Europeanisation (or Europeanization)

Europeanisation, or Europeanization, occurs when a language, government, or society becomes more European. Usually, Europeanisation refers to the way the European Union (EU) influences individual countries that are part of the EU to be more generally European and less nationalistic. This phenomenon explains the way member states of the EU became more like the overall EU and less individualized over time. However, Europeanisation can also refer to the way countries outside the EU; for example, countries that want to someday enter the union, become more European. Europeanisation happens for a number of reasons, and social scientists have different theories about how the phenomenon occurs. Some researchers have noted that specific ideologies—such as neoliberalism, support of free market economies, and belief in democracy—is often associated with Europeanisation.

Background

European countries battled for regional dominance for centuries, ever since the nation-state models of government emerged in Europe in the 1500s. During the first half of the twentieth century, World War I and World War II claimed tens of millions of lives, caused devastation across the continent, and upended traditional power structures and ideas, such as nationalism. Changing ideas about power, human rights, and national economies led to European nations working together to attempt to create a lasting peace. In 1957, a number of European powers, including France, Italy, and West Germany, signed on to create the European Economic Community (EEC), or Common Market, creating a structure for trade and economic reliance among members. By 1973, the European Union (EU) had developed from the EEC, and nine countries had joined, making it an important economic world power. The EU created rules for economic development, environmental protections, and defense that affected all the member nations. In the 2000s, many EU nations adopted the euro as their form of currency, taking another significant step toward uniting the countries into a cohesive unit. By the late 2010s, however, decades of pro-EU changes in individual European nations had created hostility among many Europeans. In 2016, during Brexit, the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU, making it the first country to voluntarily leave the group. The country officially left the EU in 2020.

Overview

Experts define Europeanisation in various ways; however, most agree that this process causes a country or other organization to become more European. Generally, Europeanisation describes domestic changes in individual areas and countries that make them more like Europe as whole or more like the EU.

Although experts agree about different factors regarding Europeanisation, they differentiate it from European integration and convergence. Europeanisation is closely related to the idea of European integration, which is the process of European countries integrating their political, economic, cultural, and legal systems. European integration is seen more as a function of choice or process, but Europeanisation is more of an effect or outcome. European integration has largely developed as a result of the EU, which makes it similar to Europeanisation. An example of European integration is participation in the Economic Monetary Union, which coordinates economic and fiscal policies among EU nations. Although the economic systems converged and integrated, the convergence itself is not an example of Europeanisation. The effects that the convergence has on individual member states, for example causing a national government to adopt a more welcoming attitude toward the free market in its domestic political decisions, is an example of Europeanisation that can result from European integration.

Experts also have various opinions about how and why Europeanisation occurs. One theory about how it happens is called the top-down approach, which states that changes at the national level within the EU occur because of the EU and its policies and actions. So, the control of the EU creates changes among individual countries’ governments, economies, and societies. The bottom-up approach believes that the EU is shaped more by member states than it shapes them. The bottom-up model acknowledges that member states help formulate the EU budget and foreign policy. So, this model believes that the Europeanisation occurs because of the actions and cultures of the member states rather than because of the EU itself. The circular model explains that the influence of Europeanisation occurs in a circular manner. In other words, the effects occur because of both top-down and bottom-up influences. This idea about Europeanisation has become popular, as the members and the organization most likely influence each other in both directions.

Europeanization has had important effects inside the EU and around the world. Europeanisation affects domestic politics, culture, the economy, balances of power, territorial changes, and more. Some experts believe that Europeanisation has made neoliberalism and free markets more common among EU nations. However, other scholars argue that it is difficult to determine whether Europeanisation has caused corporatist or pluralist tendencies in EU countries. Europeanisation has even changed the EU in some ways, as member states have demanded or orchestrated changes they desire. Scholars have also pointed out that Europeanisation has occurred in nations outside the EU. For example, other countries around the world have imitated the European Court of Justice, bringing European values and practices to individual nations.

Although many researchers agree that the effects of Europeanisation occur, many also point out that some of the events that have been pinned on Europeanisation (e.g., two EU countries increasing in cultural similarity) may actually be caused by other factors, such as similar social conditions. Therefore, people who study Europeanisation should try to take into account other factors, in addition to Europeanisation, that can drive such changes.

Experts also point out that Europeanisation, or perceived Europeanisation, can also cause anti-EU sentiment, and trigger opposition that is sometimes motivated by nationalism. When citizens feel as though their domestic policies, culture, language, and economy are being affected by top-down Europeanisation, some may feel resentment toward the EU. In 2016, the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU. Some citizens who supported leaving the EU did so because they perceived cultural and political changes in their country, which many blamed on top-down Europeanism. While some other countries felt similarly and considered pursuing their own exit from the EU, anti-EU sentiments waned after the COVID-19 pandemic and in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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