The European Parliament is trying to cultivate a "European identity," with top officials saying that it is the only way to ensure a lasting union between member states.
"National systems have very much invested in constructing their own identity," Klaus Welle, the secretary general of the European Parliament told an audience at the Centre for European Policy Studies
--
"In order to stabilise identity, we have created national museums, we have created national curricula, we have reconstructed national history."
The parliament is now seeking to carry out a similar exercise.
The recently-opened Parliamentarium - a visitor-cum-exhibition centre - is "one attempt to contribute" to a European identity. There are others in the pipeline. A "House of History" - the brainchild of former parliament president Hans Gert Poettering - is due to open in 2014. The parliament is also "rediscovering" the fact that it owns the house lived in by Jean Monnet, one of the founding fathers of the European Union.
Renaming some of the European institutions could be another - very inexpensive - way to manifest the European identity. What about e.g. calling the European Parliament "The School of Scoundrels", or maybe "The European House of Clowns"?
And why not rename the European Central Bank to more closely correspond to what it really has been doing recently?: "The Incredible Virtual Money Machine".
"The European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM)" could use a more catchy name, e.g. "The Unlimited European Bank Rescue Operation"
The continuing saga of European crisis Summits could be renamed as "Van Rompuy´s Rocky Horror Show".
The possibilities are endless ....
No comments:
Post a Comment