Abstract

The European Union is not a nation, and it would thus be a mistake to expect the EU's path to democratic legitimacy to resemble a nation's path toward such a goal. But what sort of democratic identity does the EU possess, exactly? In this presentation, I will offer a tentative theory of the nature of European identity after the Treaty of Lisbon. Additionally, I will suggest a few ways in which this peculiar post-Lisbon European identity may serve to enhance and augment the democratic legitimacy of its member states, without impairing their cherished individual national identities