CLIOHnet2 Teachings

 

CLIOHnet2 e-Learning e-Teaching materials
Politics and Identities: The European Constitution
adapted from a module created by the University of Pisa for e-HLEE

This e-learning e-teaching module was originally conceived as a "Phase" in the EHLEE e-learning course on History and Identity. Its purpose was to stimulate interest and knowledge of the various imperatives and pressures that the European Constitution tried to take into account. It was one of a number of "Phases" in which an international student body studied the more general process of "Identities", plural identities and the historical framework, theoretical and practical.
Since it is of general interest, CLIOHnet2 offers it in an on-line version which can be used by students or other interested parties, with or without classroom support.

Our route through the study of the European Constitution is divided into Units, each made up of several ‘steps’. The overall intent is to offer a concrete and relevant context in which you can explore the question of European identity/ies, with special emphasis on politics, and its dynamic relationship with identity and identity formation. You will be able to apply your own knowledge and insights based on the experience of your country to developing your knowledge of Europe, its history, its attempt to create a Constitution and the complexities of preserving and enhancing the many national, regional, religious and other identities of European citizens - while attempting to create an organised polity which is one of the objects of the loyalty of its citizens.

Unit 1: Produce a "grid" or a scheme for presenting your findings.
At the end of the Module, you will want to present your findings -- if you are working with a group to the group with whom you are working or, if not, for your own satisfaction. So the first step is to form a "grid" or outline.
The central theme is the relationship between Identity and Politics in the context of the European Union. The basic outline of your presentation will contain:

1. A definition and reflection on the central theme(s) of your work
2. What are the objects of your reflections? The Context in which you have examined the Problem
3. What data have you used to come to your provisional conclusions? How you addressed the Problem.
4. The results you have achieved: The Findings
5. Open problems and hypotheses for further work

This is a general scheme which is to be used as a starting point.
Unit 2: Background Knowledge.
European Integration has come about slowly, in substance since the Second World War. Although some people in earlier periods wrote and thought about the possibility of a united Europe, as a reality Europe is the result of the awareness, because of the catastrophic wars of the first half of the Twentieth Century, that European citizens had to find a way to cooperate, and to overcome the national and political conflicts that had endangered the very foundations of their societies.
But how did the elaboration of these ideas and the concrete political solutions needed to create the European Union come about?

Step 1: There are a variety of background materials and links to other sites on www.clioh.net. To access those on “The idea of Europe” directly, go to http://www.stm.unipi.it/Clioh/tioe/tioe.htm
Choose and as many of the texts as you can. If you are working with a group, read at least one of the texts; summarise the relevant results and send to the other members of the group.

Step 2: The European Commission has its own “Europa server”, a very rich and somewhat impenetrable mass of information and materials. The place to start your exploration in the present context is:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/mediatheque/multimedia/archives_en.html
Check this out and browse. Look for the Treaty of Rome, for the Treaty of Maastricht and the Treaty of Nice; find out why they are relevant to the European Convention and the European Constitution. If you are working in a group, send a note on what you have found out to the others. If not, make a structured summary note to yourself about your discoveries.

Step 3: The path followed by each country is different. Many of the current member states joined the European Union in May 2004. Others were among the founding members, signing the Treaty of Rome. How does the historical path followed affect attitudes toward Europe in each country? Check you own country site, browse those of other countries, share your findings with the group or summarise them for your own satisfaction.
This is the general site for the European Constitution.
There you can click on different options, as you will be asked to do in the following units and steps.
To check your country site, click on "what is going on in the member states".

Unit 3: The European “Constitution”: The Preamble and Title 1
As you are aware by now, the European “Constitution” is actually a Treaty which is to be ratified by the member states. You also know, certainly, that some important member states have voted against ratification. Nonetheless the text of the “Constitution” is of extreme interest for us. It represents the final result of a great deal of debate and discussion, in the European Convention, and also in the media and in public opinion in general.
It contains both sweeping programmatic ethical declarations and precise definitions of mechanisms to take care of the business of making Europe work. In this Unit we will concentrate on the first aspect, examining particularly the “Preamble” and “Title 1”

Step 1: Read the text of the preamble.
You can find the full text starting from the general Europa server site; you can download it in any of the official languages of the EU. Here we will use the English text for reference.
As you know, debate has been intense on whether or not there should be an explicit reference to the ‘Christian roots”’ of Europe. Let us leave that issue aside and see what else the Preamble says.
If you are working in a group, single out the five key words that you consider most important and post them to theothers. Compare your choices with those of the others. Do you agree? Diverge? What concepts seem most important to you? If you are working by yourself, write down the five and check later in the module whether you would still choose those five.

