By Ayesha Baloch
The foremost clause of the Treaty of Rome, ratified in 1957 and largely considered to be the beginning of the European Union, highlights the determination of the signatories to “lay the foundations of an ever-closer union among the peoples of Europe”[1]. The devastation of the First and Second World Wars had highlighted the exigency of safeguarding peace and unity in the continent, so that such events would never be repeated. The signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1993 consolidated this declaration of unity and formally established the European Union. Nevertheless, this aspiration towards continental unity was not readily accepted. Indeed, Margaret Thatcher, in a debate in the House of Lords claimed that Britain had “so much more to lose by this Maastricht Treaty than any other state in the European Community”[2]. Many in Britain believed the EU to be a threat which would force the United Kingdom to reconcile a ‘British’ national identity with a transnational ‘European’ one, and ultimately erase the former. This fear was historically rooted in the perception of Britain as a vanguard of modernity and progress, with the examples of sovereignty of parliament, the rule of law, and industrialisation used to uphold notions of British exceptionalism. Moreover, the fact that Britain is an island, physically removed from the rest of Europe, further consolidated its identity as separate and independent. Over time, such rhetoric has led to an entrenched fear of the EU, ultimately the 2016 Referendum, and its chaotic aftermath.
Movements in support of leaving the European Union have propagated increasingly right-wing conceptions of British nationalism, and in this way fomented fear that staying in the EU would force the UK to compromise its proud and distinct national identity. In 2017, Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell stated, “the humiliation of having a pink European Union passport will now soon be over and the United Kingdom nationals can once again feel pride and self-confidence in their own nationality when travelling”[3], encapsulating the nationalist, anti-EU rhetoric that has permeated the Brexit process.
However, the tactic of fear mongering employed by many pro-leave groups, has little factual basis. Indeed, the first mention of a collective European identity was in 1973, at a summit meeting in which the Declaration on European Identity was issued[4]. According to the document, this identity would be based firstly on similar socio-political values including plural democracy, the separation of church and state, and human rights, none of which are exclusive to the United Kingdom[5]. Most significantly, the document cherishes the variety of national and regional cultures within the European Union, honouring the official motto “United in Diversity”[6]. That the twenty-seven other member nations of the EU are simultaneously able to reap the benefits of existing within a political and economic union, while still maintaining a tangible and distinctive national identity, is a testament to the motto of the European Union.
In recent years, notions of British exceptionalism have been misappropriated to fit nationalist and isolationist agendas. The fact that current politics has begun to increasingly mirror the jingoistic rhetoric of the interwar era is undoubtedly a cause for concern. However, what is most significant is the unity that emerged from the wake of the Second World War; a unity which was founded upon the shared determination that the people of Europe would never again suffer such devastation. Now more than ever it is essential to remember that the European Union was built on the principle of unity in diversity. Britain need not fear the loss of her national identity, for what is truly at stake is the irreversible fracturing of a continent of historic diversity, cultural unity, natural beauty and joint innovation.
References
[1] Spaak Committee. Treaty of Rome. Rome: European Union, 1957. Print.
[2] Mautner, Gerlinde. “British National Identities in the European Context.” Attitudes Towards Europe. Language in the unification process. Eds. Andreas Musolff, Colin Good, Petra Points, Ruth Wittlinger. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing, 2001: 11.
[3] Dallison, Paul, and Sanya Khetani-Shah. “Brexit Quotes of 2017.” POLITICO, 2017, www.politico.eu/article/brexit-quotes-of-the-year-2017/.
[4] Bulletin of the European Communities. "Declaration on European Identity". 1973, No 12. Luxembourg: Office for official publications of the European Communities. Print.
[5] Van de Poll, Evert. Europe and the Gospel. Past Influences, Current Developments, Mission Challenges. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2013. Web. Retrieved 2 Dec. 2019, from https://www.degruyter.com/view/product/209760.
[6] Bulletin of the European Communities. "Declaration on European Identity".
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