| | Traditionally, the concept of European integration was associated with uniformity of legal rules imposed by the overarching goal of the common market. After the completion of the common market, and even more after the establishment of the common currency, a sufficient degree of uniformity was achieved. The challenge of European integration has thus become a more balanced ratio between uniformity and diversity. In the last decade cultural diversity has become one of the new goals of the integration process, as it has been recognized also in EU primary and secondary law, as well as in the case law of the European Court of Justice. The new diversity paradigm challenges the deeply rooted approach to legal analysis of European integration and requires new efforts by the scholars. This book tries to tackle this new challenge, exploring some of the difficulties and opportunities created by the "integration through diversity". The focus is on one of the most delicate aspects of diversity, the concept of culture. The aim of the book is to throw some light on this controversial concept from the legal point of view. When does culture become a legally relevant concept? What are the legal answers required by a more modern and pluralistic approach to diversity? The book originates from a conference held at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, in 2002, organized by the International Society for the Study of European Ideas (ISSEI).
This Quaderno/Arbeithsheft is out of print, but you can find updated versions of some chapters in the online series of working papers EDAP. |
