Who Speaks for Europe? Moving centre from Brussels to the Borders

This article reconceptualises Europe not as a fixed geographic or institutional entity but as a contested, multi-scalar, cultural-political construction whose shifting centres and peripheries emerge through struggles over narratives power, and recognition. We analyse how European centrality is constructed, claimed, and recognised across actor types, and when peripheral actors recentre. Using a comparative discourse design, we implement a theoretical framework operationalising centrality through narrative authority, rule-setting power, and recognition patterns. Findings demonstrate that centrality tracks a Western-anchored prototype of European identity and prototypicality; crises enable temporary "crisis centrality" (e.g., Ukraine) but EU value frames re-stabilise earlier prototypes; recognition operates as a validation loop where EU-level discourse couples with bottom-up perceptions, consistent with everyday Europeanization. The study implies that moving beyond static centre–periphery models requires broadening recognition without emptying the Union's minimal normative core. The framework clarifies who can credibly speak for Europe and how that status shifts under pressure.