Is there something problematic in the idea of European citizenship - Essay Example

I consider this question to be worth-discussing, thus the given work will try to find the answer for it by means of the corresponding research. First of all, the definition or meaning of the term “citizenship” will be provided. In order to find the correct answer to this question, the attention with be paid to such significant factors as democracy, rights, identity, constitutional patriotism, symbols etc. It will be given a short description of each of these points in order to form the attitude to the problem under consideration.

As a result the most problematic issue in the idea of European leadership will be defined and the solution to the problem will be offered. The overview of the recent controversy will be presented in order to prove that even in the modern conditions, it is still possible to determine what it means to be a European citizen. The notion of citizenship The notion of citizenship is closely connected with the notion of state, because, if there is no state, it is impossible to talk about the citizenship.

Democracy also can’t exist without citizenship. It looks like a closed circle. In this context it is possible to talk about sovereignty as well. . It could be easily explained in the following way: it is the citizens, who form the body of government. The democracy can operate only due to the equality and participation of citizens. Liebert states: “people do effectively engage in the making of a European polity. By initiating national court proceedings active citizens are promoting fundamental European rights in Member States' practices.

As party members they contribute to shaping mass media communication about, and national publics' understanding of, European political alternatives. As civil society activists citizens help build social networks for contesting certain EU reforms or advocating others. Last but not least, as voters in national and European elections they choose between competing party visions, and national parliamentary stances regarding the role of democratic citizenship. This original contribution to the debate about democratic citizenship vis-a-vis the challenges of economic globalization and European political integration presents critical explorations of different fields of direct, representative, participatory and deliberative democratic citizenship practices that affect the transformation of Europe” (Liebert 2013:2).

One can notice that nowadays these principals are not working in a full capacity; some of them are just omitted. As Bellamy states “Citizenship as it developed within the member states combined the values of belonging, rights and participation. EU citizenship has attempted to develop the first from an attachment to the second, and to employ new and more selective forms of the third. However, neither rights nor participation prove sustainable without a fairly strong sense of belonging, such as has already developed within the