The European Union: United Through Popular Sports

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Chapter 2. The European Union and its prospective identity:
Referring to the prevailing view, it can be said that there is no stable core, no given European identity which would be perceived by Europeans. In order to specify the term of identity in this study, one has to draw a line between a European identity in general and the EU-identity in particular. To what extent are these two identities synonymous ? What aspects cause a differentiation? Bruter points out that the definition of the terms of perception of Europe is decisive. He contrasts a cultural point of view from a political one.
This information enables politicians to develop specifically tailored governance projects in order to foster the genesis of an EU-identity. The EU is predominantly experienced as a po-litical, value and economic community and as a political entity based on universal val-ues . This knowledge challenges politicians in finding an appropriate answer to the question of what kind of EU-identity should be generated what are its basic contents?
This second section aims at developing a solid blueprint of a potential EU-identity, taking into consideration that the EU is a political system sui generis and so will be its identity, viz. one cannot simply copy some national identity. Apart from that, the hereby developed EU-identity does not aim as replacing traditional national identities of EU member states.
With the extensive use of the term identity in everyday language, its scientific expression has become rather diffuse and polysemous. Identity is not predetermined possession, but it means the social process of self-definition of individuals or groups, based on a mutually accepted embodiment of values . Moreover, it is defined by inclusionary and exclusionary schemes. Yet another distinction has to be made between the subjects and the objects of identification, in other words, who for example, elites or ordinary citizens identifies with whom or what for example, gender,

Stephanie Theresa Bartomioli was born in Traunstein in 1984. After graduating with a B.A. in English, she studied Political and Social Sciences at the Universität der Bundeswehr München and at Norwich University in Northfield, VT. In 2014, she graduated with a M.A. Her particular interests in her fields of study are the sociological development of the European Union and the political system of the USA. She currently works on her dissertation in political sociology.