We All are Europe - AESAEC

tics. Following these basic ideas, the new nation states created during the 19th Century made it
possible to develop a real state of law and at the same time secure a state-free environment for the
citizen to act individually and collectively.
The idea of the independence of a state - also from the church - gained more and more credibility,
and the clarification of borders between countries meant that the citizens became more aware of
their affiliation to a nation and of the conditions that applied. As a holder of subjective rights they
enjoyed protection from the nation state as long as they obeyed the law.
2.1.2. Active European Citizenship (AEC)
The hasty development of globalisation, given the achievements made in information technology,
the global convergence of the financial markets and the growth in global production has led to nation
states losing more and more control over general production conditions and therefore they are
limited in their ability to maintain existing welfare levels.
The reduction in the importance of the nation state has an impact on our understanding of the concept
of citizenship, as since the era of industrialisation it has always been linked with an understanding
that it is the nation state that secures the rights that make it possible to practice active
citizenship. In line with the rapid pace of globalisation there is a demand that rights are no longer
just guaranteed within the nation you live in, but that they are also respected by people in other
nations. From being rights of citizenship won by fighting inside the context of a nation state, individual
rights are today also secured at the European and global levels. Typically social rights will be
secured by the nation state, the rights in relation to the internal market will be guaranteed by the
European Union and the UN will guarantee human rights. As a consequence of globalisation the idea
of active citizenship needs to be developed on three levels: the national, European and global levels.
The citizens of Europe must view themselves not only as British, German, and Italian etc. but
also as a European citizen and indeed as a citizen of the world.
The increasing globalisation of the world economy contributes to creating a global identity and responsibility.
Today we see a common responsibility within the area of ecology in terms of global
development. People’s awareness of the Earth’s limited resources and of the menace posed by an
uncontrolled development of the market economy threatening the fragile ecological balance is creating
a worldwide commitment to our planet. The development of European and global responsibility
at both the political and ordinary citizen level could be an important element in the development
of the idea of active citizenship.
A prerequisite for the development of AEC is that citizens in European countries have a certain mutual
sympathy and are interested in what takes place in other European countries, which may hopefully
lead to the development of a common European identity. Already today we see many communities
with an identity and self-knowledge that extends beyond the national context in which they
live. There are communities of people who network across frontiers using IT-technology; however
there is still a long way to go before a common European identity becomes a reality.
The contents of this part of the training course will focus on the participants’ attitude towards
other European countries, pointing out, for instance, which countries are, in their opinion, the most
popular and which, on the contrary, are not considered favourably.
Moreover, how can one become more engaged in what is going on in other EU countries
Reflection / Self-study / Discuss
Active European Citizenship is a rather complex concept to explain, especially because it is a hypothetical
construct, such as freedom, love or engagement, and there are no generally agreed definitions
concerning it. Finally, it is very much dependent on what a person has in mind when speaking
about AEC – and there is nothing wrong with that!
46