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Paper short abstract:

The vision of a unified Europe is set out through EU-funded projects. The analysis of the web representation of 'Euromed Heritage' emphasising the Mediterranean shows first the signification the EU develops for itself and second that these programms constitute technologies of governmentality.

Paper long abstract:

During the last 15 years, discussions in the anthropological literature over what constitutes Europe have gained impetus. Top-down and bottom-up ethnographic studies of European integration raise questions that concern not only whether a European identity has been or is being accomplished but also whether the aims set by the European Union are or can be met. As is commonly remarked, constituting Europe does not involve only its foundation as an institution with the corresponding bureaucracies but, more importantly, its pragmatic realization. One of the ways to study the European Union is through its policies and programs, as through those the EU constructs, promotes and advocates itself. Funding projects incorporate the vision and the essence of the EU and constitute building blocks of the political, economic and cultural Europeanization process. This paper will address the question of the signification the EU develops for itself through its own programs. In particular it will focus on the web representation of "Euromed Heritage" with its particular emphasis on the Mediterranean, to show that these programs constitute not just means of policy making but actually technologies of governmentality.