“Different Nations, under the same sky”

Every morning 500 million people wake up in the European Continent. From Iceland to Greece they all belong to different backgrounds, races, cultures, educations and economic situations; they speak around 20 different languages but what makes them feel united is exactly the European Union. Now around 50 years after the founding of this political Union we can see that culture and the process of shaping the European identity and feeling has never been in the core of integration.
If we look back in time the financial problems increased feeling of insecurity of European societies. So much that in 1973 EU felt the need to sign a “Declaration on the European identity” emphasising that they share the same attitudes to life, and common values.
But what is really the European Identity? Contrary to what is generally considered it was not a product of a very formal agreement that leaders of the European countries did but it has emerged from common movements in religion, philosophy, politics, science and the arts since the Middle Ages, through the European Renaissance and to the modern times. The point of departure of most discussions on European identity is the idea that a political community needs a common set of values and references to ensure its coherence, to guide its actions and to endow these with legitimacy and meaning.
With the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe in 1989, and the founding of the ‘European Union’ with 1992’s Maastricht Treaty – which gave the European Communities new and stronger competences in a wide range of areas (such as foreign affairs, security and defence), came into focus the issue of boosting the political legitimacy of the Union in the eyes of its citizens: the ‘glue’ that unites all Europeans and keeps the bloc together. Yet, founding fathers of the EU seem to have forgotten about culture. The first reference to European culture in the treaties came as late as 1992 with the Maastricht Treaty. Meanwhile, the Berlin Declaration, adopted on 25 March 2007 to mark the EU’s 50th anniversary, underlined “common ideals” including the individual, human dignity and equality of men and women. Other values stressed by the declaration are peace and freedom, democracy and the rule of law, as well as tolerance and solidarity. As Jacques Monet said: “If we were to do it all again we would start with culture”.
European identity will arise from common political and civic practices, civil society organisations and strong EU institutions. ‘United in diversity’, according to this view, means that citizens share the same political and civic values, while at the same time adhering to different cultural practices.
All these common values and our common European identity are materialized in our common symbols: the flag, the anthem, the currency. I don’t know about you dear reader but personally when I stand up for the European Anthem I feel part of the Elite, I feel united in diversity with all my fellow European citizens, I feel so close and equal to 500 million people at the same time! It is time to understand that even though we come from different Nations, we all live under the same sky and share this world together.