europe's (torn?) identity - Projects - AEGEE Europe

necessary here is a far stronger need for a sense of community. A European community?
How will our loyalties shape up? Towards a strong identification with Europe
itself or towards our roots in our very own regions?
The aspects of the MLG are basically as complex as our own identities. We face
big chances, combined with a big challenge for orientation in this developing
European integration process. This is an opportunity we might best take advantage
of by openness and eager participation as well as vivid discourse to find
our place in Europe for us.
Bernd C. KNÜFER
AEGEE-Erlangen-Nürnberg
IPWG Treasurer
Knuefer@aegee.org
From the lecture ...
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Multi-level governance is a scientific name for how the policy division in the European
Union works.
Bernd Knüfer shows some papers:
Reproduce: make babies
Supra: subnational level, national level, supranational
Supranational level is the most confusing.
The more levels, the less transparency.
How can we control that and where do we find safety?
Chemistry laws come directly from some interest groups, and are taken directly over by
the EU.
Can we cope with the law of the EU? Can we adopt directives, which are destroying our
former national laws? Now Germany has a European Environmental law based on the
British law.
European identity is based on an octopus you can't see.
The legitimacy you give to your political institutions is hard to give if you don't know
who designed the new laws.
How do I see myself as a European citizen? My commissioner, my representative member
of the parliament, the director of the pharmacy industry?
Loss of sovereignty of the national parliament. Your native state gave away power to the
European level. By doing this, the national identity starts to ebb away. Did you recognize
that you lost control? Will we feel more European if we participate more in decision-making?
AEGEE has multi-level governance as well: “Comité Directeur”. Compare
the EU with the US way of governance: “we” should keep the role of the national level
because of the cultural and human identity.
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