Diversity and Unity in the European Union

Two diversities are operative in the EU: the traditional diversity between member states, and the more recent minority-related diversity whose proper site is within member states. This article traces the EU-level evolution of minority-related diversity, whose legal-political focus expanded from old (national) to new (immigrant) minorities. It looks at “interculturalism” and “diversity” as normative follow-ups to a notionally discarded “multiculturalism,” reviewing their manifestations in the EU. And it addresses two seemingly contradictory campaigns recently launched by the European Commission: a progressive campaign for a Union of Equality, and a more populist campaign to Promote our European Way of Life. I argue that the unity and identity of the EU, which is the necessary foil for its diversity policies, continues to be based on universal values; it has not shifted to cultural or even ethnic particularism, as claimed by some authors.