Europe Should Be Thought Of As Many Rather Than As One

I believe that Europe should certainly be thought of as ‘many’ rather than ‘one’. Europe is an incredibly diverse place with many different cultures, political ideals and people. Europe is one of the world’s seven continents and is located in the northern hemisphere. It is the smallest of the seven continents geographically however it has the third largest population of the seven continents, with approximately 741. 1 million inhabitants. Some of the major cities in Europe include London, Paris, Moscow and Berlin. (Carleton. ca, 2018)In this essay, I will explore how the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union (EU) was primarily due to the migrant crisis across the continent and a wish to escape the rules and regulations that come with being a member of the EU. I will consider the uncertain future ahead for the EU. The history of Europe explains the borders that we have in the continent today, from the rules of Stalin in Russia to Hitler in Germany, to the new borders drawn up after World War I, to the repercussions of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 for communism in Europe. I will finally discuss how governments in the EU work together as well as separately and the shared traits of member states of the EU such as the common currency used and the freedom to travel from member state to member state.

Europe is many groups coming together as a continent but with tremendous differences culturally, geographically and historically. Similarly, The European Union is a gathering of twenty-eight European States that have formed solidarity and a union on certain issues such as security and economic issues. The European Union has 4 main aims - To establish European citizenship, to ensure freedom, security and justice, to promote economic and social progress and to assert Europe's role in the world. This shows Europe acting as ‘one’, citizenship to Europe as a whole, as well as one’s national citizenship, ensuring important human rights, promoting progress both economically and socially and promoting the continent as a whole, around the world. However, the idea that Europe is many and divided and not ‘one’ is clear to be seen when it comes to the whole ‘Brexit’ debacle unfolding at the moment. The UK’s decision to leave the European Union, is a clear sign of where they stand on the idea of Europe being ‘one’. They have democratically decided to leave the EU - Britain believes it can do much better in terms of Trade deals, and that their own economy and their society will prosper by leaving the EU, according to campaigners for the leave side such as Boris Johnson. “Euro sceptics argue the vast majority of small and medium-sized firms do not trade with the EU but are restricted by a huge regulatory burden imposed from abroad”.

The idea of smaller EU countries being a ‘burden’ on the UK was one used by many advocating a ‘leave’ vote in the referendum, citing excessive regulations and economic limitations as causes for annoyance. In addition, it is argued that other countries in Europe do not care about the fate of the UK in their decision to leave the EU, such as France and Spain. In a Europe that could be thought of as ‘one’, the idea of losing one of the biggest players on the team so to speak would be worrying and of course, sad. These countries have vastly different cultures, so perhaps it is unsurprising that they do not feel like family. From the language spoken to the dominant religions to the political regimes and styles, these countries are not ‘one’. They are ‘many’. Many countries under the larger banner of the continent that is Europe. Much of the drive for a referendum to leave the European Union in the UK also came from the ever growing migrant crisis. The powers that be in the EU, such as the European Commission (The European Commission (EC) is an institution of the European Union, responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the EU treaties and managing the day-to-day business of the EU) would decide how many migrants each member state would accrue and this made many in the UK unhappy and even scared. If Europe was ‘one’, this seems like the fairest way of allocating migrants in need. This is also known as the “EU’s relocation programme”. Allocations based on populations and ability to cater for. “

A political counter-revolution against the European Union is underway. Brexit is likely to be seen in hindsight as just the first of many tremors leading up to a larger political earthquake that will be felt all over the European continent. ” (Leonard, 2018). The theory that Brexit is just the beginning of the break-up of interdependence in Europe is a very real possibility now. The success the UK experiences in their pursuit of independence from the EU will serve as a motivator or de-motivator for other countries considering likewise (a referendum for independence). As I have mentioned the EU has served as a good organisation when it comes to certain, large scale issues such as security and trade, however the burning desire for countries, particularly bigger ones, to be independent and not bound by regulations is still strong. There was a lack of a plan presented by the ‘leave’ side in the UK’s referendum, which one might think would worry voters however this ambiguity left voters perhaps excited and over optimistic about post EU times in the UK.

