A European Identity sets limits to EU Expansion

Seminar paper from the year 2009 in the subject Politics - Topic: European Union grade: 17 University of Marburg language: English abstract: The French philosopher Rmi Brague says that the European identity obtains its specific character directly and indirectly from the Christian religion because Europe was formed through the Christianity . In addition to that Samuel Huntington utters that religion is the central size for the delimitation of the different culture rooms and serves him for the de-finition of the limits of Europe . Nevertheless Wolfgang Burgdorf says that the Christianity is not a reference point for an identity concept because the Islam and the Christianity contains many anti-enlightenment characteristics. Furthermore from a historical point of view you have to consider flexible territorial limits of Europe from which you cannot derive any territorial limit of Europe . The present member countries of the EU are in a Christian tradition line. The statement whether countries which are in the tradition line of another world religion cannot be-come a member of the EU is normative. The fact that for example Turkey isn''t a Christian country isn''t a reason to itself yet not to include them in the EU because the religious freedom of the citizens is guaranteed by the EU and the freedom to be a Muslim is just included too. The German historian Hans Ul-rich Wehler negates the statement because from his point of view Turkey isn''t a part of Europe concerning the geographical historical cultural and religious mentality . Who decides whether the Christian values take a role within the EU? Do the Christian values have to be taken into account if you want to define a European identity? Which criteria have to be met regarding the limits of the EU? And how does the discussion show itself at a federal political level? At first I will discuss these questions before I work out whether a European identity of the EU expansion sets limits.