摘要：Nation represents a form of political organization connected with modernity. National states had been building standard languages and educational systems in order to form national identification, since a state can hardly exist without some form of cultural closeness between its citizens. Without a common identity, a society is often divided and lacks solidarity. European Union was built on economical and political grounds; however it tries to forge a sense of common belonging and identity. As in the case of national integration, there are two possibilities – European identity based on the common culture, and European identity based on common political principles. The first type of identity is hard to forge, due to European cultural and linguistic diversity. The second type of identity can hardly form a basis of spolitical community, and also can hardly be achieved due to non-existence of European media space and common public opinion. Therefore, the authors of this paper conclude that European Union is based on unstable grounds.
关键词：nation; European Union; European identity; European culture; European media space
