The “old” and the “young”

Three milestone events that can be retraced without reaching into the far history of the Old Continent have marked the relations between the People (mostly the governments) of the Western and Eastern areas of Europe over the past sixty years. These are: the division in blocs, which characterized the long post-war period; the end of divisions that culminated with the Fall of the Berlin Wall; and NATO and EU membership of Eastern European Countries. In less than three generations the mistrust of the Cold War – along with the lack of knowledge of one’s neighbour – turned into a new form of coexistence. Under certain aspects this coexistence can be viewed as a recovered relationship, but with new and multiple facets that are not always positive, especially for those who used to live on the other side of the Iron Curtain. Emotionality on the one side, and mere economic and political interests on the other, hastened the institutional and general rapprochement – partly demagogical and heedless – that preferred focusing on economic and media stances, rather than on the democratization and modernization of society and public administration. This may not be true for all enlargement Countries…but for almost all of them it is. One indisputable fact is that the so-called East-West reunification was asked by the people, by those whose bodies and souls bore the scars of totalitarian leadership. Thus, the reunification is a just and sacrosanct fact, regardless of the questionable means and goals that enabled its achievement. Europe cannot fail to be united, all the more so in the modern world. Three realms ought to be taken into account in the framework of the changed relations between the East and the West. These are: politics, economy and society. In the realm of politics, as often happens, everything is (or appears to be) simpler. Superpowers no longer exist, while relationships with Washington and Moscow are less binding. The European Union represents the natural historical and geographical “landing place” of the post-Communist drift. None of those gathered around the same table at the European Council (including old and new members) question the role of their Community membership. Indeed, the list of EU candidate-States is long, and the doors to Brussels are open. However, in the realm of economy problems come to the fore. EU entry entailed a series of structural adjustments whose completion – exception made for Slovenia and Cyprus – is still far from being reached. As it happens, only a few East-European Countries have adopted the Euro. The passage from a more-or-less planned economic system to social market economy (that starkly differs from one State to the next) requires greater time and support from the European Institutions. At present, given the global financial crisis that primarily impacted the “rich” Countries and their compliance with the Stability Agreement, Europe finds it hard to ensure the required support. Society. Here there are reasons for hope, which is both joyful and painful. The initial enthusiasm triggered by the idea of freedom, wasn’t matched by concrete social and economic development. Average GDP increase corresponded to a surge in poverty. Many East-European societies run in first and second gear. EU adhesion enriched just a few, while it caused much poverty. Unemployment rates are on the increase, women and the youth can’t find a job although their education degrees are often higher than their Western counterparts. Migration, a phenomenon whose proportions hadn’t been envisaged, triggered social clashes that entailed episodes of degradation and neo-racism, which the leaderships ought to address and counter responsibly as soon as possible. It goes without saying that the opening of the borders and the free circulation of people and ideas are conquests of civility. However, these conquests ought to be governed. The first condition for the long-awaited positive effects of East-West relations is the implementation of the necessary basic conditions for mutual understanding and integration, i.e. dialogue, training, employment, national assistance, housing policies, fight against social exclusion, and solidarity. In full awareness that even the “old” States of the European Union have much to learn from the “new” ones.