Framing European Heritage and Identity: Cultural Policy Instruments of the European Union

Abstract

This submission examines the impact of the European Union (EU) policy efforts to construct a European Heritage and a sense of belonging within the wider European population on Heritage policy. The article explores how the EU has selected and wielded instruments that frame particular values that (1) respond to specific policy problems and impact European heritage(s) and (2) build political myths articulating particular visions of what the EU represents and how the population should engage with European integration. Through analysis of four case studies (European Heritage Label, the EU Horizon 2020, European Cultural Routes and the EU Energy Efficiency Directive) in a policy instrument typology, we reveal that the frames embedded in the EU policy instruments carry a range of different values and priorities that often compete, leading to policy outcomes that are fragmented in their effect.