EU integration debates hinge on contested definitions of Europeanness

Evidence

Which is more “European,” Northwest Europe or “Central Europe”? Are Turkey and Russia part of Europe? Is Europe part of Eurasia? The current tension between the deepening (further integration) or the widening (including East European countries and Turkey) of the European Union involves not only economic and security issues but also questions of identity and what constitutes “Europeanness.” — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 200

Categorization

• DEFINE: Frames ‘Europeanness’ as a contested boundary construction rather than a fixed geographic fact.