European Identity - Individual, Group and Society - HumanitarianNet

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62 EUROPEAN IDENTITY. INDIVIDUAL, GROUP AND SOCIETYEurope’s emergence as a world power is a condition for fulfillingthe Kantian vision of a worldwide Confederation for pax perpetua 12 .You will remember that, according to Kant, moral supremacy andreason give us the duty of ensuring peace amongst men. However,peace can only be brought about by means of a pact agreed by allpopulations. A federation for peace therefore needs to be established,which would maintain and ensure the freedom of member States. Kantbelieved that populations constituted in accordance with the lawwould be peaceful by nature; in this way, other States would unite inorder to guarantee peace amongst themselves, in accordance withinternational law. Such a nuclear peace federation would then extendgradually via increased membership, until its membership included allpopulations on earth.So, Europe is the only entity which has the potential to be a superpowerpromoting effective legislation and a worldwide economydesigned to favour mankind. If we were to recognize the Europeanexperiment as a successful venture in economic and political integrationwith no detrimental effects on cultural diversity, the Union would be theideal international subject through which one could understand,promote and manage interdependency in a multipolar world. Morethan ever, the Union —a plural power— must project itself in theinternational public arena as an anti-model and counterbalance to thehegemony, intolerance and denial of human rights and internationallaw from which so many in the world suffer. In the final analysis, thepromotion of a worldwide Confederation for solidarity, respect for theenvironment and peace depend upon ourselves: without Europe therewould be no foedus but in its stead we would be subject to the dictatesof capital, serfdom, exploitation, exclusion and devastation of theplanet. It is only to be expected that by promoting a superpower Europeand therefore our social model and our policies for peace and marketregulation, we will provoke struggles with our allies. It is only throughour own growth and assertion of ourselves as a world power that we willcreate the right conditions for more balanced transatlantic relations,something which is today coveted by everyone, including the enlightenedAmerican elite.12Kant, Zum ewigen Frieden. Ein philosophischer Entwurf, Band 9 Schriften zurAnthropologie, Geschichtsphilosophie, Politik und Pädagogik, Erster Teil, Darmstadt:Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft. Spanish version: La Paz y el Ideal cosmopolita de laIlustración, edition by R. R. Aramayo; J. Muguerza; C. Roldán, Madrid: Ed. Tecnos,1996.
EUROPE: MEANING AND MOTIVE 63So even if Europeans were to agree upon a common foreign policy,we would still have to overcome the décalage between the hopes wewould raise and actual European action: after all, we ought to recognizethe fact that international action taken by Europe is only modest. It isnot surprising to note that our influence and achievements have beengreatest on the rare occasions when we have been able to speak withone voice. This is true of our policy on trade, the environment 13 and theInternational Court of Justice 14 . However, the same cannot be said ofdevelopment 15 , finance 16 , foreign and defence policy 17 or researchpolicy 18 .13The environment is another positive example: the European Union has been ableto coherently state a different position from that of the United States concerning gasemissions and the greenhouse effect, which culminated in the Kyoto Protocol.14The world is well aware of the fact that had it not been for the European Union,the International Court of Justice would not have been created. However, the treatyagreed upon by the fifteen member States (30th September 2002), which allowsbilateral agreements to be signed with Washington concerning immunity being grantedif certain conditions are fulfilled, does not necessarily safeguard the Court’s future. Onthe other hand, Europe has, wherever possible, maintained its stance of sendingoffences to trial and has not only prevented British, Spanish and Italian governmentsfrom claiming immunity for their own members, but has also thwarted the UnitedNations Security Council in its attempts to have the final say over whether offences aretried by the court. On the other hand, if compromise means that Europe has toabandon any ultra-puritanical posture; then, the United States have not fulfilled theiraim of imposing immunity for their soldiers and diplomats on Europe.15As regards cooperation for development, on the other hand, Europe has up untilvery recently (that is to say the United Nations Conference in Monterrey, 2002) beenabsent from the world stage, despite the fact that we contribute most funds.16As regards finances, the right path is beset with national interests. Each EuropeanUnion member state —Germany, France, Italy etc.— is fighting for its own interests atthe World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). We must ask ourselveswhether our finance ministers, when faced with this spectacle, are perhaps the lastexponents of such an archaic notion as national sovereignty. Whereas nationalismamongst our member states may have had some possible explanation before the launchof the euro, it can now only be considered an affront to the currency’s internationalcredibility, and will only serve to delight and, of course, enrich those who speculate onthe dollar.17Europe’s common foreign and security policy lacks its own vision and the meansto take effective action. If the United Nations Security Council ends up being nothingother than an institution at the service of American interests, then it is just a sign of ourown impotence.18Our research policy would be mean were it not downright suicidal: whereas Japandevotes 3% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to research and the figure for theUnited States is 2.7%, we are stuck on the year 2000 figure of 1.93% - furthermore,while the United States counts with 7.4 researchers per 1000 members of theworkforce and Japan has 8.9, the European figure is just 5.1.
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Inés María Gómez-Chacón (ed.)Eu
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European Identity.Individual, Group
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ContentsIntroduction . . . . . . .
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CONTENTS 914. The Construction of E
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Page 27 and 28: Opening AddressCamino Cañón Loyes
Page 29 and 30: OPENING ADDRESS 29throughout histor
Page 31 and 32: OPENING ADDRESS 31—To gather expe
Page 33 and 34: OPENING ADDRESS 33European nature a
Page 37 and 38: 1.What do we Mean When we Say Europ
Page 39 and 40: WHAT WE MEAN WHEN WE SAY EUROPE 39W
Page 41 and 42: WHAT WE MEAN WHEN WE SAY EUROPE 41O
Page 43 and 44: WHAT WE MEAN WHEN WE SAY EUROPE 43u
Page 45 and 46: WHAT WE MEAN WHEN WE SAY EUROPE 45e
Page 47: WHAT WE MEAN WHEN WE SAY EUROPE 47A
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Page 71 and 72: EUROPE, FROM THE INSTITUTIONAL REFE
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Page 111 and 112: 6.European Programmes from SpainEnc
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EUROPEAN PROGRAMMES FROM SPAIN 113(
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EUROPEAN PROGRAMMES FROM SPAIN 115S
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EUROPEAN PROGRAMMES FROM SPAIN 117s
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EUROPEAN PROGRAMMES FROM SPAIN 119A
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7.Is the European Model Being Rejec
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IS THE EUROPEAN MODEL BEING REJECTE
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IS THE EUROPEAN MODEL BEING REJECTE
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8.Boderline Europeans:Nationalisms
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BODERLINE EUROPEANS: NATIONALISMS A
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9.Difference as Destabilizing Facto
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DIFFERENCE AS DESTABILISING FACTOR
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158 EUROPEAN IDENTITY. INDIVIDUAL,
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11.What Makes us European? Identity
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WHAT MAKES US EUROPEAN? IDENTITY CO
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12.The Meaning of European Identity
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THE MEANING OF EUROPEAN IDENTITY: P
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14.The Construction of the European
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THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE EUROPEAN ID
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ConclusionTHE CONSTRUCTION OF THE E
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16.Images of Europe: the Perspectiv
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IMAGES OF EUROPE: THE PERSPECTIVE O
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22.The Construction of European Ide
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THE CONSTRUCTION OF EUROPEAN IDENTI
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