European Integration And The European Union - 1638 Words

Although European integration has primarily come about through the European Union and its policies, the idea of a united Europe can be traced back to Ancient Greece. The first we hear of Europe as a geographic concept was in the 7th/8th century BC through the infamous Myth of Europa (Greekmythology.com, 2015). The myth is about a Phoenician princess, Europa (after which the continent was named), who has a dream where she was called to by an unknown land telling her, she belongs to it (Greekmythology.com, 2015). Although this does not describe the geographic boundaries of the continent, it never the less goes to show that the concept of Europe being as one is nothing new. However, it was only until the Roman empire in 200 BC that brought†¦show more content†¦CULTURAL INTEGRATION By the end of the 4th century BC, the geographical concept of Europe gains a cultural dimension defined by Christianity. The Roman Empire had collapsed and Christianity emerged as a unifying force during the Middle Ages. This gave way to the rise of Europe as a cultural idea; one with a shared religion, Latin as the shared language of education and one with a stronger territorial identity in face of what were seen as external threats – namely Muslims of the Middle East. This perceived enemy was very important in constituting that unifying force. The previous Roman and Greek feeling of civilizational superiority becomes a moral superiority of which the belief that Christians were not only better than non-Christians, but also had a duty to preach their beliefs to others, was common. As a result, the European population unites behind the crusades from 1099 as they fought the Muslims in Jerusalem in battles which lasted almost 200 years. This tension over Jerusalem is still seen t o this day which once again shows that this European integration has always been bound to happen. RACIAL INTEGRATION Until the end of the 19th century, Europe maintains itself as a cultural idea. Any attempt to become a political entity is not taken seriously due to the rise in nationalism and the emergence of the nation state. This situation, however, changed with the developments of the 20th century. The criticism of the Church and