Introduction

The strongest symbolic underpinning of European integration is Europe itself. Europe functions as a mobilizing metaphor, a sign of recognition that indicates belonging to a community in formation. Europe is identified with a Phoenician princess whose iconic figure highlights the Greek origins of European culture; Europe is understood as a cultural entity that shares fundamental values—reason, the rule of law, progress, democracy—inherited from a common history: classical Greco-Roman civilization, Christianity, the Enlightenment; Europe is represented as a land of freedom and welfare that appeals millions of immigrants each year; Europe is also associated with a story of teleological progress, a construction that started after World War II with the coal and steel community imagined to prevent further war between Germany and France, then developed into the European common market, and later into the European Union (EU).1 These and similar narratives of Europe are developed and referred to in order to support variegated views of Europe as a political project. Ernst Haas has pointed out the remarkable resilience and adaptability of what refers to as the symbol of Europe or “United Europe,” which is used by actors with radically different approaches and agendas.2 In his analysis, published in 1958, Haas spoke of actors at the national level.