Irena Isbasescu

The European Capitals of Culture: Towards a Common European Identity?: Comparative Study: Sibiu 2007 & Ruhr 2010 Irena Isbasescu

Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in the topic of European Identity, both on a discursive and on a practical level. Despite the ambiguity of the concept, in view of the continuous enlargement and changing borders of the European Union, identity started being perceived as a possible solution towards peace keeping, successful implementation of politics and achievement of the kind of unity necessary for holding Europe together. The present study looks into the possibilities of becoming European by an extensive study of one of the most popular top-down initiatives of the European Union, the European Capitals of Culture Programme. "You can't fall in love with the common market" Jacques Delors said to point that while free trade is necessary,it is definitely not sufficient. While there can be no denial to the possibility of falling for a grandiose project like the one discussed in the book, it remains to be seen in how far such a programme manages to instill the desired feeling of Europeaness.