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The International Summer School promoted by COMECE (Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community) in partnership with the Karl Franzen University of Graz and the diocese of Graz-Seckau ends at the castle of Seggau, at the heart of Styria, today. After the experiences of previous years, reserved for staff of the bishops’ conferences, this was the first such summer school to be open to students alone: 160 of them expressed an interest from all over Europe and of these 76 were selected; they came from 25 European countries (from Albania to Armenia, from Turkey to the Ukraine, and the states of the former Yugoslavia). “European identity: politics, society, religion” was the theme chosen this year. Next year the Summer School will be held once again at Seggau, from 30 June to 14 July. Info: www.uni-graz.at/en/bibwww_soe_seggau.htm. FROM THE ATLANTIC TO RUSSIA. The common thought is: “Europe stretches from the Atlantic to the borders of Asia”, and the European Union will sooner or later have to accept that the map is this. After ten days spent discussing the European identity, its social and economic problems, its artistic and religious aspects, the 76 students attending the summer school are giving no more thought to the 24 different passports in their pockets. And it was quite possible for two Serbs and a Croat, a girl from Banja Luka, a Macedonian and a Kossovar to find themselves sitting round the same table for dinner: “I discovered that people can easily understand each other, irrespective of the cultures to which they belong”, explains Dragos, a Romanian student. ONE IDENTITY, MANY IDENTITIES. Just from this realization began the course of the Summer School, which opened with a series of lectures given by Thomas Meyer, professor of political science at the University of Dortmund and author, in 2004, of a study on “The Identity of Europe’. “The European identity, understood as identity of the European Union – began Meyer – must be constructed and understood as a political concept and not as a cultural element or a heritage that must be merely discovered and reformulated on the basis of the continent’s historical traditions”. This is also because, Meyer continued, “there is no legitimacy for the idea that Europe should require a cultural identity shared by all European citizens”. These two basic ideas articulated the lectures and seminars held in the castle of Seggau and almost challenged the students to seek for traces of a single identity among themselves. With different results: for Jelena, from Bosnia, “Europe is still divided between different ideas and values”, but for Tatiana, from Ukraine, “my identity is just part of the European identity. Most of us are European students, and I am too: but I am also Ukrainian and think that the voice of my country should be heard”. “I discovered that since all of us belong to a great European community, we share a ‘political and cultural identity'”, added Claudiu, from Romania.THE EUROPEAN PROJECT. But what is European integration? To this question all the participants do not hesitate to reply that it is a ‘project’ (“the best choice”, stresses Wolfgang, from Austria); no one thinks it is a dream, still less a utopia. However, disenchantment about the prospect still remains and the presence of many students from Eastern Europe helped to make heard the voice of those who still wait outside the doors of the Union: “The EU’s greatest problem is that it has created a new division, where some countries are more European than others”, points out Dorian, from Albania. “A common culture is the goal of the integration process – observes Dragos -, but the first step is freedom of movement”. Yet this is often destined to remain on paper: “I would like to understand why I must pay – wonders Jelena – every time I need a visa to enter the EU, and why I must stand in line for hours in front of the embassies whenever I request one. Why should I be so humiliated?”.A COMMUNITY THAT LISTENS AND RESPECTS. One idea, at least, seems to be shared by all: it is that procedures, and bureaucracy, acting as a brake on the process of European integration, far more than people: “The EU must function better and more rapidly”, says Iuliana, from Romania. And while it’s true that in Europe “there are still too many people who don’t want to compromise their own cultural and religious ambitions in the name of cooperation”, emphasises Denis, from Moldova, “the first step to build a European identity is mental opening, the capacity to listen to others”, points out Maria-Magdalena, from Romania. “The European identity – says Leila, from Bosnia – is a delicate problem, and it’s natural that there should be different opinions on the matter. But respect for other cultures and religions, respect for differences which will always form part of Europe, may be the first step to living together in peace”. “The time has finally come – declares Anna, from Estonia – to reconcile old conflicts and begin a new page. Always looking to the future, to a united Europe”.