Europe: a tale of adventure throughout history
The term “European” is said to have been first introduced by the Phoenicians, this seems to be among the most widely accepted hypotheses. It would derive, in fact, from “ereb,” meaning “west,” and this is because the Phoenicians, spreading into Syria, decided to define “west” all places west of their territory. The meaning is therefore very ancient, dating as far back as 1200 BCE.
The meaning of “European” has taken on various meanings over time: geographical – such as the one just seen -, political, cultural, social and religious. What actually is Europe, and does it still make sense to have a European identity? First of all, in common sense we tend to define “Europe” as a place bounded by geographic borders, those from Great Britain to Turkey (although this straddles Europe and Asia).
The birth of the European Union: misunderstandings, contradictions and religions
With the birth of the European Union, thus shifting the discussion from a political point of view, there are countries that have been able to feel “more European” than others, since as of today there are only 27 states belonging to this community, despite the fact that there are 46 nations within the European borders. With the birth of the EU came further confusion, as happens in the case of Cyprus, which is 100 percent in Asia but still belongs to the EU. The misunderstandings, however, also spread to other nations, such as Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia, which are mistakenly associated with Europe, because – in this case – of sports, since they regularly participate in European championships, but are to all intents and purposes Asian count ries. Being a large continent and having been inhabited over the centuries by different peoples, it is natural that different traditions, languages, customs, even more distinctive somatic traits were established in Europe, at least originally.
Between invasions, wars, migrations, and outside influences, however, one can no longer speak of distinctive somatic traits of the inhabitants of one nation over another. The religious aspect is another important variant that contributes to unity, but also division, and this is seen all over the world since time immemorial, and today, with the war in the Middle East between Palestine and Israel.
In the Old Continent, precisely because of the countless influences throughout history, different creeds have settled, depending on the area. Suffice it to say that Eastern Europe has a higher rate of Christian Orthodox people, in Northern Europe and Britain Protestantism prevails, in Mediterranean Europe Catholicism prevails, not to mention that there is a high rate of Muslims in the areas of Turkey and surrounding areas.
A heterogeneity that certainly does not help to define a precise European identity. Feeling European and perceiving a union and a bond with other European nations is a feeling that someone may feel more or less, but it must be said that it is, first and foremost, a social convention determined by political, economic and even geographical functions to establish an orderly system in which to act.
In order to be able to determine how much, actually, Europeans feel this feeling of belonging, the Quality of Government Institute, a body created in collaboration with the University of Gothenburg (Sweden), submitted to 500 people from each state of the European Union the question, “On a scale of 1 to 10, how attached do you feel to Europe?” The outcome reported, as anticipated earlier, that citizens such as those from Romania, Hungary, and Poland have a greater feeling of European belonging, but there are many others who care much more about belonging to their homeland, in fact the final score stands at around 6.7 points compared to 7.7 for national belonging.
– Alessio Betolozzi
“Feeling European and perceiving a union and connection with other European nations is a feeling that some may feel more or less, but it must be said that it is, first and foremost, a social convention determined by political, economic and even geographical functions to establish an orderly system in which to act.”