The people on this continent had a pretty clear idea of where Europe ends, and with it inhabitable, from the point of view of the early middle ages, land. To understand them, don’t even need to delve into the depths of mythology. One glance at the map. The Western marks on them indicated derived from the Latin term “land’s end”, finisterra. In France, a Department is called finistère (Département Finisterre), in Spain there is a place called Finisterre (Cabo de Finisterre), in the English Cornwall can be found “Lands End” (“Land’s End”).
Why is it so important? Because the question of borders of Europe is inextricably linked with the negotiations on Brexia, namely with the decision of the UK to leave the EU. Because the British “no” to the European Union in a socially-sensitive regions of the island can be explained primarily by the abundance of Europe, however, the glut, which is likely, has no objective justification, and on a whim used in the political interests of the elite of the irresponsible elite. Political Europe without the UK needs to quickly clarify, in any territorial boundaries as a single living space and the space of decision-making she sees herself in the future.
If in the West it was always clear that in Eastern Europe the designation boundaries is in the fog of different cultural forms, historical experience and political targets. The geographical end of the old continent it is easier to describe as the definition of cultural barrier which separates Europe and what, exactly, separates? From Asia? The political vision was based on the geographical reality, when after the collapse of the blocks was a lot of talk about Europe stretching from the Atlantic to the Urals. Even Russia has adopted this definition. This is most clearly manifested in the speech of Vladimir Putin in the Bundestag on 25 September 2001 when he said: “Russia is a friendly European country.” After that, Putin repeatedly accused the West that he did not understand and did not accept the offer of cooperation, openly expressed in this speech. Criticism is legitimate, but the silence of Europe and the United States explained: Putin spoke in Berlin two weeks after the terrorist attacks of the Islamists, which we combine under the term 9/11, and that changed the world.
Today, the issues raised are on the surface, both geographically and politically. The first EU enlargement to the East in 2004, when he joined eight States and the subsequent accession of Romania and Bulgaria in 2007, was the biggest expansion that the EU has ever dared. Until today with it finally failed. Of course, there was expansion to the South-West, effective economic development program for Spain, Portugal and Greece, which, at least in the case of the first two countries led to huge economic boost. But the involvement of the Baltic States and Slovenia, in contrast to Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are absolutely not led to the encouragement of European values in these four countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The European Union still was not familiar with this model of behavior: the adoption of the financial benefits while simultaneously rejecting democratic and humanitarian obligations. This experience significantly dampened people’s willingness to preserving the traditions of the EU member States to reflect on the re-expansion of the Union. However, both of the Eastern extension, was using the hackneyed epithet, uncontested. The fear of a threat of invasion of Russia in many of these countries was stronger than anything else.
However, this experience shows that the idea of what belongs to Europe and what not, is strongly changing. The Balkan States on their path to the EU can decide to insert itself spoke in the wheel. The theme of Turkey — more than ever. But it is associated primarily with Erdogan and his actual dictatorship. Human relations, due to immigration and the German-Turkish marriages have remained intact. But is there anything else? Armenia, Ukraine, Georgia, Belarus, Russia itself? In today’s EU the unimaginable. But in the Union of two velocities in different levels of integration and more as an economic unit, in ten years maybe. What are the limits? Trump is not everywhere.
