Just one year ahead, the European Community (EC or EU, respectively) will become the third largest amalgamation of peoples with half a billion country-wise organized population, following China with its 1.3bn (some say in fact it’s approaching 1.5bn), and India with about 1.1bn. And that’s not the complete European thing, since Bulgaria, Romania, Switzerland, Turkey, Iceland, Norway, Russia and the former GUS countries, etc. aren’t counted. The European conglomerate is still a torso, but it seems that strong power in economy, defense and consumption will come into existence. However, in reality, it seems a tiny midget appears in its place – what kind of power is this? Just a kind of consumerism? And even this not at the moment, standing before the abyss of recession and deflation. The continent is torn apart by numerous different and even oppositely directed national interests, treaties, agreements, pacts and other confusing concepts our cream of the crop has created over the last decades – and will probably continue to do so in the near future
From a trade and business view, Western Europe has become open – and also the way to the east isn’t as bumpy as it was up until 1990. Since its start 18 months ago, the then-formed common currency club has helped to vastly break down trade and business barriers and obsolete structures within the euro zone, though at the same time, bureaucracy is keen in building new irregularities. As in all huge organizations, the administration has its own savoir-vivre, not easily digested by the common man. The so-called Schengen-countries neighborhood is another addition to an open Europe: within its realm, customs and passport controls aren’t longer executed. To complicate the arrangements a bit more: Schengen countries and currency club aren’t fully identical. Just a small example: neither for Finland nor Sweden do we any longer need to show identities at the borders when coming from other Schengen countries. With currency though we have to change to Sveriges Kronor in one case, and in the other case we don´t need to exchange for Suomalainen Markka.
Still another look reveals that there is a WEU alliance pursuing a common defense strategy (if it’s true), formed by ten states: in the west the U.K. for instance, to the south (Italy, Spain, Portugal) and middle Europe (Benelux, France, Germany), most of them also being EU founding members. The next step of military engagement is Nato, encompassing all WEU countries, plus Norway, Iceland, Denmark and Turkey. And, for example, all of the new countries in the east (beginning in May 2004) are Nato members.
Yes, things have to grow, sometimes slowly with an incident sometimes functioning like a catalytic agent. Like the Iraq crisis. The old European countries at the heart of the Continent, having initially formed the EU, didn’t support this act of aggression. Not out of sympathy for a horrid dictatorship. Here in Europe, the question was not whether or not we should send our boys down and clear things up, but – after two cruel and devastating wars in the last century – where many millions died, and after which the atlas was twice redrawn, causing hundreds of thousands to have to leave their homes – we must have eventually learned important lessons. On the other hand, some European countries have decided to belong to the „coalition of the willing“ in the Iraq war. This was not well received by all European neighbors leading to harsh discussions in the geopolitical scenario – which are not over yet.
The old Continent, between euro, Nato, WEU, Schengen and other concepts, hasn’t got a consistent profile; it is complicated, often has scruples and apparently does not prefer to simply think in terms of bad or good. From a practical side, the European countries are well organized, or, in the case of the new members, now preparing for even more free trade and enterprise. Socialists adapting capitalism. What can we expect in a continually expanding Europe? The old wounds will have to heal, slowly of course, within some decades. This is a demanding process since nationalism lures behind many facades. A common currency, undisturbed traveling and free interchange of goods, just to name a few, seems to be a good beginning to eventually discover that we are all the same, differences in mentality or language just being a thin layer on the outside
