Toward a European citizenship based on transnational constitutionalism and solidarity

Abstract

In this text the author argues that the European Union should undertake a twofold strategy to assure its own survival against the deadly threat of ethno-nationalism. In particular, it should (1) propel a participatory procedure to constitutionalize and to transform how it views itself and (2) enhance social-welfare rights for the benefit of the immense majority of its citizens. These initiatives would inevitably have to take place over an extended period of time and against all odds. Notwithstanding, they appear to offer the Continent its only chance of overcoming its longstanding crisis and resisting its ethnic nationalist temptations.