1.Karadeniz ve Balkan Ekonomik ve Politik Araştırmalar Sempozyumu

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Beatrice LEUSTEAN
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The “Lisbon Treaty” is just another brick to-
wards integration and not the end of the work. Formerly known as “Constitution for Europe”, the Treaty implies
a full positioning on the creation of the Political Union based on identity and the values of Europe. As European
Union fundaments on the synergy of its distinctive parts, the identity also must be understood as a three layers
edifice: local, national and European. Which makes it very fragile to define, comprehend and operate with. Is there
enough to occupy a certain geographic area in Europe in order to have a European identity? This view appears to
manifest though not easily recognized, in recent accession negotiations. Or rather means thinking European like,
having European values, beliefs and traditions or, more intimate but valuable as well, having European feelings?
This consciousness would for sure lead to the sacrifice of prejudice and ethnic segregation and what about the
radical political views finding that there is nothing to fight against?
Jean Monnet stated that belonging to the European culture is an indispensable cement for the emergence of a
real European identity .
It might be, as a step in front for the Glory façade is, a mean to assert European identity, the emergence of a Eu-
ropean conscience, a sense of belonging and pride in being in each of the citizens becoming a fundamental part of
the future of Europe. And also a focus shift from UE as political process towards the symbolic meaning of integra-
tion: an intuitive construct with a spiritual dimension intending to affirm its identity through education and the
communication of a European identity.
But what precisely European conscience means as the term itself and it’s more comprehensive relative conscious-
ness are difficult to comprehend and conceptualize by current scientific knowledge? Although the paper here will
focus on the conscience as a behavioral response to inner values system, in according to the greater scope of being
aware of European identity and unity, it is also worth to frugal mention the concept of consciousness. The Web-
ster’s dictionary meaning of the word consciousness extends through several centuries and associated cognate
meanings which have ranged from formal definitions to somewhat more comprehensive ones as is the modern
stream meaning: “the totality of sensations, perceptions, ideas, attitudes and feelings of which an individual or a
group is aware at any given time or within a particular time span”
ary/consciousness). The European Consciousness would be an ideal model of integration, as perfect market is for
microeconomics and for the present state of facts the paper must resume to operate with conscience.
For exemplifying European Consciousness as European Conscience it might fit the sense “concerned awareness:
interest, concern for something or someone” ). Or,
as very specific, Paul Valery stated that being European means: “having Greek habits of mind, having a Roman
attitude towards law, living in a Romanized culture, being Christianized and having a Christian idea of love”
(Reijers, 2014). Sicut, defining European conscience as a state of being (identity) manifested in attitudes (behav-
iors) in accord with values and beliefs system.
Taking foreword within this framework, where European behavior is an exterior manifestation of the inner prin-
ciples, beliefs and values, the first step to answer what European conscience means question, is to define which are
these shared European’s values, if there are any characteristically European common values at all. The impact and
the place of values in European conscience remains a matter of debate for a future work. The hypothesis of this
present paper consists in that there is a system of European values and beliefs.
The importance of studying European values system is rooted in the present paper author’s creed that the values
a society lives by will determine its world perception, cultural space and religious institutions, its scientific frame
and technology, politics and economics. Society and economic system both evolve in close relationship to the
value system shift underlying all its manifestations. Once the European set of values has been defined and cultur-
ally and institutionally expressed it will become the framework of the European’s perceptions, insights and choices
for what regards economic, political and any social matters, innovation, technology. As the cultural value system
changes the main goal of European Union, integration through synchronicity and durability will naturally occur
as it will be a proper pattern for comprise the changes. In turn, a reexamination of economics and politics, to com-
prise the cultural context, will have to be done in accord with the underlying value system. Another question this
value system oriented perspective rises towards European Union present operating mode is: The values system