Europe: A Dream & A Project

Former MEP, Bernat Joan, the author of this paper, intends to reflect on something that is still under construction (and probably still at an early stage): European citizenship, with a liberal, open and free-thinking approach. He focuses on his own experiences and intuitions, as if thinking aloud.

Although, the project has been built on the political will of its constituent nation states intent on establishing a common space on certain issues, Europe today is still an economic giant, but a political dwarf. It developed as an idea within the socio-economic sphere. An increase in the democratic quality of European decision-making can only be achieved by greater political consolidation, and in parallel, the construction of a sense of belonging and citizenship.

With the belief that a personal approach to the issue is crucial, his deliberations are based on his own views on the latest political developments in Europe, as well as what could happen should the process of European construction be allowed to come to fruition. In so doing, he shares his ideas, sensations, feelings and concerns with the readers. Yet, when writing, he had no intention to finalise his arguments, nor to offer a concrete model for Europe and its political structure.

The author proposes the idea of a Nation of Europeans, going beyond citizenship, as a space to engage with all nations on the continent with the goal of resolving national conflicts and providing solutions to challenges arising from the legitimate national aspirations of peoples whose ambitions have not yet been met. It must be a Europe of its citizens; a Europe of its peoples, including national minorities who many believe form part of the “currency” of Europe.