Not less but more Europe

Despite ongoing “Euroscepticism”, positive signs continue being recorded even in small Austria, in the heart of the continent. A survey conducted on 1.025 young Austrians showed that 76% of all interviewees agree that Austria should continue being an EU Member State. An Austrian MEP – Othmar Karas (People’s Party), co-promoted an initiative calling for “more Europe” with a Social Democrat and a Green MEP. In an interview released to the Viennese daily “Die Presse”, Karas said: “The economic crisis has clearly shown that the euro currency cannot stand on one leg. The monetary union requires political union”.Karas and his colleagues are in favour of an economic union with a common budget that promotes “political action, which isn’t just a redistribution tool”. The Austrian MEP added: “It is precisely at a time of crisis that the ability to intervene without depending on the unanimous support of all Member States becomes crucial”. Indeed, “We must coordinate Member States’ economic policy and impose innovation, research and formation. In order to play a strong role at global level we need a Union for defense and a Union for foreign affairs”.Words of wisdom! At this present time, given the freedom movements in the Southern shores of the Mediterranean, there is an evident need for a common EU foreign policy. However, only a glimpse of such policy is to be seen. What does it depend on? Have European populations truly understood that the Mediterranean region has always been a unitary reality? Also the spread of Islam has concretized into a demarcation line which kept on moving for the past 1400 years – whether to the north or to the south. It was – and it still is – just a “demarcation line” which across the centuries has never prevented the movement of people, ideas, and goods. It should be remembered today.There is also another aspect: Europe is not a fortress. Europe is larger. The inhabitants of Madrid or those of Lisbon feel more at home in Mexico City, Lima, Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile, in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Luanda, than in Vienna, Berlin or Warsaw. When speaking about Europe it should be remembered that it is not a small appendage of Asia. Rather, Europe is a part of the world that has irradiated in many other continents. This “irradiation” helped further the spread of Christianity worldwide. And this too should not be forgotten…