This book analyses the role of the European
Commission in defining European identity and citizenship. European citizenship and its
public communication have been a continuous and persistent concern for the
European Commission since the beginning of the European integration process, having communicated five different versions of European citizenship since 1951: Homo Oeconomicus (1951-1972), A People's Europe
(1973-1992), Europe of Transparency (1993-2004), Europe of Agorai (2005-2009)
and Europe of Rights (2010-2014). These varying representations are addressed to reveal how the European Commission conceived of and attempted
to facilitate the development of a Civil Europe. Ultimately this narrative,
which is based upon an analysis of public communication policy papers
and interviews with senior European Commission officials past and present,
tells a story about changing identities and about who we as Europeans
might actually be and what kind of Europe we might actually belong to.
Commission in defining European identity and citizenship. European citizenship and its
public communication have been a continuous and persistent concern for the
European Commission since the beginning of the European integration process, having communicated five different versions of European citizenship since 1951: Homo Oeconomicus (1951-1972), A People's Europe
(1973-1992), Europe of Transparency (1993-2004), Europe of Agorai (2005-2009)
and Europe of Rights (2010-2014). These varying representations are addressed to reveal how the European Commission conceived of and attempted
to facilitate the development of a Civil Europe. Ultimately this narrative,
which is based upon an analysis of public communication policy papers
and interviews with senior European Commission officials past and present,
tells a story about changing identities and about who we as Europeans
might actually be and what kind of Europe we might actually belong to.
"The main strengths of this book are the vast and unique materials analyzed and how the sources are woven together to form a rich account of the history of European citizenship, relating both to successes and failures. Pukallus manages to bring life to her story by highlighting the role played by specific individuals in this history." (Jonna Johansson, Journal of Common Market Studies JCMS, Vol. 56 (04), May, 2018)