Step 2: Read Title 1 carefully (Europa server site)
What does Title 1 add to the Preamble? What are the three most important issues addressed in you view? Send your views to the group or write them down for your own use.

Step 3: The Europa server allows you to see the amendments presented to the Preamble and to Title 1. Naturally these are the amendments presented formally and do not represent all the discussion process. Nonetheless, they are interesting in their own right, as evidence of formal requests for modification of the document. Not all are in English.
Examine the amendments presented. Did your country present an amendment? If so, illustrate it to the group or summarise it for your own use. Otherwise, choose the amendment that you find most significant and comment on it.

Unit 4: Finding the right balance. Citizens and the Budget; national rights and duties/EU rights and duties. Small/large, east/west.
The Constitution is not just declarations of principles. It must address very concrete issues, such as the organisation of the institutions of the European Union, the relationship between the European Parliament, and the European Commission, and so forth. In this Unit, you may choose to look more deeply into the provisions for one or two very important questions: European citizenship and/or the Budget.

Step 1: examine the texts of Title II and Title VII, and make your choice. Or do both.

Step 2: read carefully the Title(s) you have chosen. Using the methodology you used in Unit 3, single out five key words (send them to the group or write them down for further verification). Single out the three most significant concepts in your view regarding ‘citizenship’ or ‘the budget’.

Step 3: examine the amendments proposed and summarise your general findings..
Try to understand how the text strives to take into account the needs and desires of large and small countries, new and old member states and other parameters.

Unit 5: And now? A diversity of opinions:
After the negative vote on the Constitution in France and the Netherlands, points of view and predictions for the future are widely varied. Some think that the negative vote will bring the process of European integration to a halt, others believe it will not have much effect. Some are happy to see the constitutional process slow down, others are worried. Many highlight the fact that in both France and the Netherlands, the vote was very heterogeneous, drawing on widely divergent political groups. Also, national issues and personalities drew attacks: the vote was not ‘just’ on the European Constitution.

Step 1. Read the opinions of Guy Milton and Jacques Keller-Noellet. This balanced but upbeat view precedes the French and Netherlands vote. (Link to Guy Milton, Jacques Keller-Noellet,The European Constitution: its origins, negotiation and meaning, John Harper Publishing)
chapter Nine
chapter Ten
Step 2: See what the BBC has to say: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2950276.stm

Step 3: Check what is going on in your own country, present and discuss your findings in the forum. From the general site you can click on "Ratification and referendum: state of play" and use the interactive map.

Step 4: A curiosity: How does the rest of the world view the European constitutional process?
Take a look at www.state.gov using the search option, to see what importance the United States of America State Department attaches to the European Constitution. For an Asian point of view, take a look and use the search option at the “Times of India” site.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
If you are working in a group, share your findings.

Unit 6: Final overview and Group report on Identities in European culture; political aspects
Step 1: There is no doubt that the European Commission has tried to build a European identity in a variety of ways, not unlike those used to create a sense of national identity in nation states. (If you wonder what these might be, you may browse through the contributions to the “Clioh’s Workshop” volume 3, Nations and Nationalities in Historical Perspective, edited by Guðmundur Hálfdanarson and Ann Katherine Isaacs, Pisa 2001; a good starting point would be Mary Coffey’s article on building Irish identity through school programmes.
You can find these texts for download at http://www.stm.unipi.it/Clioh/tabs/core.htm

Compare “European Spring Day” for children (17 March 2005) (look for this with a search engine)
For other indications search here and here.
Contribute your observations to the group, or sumarise them for your own use.

Step 2: Final presentation:
Starting from the grid that you prepared in Unit 1, step 2, draft and finalise your final presentation:
If you are working in a group, fill in the grid in draft form, discuss, refine, correct.
If you are working individually, sumarised what you have discovered about the relationship between Identity and Politics, through your study of the European Constitution, and if you wish, post it to the webmaster of clioh.net who will place it in the interactive area of our site.