ABSTRACT
The debate regarding the start of negotiations with Turkey on EU accession in the second half of 2004 has fuelled the discussion on the distinctiveness of European values, and, more importantly, the extent to which the European Union comprises or should comprise a community of values in cultural terms. In fact, this is a discussion that has been going on for some time, albeit at variable intensity and not always in the public arena. The recent rejections of the EU Constitutional Treaty in France and the Netherlands is, however, likely to once again revive this debate in a significant way. This chapter traces the debate on the European Union as a community of values, and attempts to pinpoint the key narratives that underlie it. Our main argument is that there are three distinct narratives on the European Union as a community of values, and that the ultimate choice for one or the other narrative or, more realistically, their combination, will determine both the character and scope of European political integration as well as the disposition of the European public sphere.
