Especially in France, "the European idea" (l'idée d'Europe) is associated with political values derived from the Age of Enlightenment and the republicanism growing out of the French Revolution and the Revolutions of 1848 rather than with personal or individual identity formed by culture or ethnicity (let alone a "pan-European" construct including those areas of the continent never affected by 18th-century rationalism or Republicanism).
The project had grown out of a study group on "values and social change in Europe" initiated by Jan Kerkhofs, and Ruud de Moor (Catholic University in Tilburg).
However, "European values" were also viewed critically, their "darker" side not necessarily leading to more peaceful outcomes in international relations.
[6] The Treaty of Lisbon (2007) in article 1A lists a number of "values of the Union", including "respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights including the rights of persons belonging to minorities", invoking "a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail".
[8] The philosophers Jürgen Habermas and Jacques Derrida wrote an article for the newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in which they claimed the birth of a 'European public sphere'.