The history of different states in Europe varies greatly. In the likes of Hitler’s’ Germany and Stalin’s’ Russia, these countries were plagued by “what some analysts characterised as totalitarian systems”, where these leaders had aspirations to spread their control further and further afield, with little respect for smaller European nations. While countries such as France and Great Britain fought to protect these smaller nations, such as Poland during World War II. These Western countries have seen more moderate styles of government in their history, in comparison to Russia and Germany. Europe has been shaped by its history of wars. After the first World War ended in 1918, the map of Europe was literally redrawn. Among the changes to the map were the creation of the Soviet Union (USSR), and the breaking up of the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires. The lack of harmony among European states after the war is clear as Germany was blamed for starting the war and also forced to pay reparations to France.

The idea of a “New Europe” is an interesting one. In 1989, eastern Europe experienced a multitude of revolutions supporting an overthrow of communist dictatorships and in favour of democracy and market based economies. The fall of the Berlin Wall in this year symbolised this movement, a wall that for many years had separated those living in the communist and capitalist halves of the city (Bale, 2005). The fallout of these revolutions shaped the borders of many of the newer countries we see in Europe today. The state of Yugoslavia was broken into six different countries, namely Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia. All states still members of Europe, however now different countries further show how Europe is made up of many, however great or minimal the differences are between states.

Having been at the centre of both World Wars to date, it is interesting to look at how Europe has managed to become so united, with organisations such as the EU. However, “the ruthlessness and destructiveness of modern warfare were factors that led to a conviction among the post-war political elites in a number of countries that such conflict must never again take place on European soil. ” The idea of nationalism and pride in one’s nationality and country was one of the main causes of the World Wars. This shows how countries within the continent of Europe, even to this day, are very protective of their own identities, as well as respecting the fact that we are all Europeans. I believe that the idea of ‘dual citizenship’ of Ireland and Europe that I identify with is true across most Europeans today. It is possible to be both proud of your country and work together with others for a greater good. This sums up the idea of Europe being a gathering of ‘many’ for me.

Another example of Europe being a gathering of many is in the aftermath of the second World War, where European leaders looked for ways to include and welcome Germany into the post-war European framework, as opposed to bullying or resenting it. Working together on issues was also supported and encouraged rather than promoting rivalry between the European nations. (

The way governments in the EU act independently yet interact and cooperate is another example of Europe being seen as ‘many’ while also having the ability to work together as one and be interdependent. “The EU contains elements of two kinds of polity. One is the intergovernmental organisation, in which the governments of sovereign member states cooperate without giving up the ultimate right to make their own decisions. The second is the supra-national body, in which the ultimate power rests with the common institutions and the national governments have room to maneuver only within the framework of policy decided at the collective level. ” It is impressive that countries can both make policy decisions themselves at a national level while also cooperating with each other on a larger scale. Furthermore, the collective decisions regarding the framework of policy is an example of effective democracy in action and the ‘many’ working together. Although I primarily think of Europe as ‘many’ rather than as ‘one’, The European Union does give member states many shared attributes. Of course not all nations in Europe are a member of the EU however a sizeable number (twenty-eight) are, as of this moment. For instance, the single market and single currency in the EU binds member states together through a shared, common currency, the euro. Members of EU also share the ability to travel freely to other EU member states, which shows in this way EU members can also be thought of as ‘one’ in certain ways too and reflects their dependency on each other. “The differing extent to which Europe’s states are blessed with access to this or that natural resource, however, combines with differing access to international trade routes and areas of expertise and comparative advantage, to make for a great deal of economic variation between their economies”. Europe’s countries do not share the same economic prosperities as each other. A country that is rich in one natural resource will benefit from major economic activity from that resource, whereas many countries may not be so lucky to have any resource giving them a comparative advantage. This leads to economic inequality in Europe, where the wealth and prosperity is not shared across Europe as ’one’ but maintained by individual countries, for the most part.

In conclusion, Europe can certainly be thought of as ‘many’, rather than as ‘one’. The continent is an extremely diverse place, made up of many different cultures, political ideals and people underpinning modern Europe. The comparison of dependence and interdependence in Europe is an interesting one and one that will continue for years and decades to come. The challenge for the future of Europe is to both respect the many and work as one and to maintain the strengths of the many and respond appropriately to future challenges in a united way.