| Summary: | This PhD thesis analyses the role of Christian Churches in European integration. We learn that Churches are inalienable participants in the process of European integration; therefore it is important to identify how they are placed within the European project and what their contribution is. We show that social constructivism is the most adequate approach to the study of the role of Churches in European integration. This thesis contains six main chapters. Chapter One is dedicated to the analysis of the existing theories of European integration. It identifies an important gap in the existing theories, which largely overlook the religious factor in the integration process. Chapter Two analyses why and how identity, non-state actors and religion are particularly relevant to European integration. Chapter Three deals with research methodology. It argues in favour of the case study method and justifies the selection of two case studies: Churches in the reform of the EU treaties and Churches in the EU immigration and asylum policy. Chapter Four looks in detail at why Churches should be regarded as unique participants in European integration. It also identifies the confessional specificities of the Churches' involvement in the EU politics and the possible level of their influence. Chapters Five and Six are dedicated to the case studies themselves. In chapter Five attention is drawn to the role of Christian Churches in the process of recent reform of the EU treaties (2001-2009). Specifically, it analyses the contribution of Churches to the three main stages of this reform: the work of the Constitutional Convention, the Inter- Governmental Conference and the Treaty of Lisbon. In chapter Six the focus is on the policy level, with an analysis of how Churches contribute to the EU immigration and asylum policy. It also discusses their contribution in a specific case, analysing the adoption process of the Returns Directive. The main original contribution of this thesis is that it establishes a comprehensive view of Christian Churches as special and unique participants in European integration, as compared with other non-state actors, considered in the analysis of integration by social constructivism.
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