End of divided Europe” “

“A great event, that marks for us the return to a history no longer suffered, but freely created”: that’s how Stefan Delureanu , authoritative Romanian Catholic exponent, defines the “great step” of EU enlargement to Eastern Europe. Historian at the University of Bucharest, student of the Risorgimento at the continental level, great expert on the life and work of Giuseppe Mazzini (Italian patriot who was one of the first to dream of a united Europe), Delureanu – interviewed by Gianni Borsa, SIR correspondent – has also studied the history and transnational links between the parties of Christian inspiration. On 1st May the EU will enlarge its frontiers to another ten states. Is it a “natural completion” of the continent’s history and geography? “I would say that enlargement marks the return to Europe of the half of the continent that was hived off after the Second World War. Finally the acceptance of a continent divided into two is being overcome and we are heading towards the building of a single Europe. After the collapse of Communism and the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the EU is opening up to those peoples who had become prisoners against their will. That’s why I say that now we too will have the chance to be protagonists of history”. Can the Union be extended to other countries (Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus…), or do historical, cultural and religious “frontiers” exist? “European integration will in a few years’ time also comprise other countries in the south-eastern area of the continent, whereas in my view States like Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, now definable in political terms as non-European, are unlikely to satisfy the necessary criteria for entry into the EU. Russia, furthermore, does not entirely belong to geographical Europe; its form of association with the Union shall have to be carefully evaluated. Turkey too is only part of the European landmass as far as the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles; Asia Minor was far more European in antiquity and the middle ages than it is now. Integrating an Islamic country in the Union, besides, could require a very delicate decision”. Romania has begun negotiations on EU membership. What hopes do Romanians have in the European Union? “Romania began negotiations, together with Bulgaria, on EU membership several years ago, but, for the Romanians, the road to Brussels and Strasbourg is full of pitfalls. It cannot be forgotten that Romania was the last country in Central and Eastern Europe to rid itself of the totalitarian structures of power, and this only happened by a violent upheaval. It was also the last nation to apply for membership of the Council of Europe and the last to be admitted; the process of admission itself was a means of pressure to facilitate its internal transformation. The criticisms recently made about Romania by the European institutions are various and rather serious…”. What are the most serious problems? What strictures have been made of Romania in terms of its EU application? “They concern the economic reform, the failure to reform the judiciary, various problems to do with the inefficiency of the central and regional administration, and the lack of press freedom. For these reasons there are those at the level of the European Commission and Parliament who have in recent times even asked for the suspension of the negotiations. But it should be said that among the people there is now general consensus on EU membership. This spirit diffused among the population, however, needs to be transformed into concrete steps and real reforms. I’m convinced that the Romanians will succeed in this, though at the government level there is some reluctance to move in this direction”. Do you think that Romania and Bulgaria can join the Union by the deadline of 2007? “2007 is a great goal for the Romanians and, at the same time, a gamble. A gamble with ourselves and with history. To win it, we need to make further efforts to ‘europeanize’ our political life; we need to make a concerted effort to meet the objective of EU membership. If we succeed, it will be for us a great result, a real celebration for our return to the European family. And I hope it may also become a celebration for the other countries and for the peoples of the Union of the Twenty-Five”.