Chapter 2: European Union Policy

EU education policy and the member states’ internationalisation policy can best be understood taking account of the following statement: “Being in the EU implies constantly having to steer a course between the need to preserve national identity on the one hand and the wish to reinforce European cooperation on the other. These two poles constantly attract and repel each other with respect to both politics and education” (Oonk, 2007, p. 114).¹

Those who analyze European cooperation as it is evidence in the EU may be tempted to regard this desire for unity as a centralized affair. Anyone with knowledge of European history, however, knows that, although various initiatives for cooperation have been undertaken over the years, the European reality has primarily demonstrated the reverse in the form of disunity, war, and differences.