A Critical History of the Use of ‘European Values’

Abstract

This chapter examines how the use, content, and impact of the notion of ‘European values’ in European institutions has changed over time. It especially focuses on when and why (and in what context) the term has been used and distinguishes between a conservative Christian and a more inclusive secular definition of the term. After a brief word about the method, a conservative Cold War use of the term by Christian politicians in the post-war years is examined. The chapter then explores how, after the end of the Cold War, the term was also used in a second, more inclusive and secular sense as it became mainstream when European institutions and politicians increasingly started using it to legitimise the European project (also because rival notions such as that of a ‘European identity’ or ‘social Europe’ proved less useful). Moving closer to the present, the chapter then shows how some of today’s tensions surrounding the concept of European values can be explained by their history. The chapter ends by proposing a possible way out of today’s predicament, pleading for more room for political debate around European values.