These include wellknown programmes such as Erasmus, but also lesser known but important programmes such as Europe for Citizens. In addition, EU missions in third countries do not always work well with the national cultural institutes. Some missions take a passive approach, arguing that culture is not a priority.

Counterstrategies to strengthen social cohesion and a sense of common endeavour will have to be developed and maintained over time.

Can European civic identity exist? Should it exist? And will it counter populism? In the past 60 years European integration has steadily progressed, but people’s identification with the EU as citizens has not kept pace. 

Just as France or Germany managed to mould different regional identities into a strong sense of national identity, perhaps it is time for the EU to shape its various national identities into an overarching sense of European identity. But the analogy with national identity should not be pushed too far: European identity is not the same as national identity written large. Whereas national identities, as a rule, are seen as mutually exclusive (I am French, therefore I am not German), European identity is inclusive, to a degree (I am French; I am also a European).

Layered European Identity

This sense of layered European identity has, in fact, been growing. Asked (in 2015) whether they see themselves as national citizens only, as national and European, as European and national, or as European citizens only, 39 percent said they saw themselves as national citizens only, but 51 percent said they identified as national and European citizens. A further 6 percent said European and national, and 2 percent said European only. Statistics published in 2018 show that in each EU Member State, more than half of respondents feel that they are citizens of the EU. Across the EU as a whole, 71 percent feel this way and, at a national level, proportions range from 89 percent in Luxembourg to 51 percent in Bulgaria.

Whereas national identities, as a rule, are seen as mutually exclusive (I am French, therefore I am not German), European identity is inclusive, to a degree (I am French; I am also a European).

Europeans say that culture is the factor that does most to create a feeling of community among them as EU citizens. Eight in ten (80 percent) think cultural heritage is important for the European Union. A large majority of respondents (88 percent) agree Europe's cultural heritage should be taught in schools, as it tells us about our history and culture.

More than three quarters in each EU Member State agree. Cultural heritage could be one of the building blocks of policies to strengthen the saliency of European citizenship. Education, and particularly citizenship education, could be another such building block. Education helps to develop the skills, attitudes and values people need to live as citizens in a democracy.

In December 2017 the European Council declared that education and culture are key to building to inclusive and cohesive societies, and to sustaining European competitiveness. They also expressed a willingness ‘to do more in these areas, in which the EU plays an important supplementing and supporting role.’