Performing the Identity of Europe: A Linguistic Analysis of the Treaty of Lisbon.

The process of the creation of the European identity is complex, and is sustained by a huge production of laws and regulations with which the European Union searches legitimation for its actions. This involves the creation of rights, obligations and legal principles, whose force is confirmed or defined through typical instances of legal acts, such as statutes and treaties. Thus, these authoritative legal texts are not only mere expressions of norms, but can be seen as instruments of institutional power and of construction of a political identity. The aim of the research is to investigate the creation of a European identity through the linguistic analysis of the Treaty of Lisbon in an attempt to answer the following question: which role does the Treaty play in the process of the development of European identity, from a linguistic perspective, that is through linguistic devices in order to achieve recognition of and identification in shared values?