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This study investigates how the European dimension emerges in the various European member states' civics education curricula. Does an image of the European citizen appear alongside that of the national citizen or are the two still highly interwoven? Is the curricular goal primarily knowledge-based, that is, to know about Europe, or normative-based, that is, to be a European? To explore these questions empirically, Austria, Denmark, and Germany were chosen as initial case studies because their education systems, in particular upper secondary schools, are highly comparable and draw generally on the same principles of an elite education. Their civics education curricula for upper secondary schools will be examined using framing theory. This study hypothesizes that an analysis of civics education curricula may reveal important differences in how countries balance European identity and national identity through education. (Contains 2 figures and 4 notes.)